Fantasy Index

Around the NFL

Inconsistent Calvin Ridley

Ward talking him up, but...

New Titans quarterback Cam Ward knows what side his bread is buttered on. He was talking up No. 1 wideout Calvin Ridley the other day, saying that Ridley is "one of the top 5 wide receivers in the NFL." He might be overstating things a little.

Setting aside the whole missing a year for gambling thing, Ridley has been more good than great. Back in 2020 he had his best season, catching 90 passes for 1,374 yards and 9 touchdowns -- the No. 5 wide receiver in PPR leagues. Maybe Ward had him on his fantasy team that year. But things generally deteriorated after that.

The next season, Ridley played in only five games, stepping away for personal/mental health reasons. The year after that, he was suspended. The last two years he's been a No. 1 wideout for the Jaguars and Titans, but without reaching the heights of that 2020 season.

Ridley was a top-30 wide receiver in each of those seasons, but his game had some flaws. He dropped 6 passes each year, for a rate of close to 5 percent over those two seasons. And drops aside, he simply didn't catch enough of the passes thrown his way. Poor quarterbacking can be blamed for some of that, but working with a rookie won't necessarily dramatically change things.

Over those past two seasons, Ridley has caught under 55 percent of the passes thrown his way. That ranks 49th among the 51 wide receivers to see at least 150 targets over the past two years. The only two guys worse than him over that timeframe have either struggled with drops or played on several different teams in those two years (Amari Cooper, Diontae Johnson).

WIDE RECEIVER CATCH RATES, 2023-2024
PlayerTgtRecYdsTDCtch%
Amon-Ra St. Brown30523427782276.7
Adam Thielen1991511629975.9
DeVonta Smith20114918991574.1
Nico Collins20814823031571.2
Ja'Marr Chase32022729242470.9
CeeDee Lamb33323629431870.9
Jaxon Smith-Njigba23016317581070.9
Jayden Reed16911916501470.4
D.J. Moore27619423301470.3
Wan'Dale Robinson2181531224470.2
Jaylen Waddle1871301758669.5
Demario Douglas1661151182369.3
Chris Godwin1921331600769.3
Puka Nacua2661842476969.2
Stefon Diggs22415416791168.8
Tyler Boyd1551061057268.4
Josh Downs2051401574768.3
Tyreek Hill29420027581968.0
A.J. Brown25517325351467.8
Zay Flowers2241511917967.4
Justin Jefferson25417126071567.3
Jakobi Meyers23515818341267.2
Michael Pittman Jr.2671781960766.7
Brandon Aiyuk1521001716765.8
Keenan Allen27117819871465.7
Chris Olave1821191523665.4
Tyler Lockett1961281494765.3
Deebo Samuel17011115621065.3
Terry McLaurin24916120981764.7
Cooper Kupp19512614471164.6
Jordan Addison20713317861964.3
Malik Nabers1701091204764.1
Drake London26816921761163.1
Tank Dell1569813761062.8
Romeo Doubs16810512751262.5
Courtland Sutton22514018531862.2
Mike Evans24615322592462.2
Tee Higgins18511515671562.2
Jerry Jeudy2321441987662.1
Garrett Wilson32219621461060.9
DeAndre Hopkins21713116671260.4
Davante Adams31618822071659.5
Darius Slayton150891343659.3
Quentin Johnston1589311421058.9
George Pickens2091222040858.4
Elijah Moore2061201178358.3
D.K. Metcalf22713221061358.1
Darnell Mooney167951406656.9
Calvin Ridley25614020331254.7
Diontae Johnson154841092854.5
Amari Cooper2131161797954.5

Search tools at pro-football-reference.com used in compiling this table.

In Ridley's defense, he was working with Will Levis and some backup quarterbacks in Jacksonville for some of these games. All of the incompletions weren't drops or plays where he failed to get separation.

But I think we look at Ridley's body of work since his best season in Atlanta and see a good but not great wide receiver. He'll be Ward's No. 1, but it's debatable whether he'll be a reliable safety valve for the rookie. Seems more likely you're hoping for a top-25 type of wideout, at best. He'll need to fall further than that for me to consider selecting him.

--Andy Richardson

To continue reading this article, please Login or Sign Up at the website
Login Sign Up

Fantasy Index