With so much controversy going on with other teams and injuries popping up everywhere, it’s safe to say Calvin Ridley has remained healthy, and he is ready to have a great year. With the injury to DeAndre Hopkins clouding the minds of many drafters, Ridley has been rising up boards. Right has a current ADP around 75th overall and is wide receiver 32 at the moment. During a lot of my mock drafts, I see others avoiding him too for players like Diontae Johnson and Christian Kirk. What boggles my mind is why these same people and experts say that Will Levis is their sleeper or backup option at quarterback, so why don’t you like his WR? Here’s what you should consider while drafting Ridley this year.
Ranked tenth in Red Zone targets last year, Ridley had ten receptions for 80 yards and six touchdowns. Of course, it came with the Jaguars and with Trevor Lawrence as his quarterback, but Levis and Hoskins had similar numbers in the Red Zone to what Lawrence and Ridley had. Hopkins had 17 targets in which he recorded six receptions for 49 yards and three touchdowns. That gave him a target percentage of 65.4 to Ridley’s 54.3 percent, which is quite the difference, but Ridley had more competition in Jacksonville. That means when they get near the Red Zone, the Titans may opt to throw to Ridley more since Hopkins may draw more coverage.
What is convincing is that Ridley had a reception percentage of 40.0 percent compared to Hopkins 35.3. That shows that if things remain the same, you could see Ridley edge Hopkins in this stat, which would make him more valuable in standard leagues. Given the fact that Hopkins has had injuries over the past few years, I would rather take the wide receiver that stays healthy. There will be plenty of opportunities for targets in this offense going forward, and with Derrick Henry gone, expect an uptick in the passes attempted. I myself have been drafting Ridley as my WR2 all draft season, and the fact you can get him in round five or six gives you the chance for a wide receiver that hardly anyone acknowledges as being that good. He will finally get that acknowledgment when you hoist your leagues trophy by rostering one of the sneakiest players this year in fantasy football.
2024 Projection: 143 Targets, 88 Reception, 1,218 Rec Yards
