The Falcons’ WR1 ahead of the 2022 NFL season Calvin Ridley Made some bets and lost big time. Ridley lost more than the few “multi-leg” parlays he bet on when he was caught by the league and subsequently suspended for the entire season.
With Ridley looking for a way out of Atlanta, the Jaguars jumped at the opportunity to buy their old 1,000-yard wideout on the cheap. Jacksonville sent two future draft picks to the Falcons at the trade deadline to boost their rising passing game. Trevor Lawrence, Christian Kirk, Zay Jonesothers.
Ridley remains suspended but can appeal for reinstatement on February 15 and, if successful, joins Doug Pederson’s playbook on April 17.
Calvin Ridley’s Fantasy Perspective
The last time we saw Calvin Ridley on the football field was when he finished his first season as a WR1 for the Falcons as the 2020 Fantasy WR4. That season, Ridley scored 90 of 143 targets for 1,374 yards and 9 touchdowns.
However, Ridley faced mental health issues in 2021 and finished the season after just five games. He was subsequently suspended for the 2022 season.
On the one hand, the soon-to-be 29-year-old should be fresh, having been out of football for almost two seasons. On the other hand, he will have to shake off the rust during camp and will be playing quarterback with a new team in 2022 under a completely new scheme.
Ridley will primarily play X alongside Christian Kirk and Zay Jones. This two players have spent his career his season in 2022. marvin jones When Evan Engram Last season he had 179 combined targets. Of his 575 pass attempts for the team, the Jags’ receiver target his share was his 64% (369).
Even with the return of the engram, Ridley will be on the pass-happy offense with the ninth-most pass attempts in 2022. Travis Etienne (RB17), Kirk (WR11), Jones (WR26) and Engram (TE6) finish as fixed weekly starters.
Assuming Ridley does well, he’ll eventually take a good chunk of the targets away from the rest of the offense, especially Jones. However, Kirk and Jones have developed a strong rapport with the second-year quarterback and appear to be looking to continue that success next season.
Training camp was intriguing to see what Ridley would look like, and after Lawrence left the team to improve one of the league’s top offenses and get a true stud, Lawrence made another move. We hope to make a leap forward.
Conclusion
If Ridley can get over the demons that plagued the 2021 season, he could be a steal in the redraft and the Dynasty League. We’ve seen it, and we’re looking forward to making even more leaps in the second year.
Keep an eye on The Wolf’s 2023 Fantasy Football Rankings to see where Ridley and his teammates land on the Big Board, which will be updated during the offseason.
