Calvin Ridley

Heading into 2020, Ridley had more or less lived up to his first-round pedigree, but last season constituted a full breakout. Despite missing a game, Ridley finished tied for fifth in yards, sixth in YPT (9.6), first in 100-yard games (8) and scored nine times. He also led all receivers in aDOT (14.6) and air yards (2,067), i.e., Ridley’s 143 targets were not of the dink-and-dunk variety. Unsurprisingly, he tied Justin Jefferson for the league lead in 20-yard catches with 23. At 6-1, 190, and with 4.43 speed, Ridley is a good athlete, but no physical freak. He relies on quickness, route running, versatility — lining up in the slot or outside — and his rapport with Matt Ryan. And now, with Julio Jones out of the picture, Ridley is one of the favorites to lead the league in targets. He topped 100 yards in five of the seven games Jones missed last year, averaging a whopping 11.3 targets (Davante Adams led the NFL with 10.6 per game). New HC Arthur Smith hopes to have a balanced offense where that type of target volume is far-fetched, but Smith faces an uphill battle in Year 1 with Mike Davis as his projected lead back, and he also built the offense in which Ryan Tannehill tossed 55 TDs against 12 INTs in 26 starts the last two years. The Ryan-to-Ridley connection should stay hot, at least for one more season. Ridley had minor foot surgery in June but is expected to be ready for training camp. Read Past Outlooks