Falcons Fantasy: Calvin Ridley Value Sinking?
Calvin Ridley is the clear No. 1 wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons heading in to the 2021 season, but SI Fantasy isn't expecting a huge improvement in numbers.
Ridley finished the 2020 season as the Falcons leading receiver with 90 catches, 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns. His yardage placed him fifth in the NFL among wide receivers, while his touchdown total put him at eighth.
According to FantasyData, Ridley finished as the fourth most valuable receiver in 2020 behind Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, and Stefon Diggs.
SI Fantasy has Ridley dropping to sixth in their 2021 projections, but not so much because of Ridley's loss of production. On the contrary, his numbers are projected to remain relatively static taking into account a 17th game with 101 catches for 1,386 yards and 10 touchdowns.
SI Fantasy simply thinks Justin Jefferson, DK Metcalf, and DeAndre Hopkins are better options this year.
While many expect a large jump in production from Ridley in 2021, it stands to reason that even with Julio Jones gone, Ridley's numbers won't improve much. It's possible that they could even decline.
Jones was injured for much of the 2020 season. He had his lowest number of receptions (51) and yards (771) since 2013, a season in which he only played five games. It's not as if this will be Ridley's first season as the go-to receiver for the Falcons.
Kyle Pitts was selected with the Falcons' No. 4 pick in the NFL Draft. He was the highest tight end ever selected, and he should take away some targets from Ridley.
But new head coach Arthur Smith may be the biggest reason Ridley doesn't see a dramatic rise in raw output. The offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, Smith relies on a much more balanced attack than we saw in Atlanta the last several seasons.
Tennessee was 30th in pass attempts last season with 485 while Atlanta was fourth in the NFL with 628. That's nine less attempts per game.
READ MORE: Atlanta Falcons Rookie TE Kyle Pitts: Wave of The NFL Future ..
While the Falcons don't have Derrick Henry in the backfield, the running game, and Mike Davis in particular are going to see a lot more action than 2020.
While Ridley's fantasy numbers could fall in 2021, the Atlanta Falcons offense on the whole should be much-improved. That's a tradeoff the Falcons would be happy to make.
