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Calvin Ridley

Can No. 2 put up No. 1 numbers?

I'm participating in another slow draft, and when my pick came up at the end of the fourth round, 45 players in, the highest-ranked player on my board was Calvin Ridley. I took him, as the 16th wide receiver selected (he's in our top 10 at the position), leaving me to wonder if Atlanta's No. 2 can finish with No. 1 production.

It's tough to do. Just looking at Atlanta over the last dozen years -- since Matt Ryan entered the league -- they've had a No. 2 wideout put up top-25 numbers four times. That includes Ridley finishing 20th among PPR wideouts two years ago, as a rookie. He was 27th in 2019; would have been better had he not missed the last three games with an injury. In the table, No. 2 wide receivers in each season are in bold.

ATLANTA NO. 1-NO. 2 WIDE RECEIVERS, 2008-PRESENT
YearPlayerGTgtNoYdsTDRk
2019Julio Jones1515799139463
2019Calvin Ridley139363866727
2018Julio Jones16170113167783
2018Calvin Ridley1692648211020
2017Julio Jones1614888144437
2017Mohamed Sanu159667703529
2016Julio Jones1412983140966
2016Mohamed Sanu158159653451
2015Julio Jones16203136187182
2015Roddy White167043506173
2014Julio Jones15163104159366
2014Roddy White1412580921721
2013Harry Douglas16132851067223
2013Roddy White139763711344
2012Roddy White16142921351710
2012Julio Jones161287911981011
2011Roddy White16180100129685
2011Julio Jones139554959821
2010Roddy White161791151389101
2010Michael Jenkins117341505270
2009Roddy White16165851153119
2009Michael Jenkins159050635162
2008Roddy White1614888138274
2008Michael Jenkins168150777341

Only once did Atlanta have a pair of top-12 wideouts: 2012, when Roddy White and Julio Jones turned the trick.

On behalf of Ridley, Atlanta often had a quality No. 3 wide receiver in a lot of those years: Mohamed Sanu the past couple, guys like Harry Douglas (who put up No. 1 numbers back in 2013, remarkably enough). And while we're high on Hayden Hurst, no one should compare him to Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, who soaked up top-3 looks in the offense for several years. And again, had he stayed healthy Ridley would have been top 20 in each of the last two seasons.

But I think it's fair to be a little apprehensive about Ridley putting up top-12 numbers. Probably about his ceiling, barring an injury to Julio Jones or something. I think where I selected him, 16th, should be about right.

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index