After about two years of not playing football, Jacksonville Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley returned to the NFL this year. He was with a new team, but fantasy football managers were hoping for the same old Ridley.
The last time he played an entire season in the NFL, Ridley was the WR4 with 90 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine TDs.
Ridley did seem to slide back into the role of a WR1 in 2023 right away. In Week 1, he was targeted 11 times, caught eight balls for 101 yards, and had one TD. He was the WR6.
However, the last two weeks have been rough, with the Jags losing to both Kansas City and Houston and Trevor Lawrence having problems getting going. Lawrence’s problems translated to bad games for Ridley, with neither of the last two weeks finishing better than WR67.
Ridley’s target share has also decreased over the first three games. However, the entire Jacksonville team has had a rough last two weeks with lots of dropped balls, near misses, and penalties.
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Calvin Ridley’s Rest-of-Season Fantasy Outlook
Ridley comes in as WR17 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings this week, and better days are ahead. Remember that it had been a long time since Ridley had played football, so some ups and downs will come with the territory, and he still had the second-most targets for the Jags in Week 2.
Moving forward, Ridley should look more streamlined; I expect the mental mistakes to decrease and the talent to shine through.
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Both head coach Doug Pederson and QB Trevor Lawrence believe in Ridley. Pederson said after the loss on Sunday, “Calvin wants to do so well, so good, so much. He wants to prove it, but he doesn’t have to. He’s a good player, and he doesn’t have to do it all. Just be Calvin.”
Should I Trade Calvin Ridley?
Don’t get nervous and jump ship on a talented player after a few bumps early on in the year. Ridley has the possibility of finishing as a top-12 WR.
If you drafted him, you knew it might not all be roses getting there. Keep in mind he has a revenge game against Atlanta this week.
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