When Calvin Ridley returned to the NFL this year after not playing football for two years, fantasy football managers did not know what to expect. Would we see the Ridley we remembered — the WR4 from 2020 with almost 1,400 yards receiving? He was great in Week 1, and managers exhaled after Trevor Lawrence targeted him 11 times. Ridley went for 101 yards with a TD and finished the week as WR6.
However, it has been rough going since then. Ridley has not finished better than WR26 in the past two weeks, and the Jacksonville offense has struggled to get going. Ridley’s targets have steadily been decreasing — he only had two thrown his way on Sunday.
Ridley has also been having problems securing the football once it is thrown in his direction — he has the second-highest dropped pass percentage among WRs with at least 20 targets (10%).
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Calvin Ridley’s Rest-of-Season Fantasy Outlook
Ridley comes in as WR16 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings this week, playing against a Buffalo Bills defense this week that held Miami WRs to 163 yards receiving last week. The schedule for WRs opens up for a bit after the Bills, as Jacksonville plays Indy, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh before they head off on a bye week.
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Ridley definitely had to shake off some rust, but you would hope after four weeks, he would be getting back into a groove — the same with Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence has gotten better over the last three games, so it is hopeful for him as well.
I see Ridley as a solid WR2 for the rest of the season, but Christian Kirk does cause me pause. Kirk had 80% of the WR targets on Sunday, and although it won’t remain that high, he is clearly valued in Jacksonville. Zay Jones will also return at some point.
Should I Trade Ridley?
I still believe in the talent of Ridley, and I am not trading him at this point.
Enjoy the next few weeks of good matchups. He should settle in more to the offense and perform well, and if you still have an itching to cut him loose, do it when you can get more value.