Week 12 vs Raiders
Ridley returned to game action for the first time since Week 8 and saw nine targets and caught five of them for 90 yards and didn't see much limitations from his foot injury, playing over 80% of snaps. Now he faces a Vegas team that has been pretty good against the pass. But with Ridley back in full swing, his upside is back as he looks for his first touchdown since Week 7. He's a top 10 option this week.
Week 8 vs Panthers
Ridley failed to score a touchdown against the Panthers for the first time in his career, but still posted 136 yards in the first meeting. And that was with Julio Jones not playing. At the very least, Jones is looking very limited and questionable for Thursday, so Matt Ryan will likely lean on Ridley yet again against a Panthers secondary not as strong as it was three weeks ago.
Week 7 vs Lions
Ridley may not have reached 100 yards against the Vikings, but he found the end zone for the first time since Week 2. And with Julio Jones back and Matt Ryan feeling good again, Ridley is ready to soar again against a poor Lions defense. Ridley is our No. 3 WR this week.
Week 6 vs Vikings
Ridley came back in fine fashion last week with 136 yards. That's four games over 100 yards this season. The downside is he hasn't scored since Week 2. But as long as he keeps getting double-digit targets, the opportunity is there. Week 4 is likely going to be a fluke bad game when it's all said and done.
Week 5 vs Panthers
Ridley's streak of three straight 100-yard receiving games came to a screeching halt Monday with a big, fat goose egg against the Packers. Despite a five-catch, 110-yard day in Week 3, that was in 13 targets. Add five catchless targets Monday and Ridley is now with just five catches in his last 18 targets. Ridley still is brimming with upside, but is also dealing with thigh and knee injuries that need to be monitored. Fun fact that could give you some positive hopes: Ridley has scored a touchdown in all four games he has played against the Panthers in his career.
Week 4 vs Packers
There doesn't seem to be any stopping of Calvin Ridley so far. Three games, three 100+ yard performances and he is currently second in the league in receiving yards, behind only DeAndre Hopkins. It makes sense why that is how we have those receivers stacked this week (Hopkins has a bit of an easier matchup against Carolina). But Ridley is a star and showed he can carry the load even with Jones and Gage out.
Week 3 vs Bears
Calvin Ridley isn't just breaking through this season, he has busted right through the door. Back-to-back 100-yard, two-touchdown games to start the season. And with Julio Jones banged up, Ridley will continue to be fed targets after averaging eight through the first two weeks. He's our No. 4 WR this week.
Week 2 vs Cowboys
Ridley's breakout season started off on quite the high note with 130 yards on nine catches and two touchdowns. Atlanta actually had three receivers go for over 100 yards in Week 1 as Russell Gage also reached that mark. Atlanta may not be that explosive every week, but Ridley proved he will be a viable fantasy option this season and we have him in WR1 lineup territory this week as our 11th-ranked receiver.
Ridley is ready to return to the field after missing the final three games of 2019 and this is looking like Ridley's breakout season. He begins the year against the Seahawks and their new-look secondary. In Week 8 last season, Ridley caught four passes for 70 yards and that was with Matt Schaub throwing the football (and throwing for 460 yards). He has Matty Ice back for this one. Ridley should be a firm WR2 and get the season off on the right foot.
Fantasy Upside
Calvin Ridley is one of the top breakout candidates for 2020. He'll now have a full season as the WR2 in Atlanta, after getting some work during the second half of 2019 after the Falcons traded Mohamed Sanu to the Patriots. His usage went up during the backstretch of the season, though three of those games Atlanta was also without tight end Austin Hooper. As John Paulsen notes: "Ridley has averaged 4.4 receptions for 58 yards and 0.59 touchdowns on 6.3 targets through his first two seasons. Those are midrange WR2 numbers, and that’s where he’s going in early best ball drafts. However, that might be his floor if he plays a full season since his numbers spiked (to 5.7-82-0.50 on 8.2 targets per game) once Mohamed Snau was traded in the middle of the season, though Austin Hooper was out for three of those games. (Ridley averaged 5.7 targets in the three games that Hooper played.) "
Fantasy Downside
Ridley's ceiling is obviously capped with Julio Jones on the other side, but we are still projecting him with over 1,000 yards and seven to eight touchdowns.
2020 Bottom Line
Ridley is brimming with upside in 2020 as the full-time WR2 in Atlanta and can easily be drafted as a fantasy WR2 in your drafts. Ridley is currently our WR16 in 0.5PPR formats. It might not be the worst idea in the world to stack Ridley, Ryan and Jones. Just a thought,
