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Those that ignore historical past are doomed to repeat it. Its a cliché
heard many occasions. Or how about this one “Madness is
doing the identical factor again and again and anticipating totally different
outcomes.
In our query of the day, the query actually is
which
historical past will Calvin Ridley be repeating? JuJu Smith-Schuster or
DeAndre Hopkins?
So lets have a look at the similarities between Steelers
No.1 receiver Antonio Brown leaving Pittsburgh making JuJu Smith-Schuster
the highest receiver in Pittsburgh in 2019 (his third season), Andre Johnson being lower by Houston (taking part in for Indianapolis) leaving Hopkins in cost and Julio Jones being traded to Tennessee this
offseason leaving Ridley as the highest man in Atlanta this season,
his fourth yr within the NFL.
All three males benefitted from being the No.2 man on their staff
whereas defenses centered on the opposite aspect of the sector the place a
famous person did his work. The trio improved their manufacturing in
every of their seasons of their position as Robin to
their Batman.
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Nonetheless, that’s the place the similarity ends.
The minute Brown pressured his approach out of Pittsburgh to Oakland,
then New England and eventually Tampa Bay, Smith-Schuster because the
No.1 receiver wasnt what any fantasy homeowners anticipated or
hoped for. He regressed. A few of his 2019 numbers could be argued
had been the results of poor quarterback play as Ben Roethlisberger
went down in Week 2 and his replacements (Mason Rudolph and Devin
Duck Hodges) had been lower than passable (learn terrible).
Nonetheless, after Large Ben returned in 2020, Smith-Schusters
numbers didnt even attain his rookie yr totals.
In Houston, after Johnson was lower by the Texans and signed a
three-year cope with the Indianapolis Colts, Hopkins thrived in
the solo highlight. With solely two journeymen, Nate Washington
and Cecil Shorts, seeing greater than 40 targets, Hopkins garnered
192 targets (third-most that season) and his manufacturing jumped
41% to twenty.6 FPts/G which ranked fifth-best in 2015.
Now to our present scenario.
Down in Atlanta, taking part in second fiddle to Jones, Ridley has improved
in every of his three seasons, from 13.1 FPts/G to fifteen and 18.8
final season. The distinction between Ridley and Smith-Schuster
may be that in 2020 we noticed a glimpse of the longer term when Jones
was sidelined for a significant portion of the season by a hamstring
damage and Ridley proved himself to be strong because the No.1 man.
Within the six video games final season Ridley performed whereas Jones sat injured
he produced a surprising 21.9 FPts/G. That was a 27.3% enhance
in manufacturing over when the 2 receivers performed collectively and
extrapolated for a full season would have ranked him in a tie
for second within the league with Tyreek Hill behind solely Davante Adams.
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The query will stays, nevertheless, whether or not defenses, having
a whole low season to arrange for a Ridley-led receiving corps
can be totally different.
And naturally the well being of quarterback Matt Ryan is paramount.
Ryan has thrown for a minimum of 4,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons.
Ought to one thing occur to Ridleys starter, because it did to
Roethlisberger, who amongst us thinks A.J. McCarron might produce
at that stage?
Different questions pop up in Atlanta for fantasy homeowners to ponder.
What is going to the addition of uber-talented rookie tight finish Kyle Pitts do to the equation? Will the Falcons play extra two-tight
finish formations with Pitts and Hayden Hurst? Will Pitts truly
play extra outdoors than tight finish? Will Russell Gage be an element?
Right here at FFToday, we predict Ridley can be neither Hopkins nor
JuJu. Oh, hell be a top-five receiver, however to not the extent
he produced final season. Its simply more durable when all eyes
are on you. Beneath are our projections for Ridley.
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