How Drafting Calvin Ridley Will Return The Falcons’ Offense To Their 2016 Ways
The Falcons drafted Alabama Wide Receiver Calvin Ridley in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft which puts their offense in position to be the best in the NFL once again.
The Falcons’ offense ranked eighth overall in 2017 and many still felt that that was a significant step back from 2016 where they ranked first overall. Yes, they dropped from 34 to 22 points per game but still maintained themselves as a top 10 offense along with finally forming a top 10 defense which ranked ninth in the NFL.
Atlanta struggled to find their identity from 2016 last season as they were adjusting to Steve Sarkisian’s first year as offensive coordinator with the team. In 2018, I think he will finally be acclimated to the professional level and now with the acquisition of Alabama Wide Receiver Calvin Ridley, someone he worked with Nick Saban, he has much more options to work with on the Falcons’ offense.
In what many viewed as a down year for Wide Receiver Julio Jones, he still compiled 88 receptions for 1,444 yards. The red mark that critics looked at was the decrease in touchdowns at three.
Jones did see many double teams in the end zone despite him also not being utilized enough in the red zone. Having Ridley on offense will take the load off of Jones as he will find openings to keep the chains moving as Jones will continue to see the same double teams.
Ridley was sensational at Alabama last season as he did an exceptional job of getting in the open, making huge plays, along with his ability to increase his yards after the catch.
His efforts totaled 63 receptions for 967 yards and five touchdowns. Opposing defenses will also have their hands full with defending Wide Receiver Mohamed Sanu, who also did a solid job of keeping drives going since he arrived in Atlanta in 2016.
Matt Ryan having Ridley on offense is sure to propel the Falcons’ offense to at least the top five in the NFL in 2018. Expect the contributions of Ridley to also help the Atlanta offense to execute on the deep ball, another aspect of their identity that decreased from 2016 to 2017. They will be in the same conversation as the Rams and Saints’ offenses. Atlanta still has enough to return to the Super Bowl this season on their home turf can they finally get it done in 2018?