2018 NFL Re-draft: Where's Falcons Ex Calvin Ridley?

The Atlanta Falcons selected Alabama receiver Calvin Ridley No. 26 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.

The Atlanta Falcons 2020 campaign is one they hope doesn't happen again for a long time. Finishing the season 4-12, with two different five game losing streaks - one to open the year and the to close the year - the Falcons were never once in playoff contention. 

But in the midst a disappointing season, Atlanta receiver Calvin Ridley was emerging as a legitimate top-10 pass-catcher in the NFL. 

Throughout the second losing streak and final five games of the year, Ridley averaged 7.2 receptions and 115.4 yards per game. And to make those numbers even more impressive, the former first-round draft pick led Atlanta along with whoever it was playing in receiver yards in four of five contests. 

However, the next time Ridley steps foot on the football field for a regular season game, it will have been nearly 36 months since the last time he cracked 100 receiving yards. Now a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Alabama product was slotted as the No. 29 pick in Bleacher Report's recent "Re-Drafting the 2018 NFL Draft."

"The 2018 Jaguars had Super Bowl aspirations, but after ranking a so-so 17th in the league in passing offense in 2017, they knew they needed offensive firepower," Bleacher Report writes. "Their selection of DJ Chark in Round 2 wasn't a bad pick, but with all due respect to what Chark has accomplished (including a Pro Bowl trip of his own), he isn't on the same level talent-wise as Calvin Ridley.At least, not the Calvin Ridley we saw tear up the NFL in 2020."

In the same re-draft, Atlanta selected at pick No. 26 and chose current Jaguars receiver Christian Kirk. 

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Follow Riley Sheppard on Twitter @RileyDSheppard.

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