2018 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Calvin Ridley

2018 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2018 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Home Adonis Alexander, CB, Virginia Tech Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma Dorance Armstrong, DE, Kansas Marcel Ateman, WR, Oklahoma State Anthony Averett, CB, Alabama Kalen Ballage, RB, Arizona State Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State Sam Beal, CB, Western Michigan Andrew Brown, DE, Virginia Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma Taven Bryan, DT, Florida Lorenzo Carter, LB, Georgia D.J. Chark, WR, LSU Geron Christian, OT, Louisville Bradley Chubb, DE, N.C. State Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia Simmie Cobbs, WR, Indiana Tyrell Crosby, OT, Oregon James Daniels, C, Iowa Sam Darnold, QB, USC Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA Carlton Davis, CB, Auburn Duke Dawson, CB, Florida Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech Duke Ejiofor, DE, Wake Forest Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama Luke Falk, QB, Washington State Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State Rasheem Green, DT, USC Derrius Guice, RB, LSU DaeSean Hamilton, WR, Penn State Da'Shawn Hand, DE, Alabama Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama Will Hernandez, G, UTEP Sam Hubbard, DE, Ohio State Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida Hayden Hurst, TE, South Carolina Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan Donte Jackson, CB, LSU Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville Joshua Jackson, CB, Iowa Derwin James, S, Florida State Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas Kerryon Johnson, RB, Auburn Ronald Jones, RB, USC Arden Key, DE, LSU Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M Micah Kiser, LB, Virginia Harold Landry, DE, Boston College Darius Leonard, LB, South Carolina State Iman Marshall, CB, USC Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma Tarvarus McFadden, CB, Florida State Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame Sony Michel, RB, Georgia Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA D.J. Moore, WR, Maryland Nick Nelson, CB, Wisconsin Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado Brian O'Neill, OT, Pittsburgh Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford Billy Price, C, Ohio State Frank Ragnow, C, Arkansas Martinas Rankin, OT, Mississippi State Justin Reid, S, Stanford Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State Jaylen Samuels, RB, N.C. State Tim Settle, DT, Virginia Tech Braden Smith, G, Auburn Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia Equanimeous St. Brown, WR, Notre Dame Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU Chad Thomas, DE, Miami Trenton Thompson, DT, Georgia Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State Vita Vea, DT, Washington Akrum Wadley, RB, Iowa Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson Connor Williams, OT, Texas Isaiah Wynn, G, Georgia

Calvin Ridley, 6-0/189 Wide Receiver Alabama

Calvin Ridley Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Playmaker

Excellent route-runner; sudden out of breaks

Explodes out of cuts

Threat to score on any touch

Very good running after the catch

Game-breaking speed

Forces teams to keep a safety deep

Impacts game plans

Quick release off of the line

First-step quickness

Stretches the defense

Body control

Quick feet

Leaping ability

Quality hands in most games

Adept at finding soft spots in zone

Can defeat double teams

Good athleticism

Quality blocker

Durable

Experienced 3-year starter

Excelled against elite competition

Weaknesses:

Thin frame

Decent, but not great, height

Can have minor bouts of drops

Summary: During Nick Saban’s historic run at Alabama, the Crimson Tide have been known for their elite defense, which is annually filled with early-round NFL talent; a tough running game; and one of their other offensive staples, a play-making receiver. Julio Jones and Amari Cooper started that tradition, and Ridley maintained after debuting as a freshman.

Ridley did a phenomenal job as the replacement for Cooper in 2015. The freshman notched 89 receptions for 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns that season. As a sophomore, Ridley made 72 catches for 769 yards with seven touchdowns. Oddly enough, Cooper and Jones also had less production as sophomores compared to their freshman seasons, but ended up having superb junior years before declaring early for the NFL. Ridley’s junior season was impressive while being held back by the passing limitations of Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts. Ridley had 55 catches for 967 yards with four touchdowns in 2017.



In surveying sources from five teams, the most common name who came up as the top receiver was Ridley. The talented junior got a lot of praise for his route-running, quickness, and generally having good hands. Scouting sources say that, from a skill-set perspective, Ridley is comparable to Cooper in terms of the same strengths, weaknesses, and similar size. They feel that Ridley is suited to make an instant impact in the NFL.

Ridley has a lot of assets to his game as he is a fast receiver who is very adept at creating separation. With his quick feet and sudden athleticism, Ridley is a very good route-runner. He is silky smooth in his routes with no wasted steps or rounded off cuts. That makes him very tough on defensive backs as he can put his foot in the ground and explode out of cuts. That explosion translates to Ridley also having a second gear to break downfield and is dangerous with the ball in his hands. Ridley is a fast route-runner on short to intermediate routes, so he will be a nice third-down weapon as a pro to quickly uncover and present an open target for his quarterback. With his speed to run by defensive backs, Ridley stretches a defense over the top and is a true deep-threat receiver as well. He has the ability to take a slant to the house or run a go route and fly by defensive backs.

For the NFL, Ridley could fit well as a X – split end – receiver who works along the sideline and challenges teams vertically. Given his smaller frame, his pro team may want to protect him from doing too much work in the middle of the field and sending him across the play.

Though Ridley is the consensus top wideout for the 2018 NFL Draft, he doesn’t come without some concerns, with multiple sources independently noting that his thin frame worries them for the NFL. With that being one factor, some scouts have said they are grading Ridley as a late first-rounder. He could end up going higher out of team need at his premium position, however.





Player Comparison: Amari Cooper. Ridley is very similar to Cooper as a player. Both of them are fast receivers who are good route-runners, sudden in and out of their breaks, challenge defenses with their speed, and are potential No. 1 receivers for an offense. Cooper was the fourth-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and Ridley also could go early in the 2018 NFL Draft.

NFL Matches: Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Washington, Arizona, Green Bay, Baltimore, Dallas and Buffalo

There are a lot of teams that could be in the market for a wide receiver upgrade in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Bears and 49ers both could consider more receiving talent. Chicago signed two receivers for Mitch Trubisky, so Ridley going to the Bears seems unlikely. Ridley would be a nice fit for Kyle Shanahan across from Marquise Goodwin, but going with the ninth-overall pick seems too high for Ridley.

In the teens, there are a lot of potential landing spots for Ridley. The Dolphins could consider bringing Ridley back to South Florida as they need to replace Jarvis Landry. The Redskins have had some turnover at receiver, and Ridley could still finish off their receiving corps. He would be a good fit in Jay Gruden’s offense.

Green Bay could use more receiving talent after moving on from Jordy Nelson. Arizona has to consider life after Larry Fitzgerald and could use more receiving talent around the future Hall of Famer.

At 16, the Ravens need a No. 1 receiver, and Ridley could be a vertical weapon to go across from Michael Crabtree. Three picks later, Ridley could land in Dallas. There have been rumblings of the Cowboys moving on from Dez Bryant before long, and Ridley could replace Bryant as the No. 1 receiver for Dak Prescott.

The Bills may end up trading both of their first-rounders to move up for a quarterback, but if they don’t, Ridley could be in play for them with their second selection of Round 1.

2018 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2018 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Home Adonis Alexander, CB, Virginia Tech Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma Dorance Armstrong, DE, Kansas Marcel Ateman, WR, Oklahoma State Anthony Averett, CB, Alabama Kalen Ballage, RB, Arizona State Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State Sam Beal, CB, Western Michigan Andrew Brown, DE, Virginia Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma Taven Bryan, DT, Florida Lorenzo Carter, LB, Georgia D.J. Chark, WR, LSU Geron Christian, OT, Louisville Bradley Chubb, DE, N.C. State Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia Simmie Cobbs, WR, Indiana Tyrell Crosby, OT, Oregon James Daniels, C, Iowa Sam Darnold, QB, USC Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA Carlton Davis, CB, Auburn Duke Dawson, CB, Florida Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech Duke Ejiofor, DE, Wake Forest Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama Luke Falk, QB, Washington State Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State Rasheem Green, DT, USC Derrius Guice, RB, LSU DaeSean Hamilton, WR, Penn State Da'Shawn Hand, DE, Alabama Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama Will Hernandez, G, UTEP Sam Hubbard, DE, Ohio State Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida Hayden Hurst, TE, South Carolina Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan Donte Jackson, CB, LSU Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville Joshua Jackson, CB, Iowa Derwin James, S, Florida State Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas Kerryon Johnson, RB, Auburn Ronald Jones, RB, USC Arden Key, DE, LSU Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M Micah Kiser, LB, Virginia Harold Landry, DE, Boston College Darius Leonard, LB, South Carolina State Iman Marshall, CB, USC Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma Tarvarus McFadden, CB, Florida State Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame Sony Michel, RB, Georgia Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA D.J. Moore, WR, Maryland Nick Nelson, CB, Wisconsin Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado Brian O'Neill, OT, Pittsburgh Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford Billy Price, C, Ohio State Frank Ragnow, C, Arkansas Martinas Rankin, OT, Mississippi State Justin Reid, S, Stanford Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State Jaylen Samuels, RB, N.C. State Tim Settle, DT, Virginia Tech Braden Smith, G, Auburn Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia Equanimeous St. Brown, WR, Notre Dame Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU Chad Thomas, DE, Miami Trenton Thompson, DT, Georgia Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State Vita Vea, DT, Washington Akrum Wadley, RB, Iowa Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson Connor Williams, OT, Texas Isaiah Wynn, G, Georgia

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