Calvin Ridley
Ridley is a low-volume, third-or-fourth-option receiver in Tennessee's offense through five games, and the current reporting shows no sign that has changed.
Role
In the Week 5 26-3 loss to Houston he played 35 snaps (56%), per a Yahoo Sports snap-count piece. Rookie Carnell Tate (48) and Wan'Dale Robinson (47) led the receivers, and Elic Ayomanor played 33. RotoWire has him at five catches on eight targets for 81 yards over five games. It also notes he has had two or fewer catches in every game and has not topped 35 yards. The same piece says Tyjae Spears caught all nine of his targets. Titansized reported that in the Week 1 loss to the Jets he ran 25 routes on 26 passing snaps (96.2%) but drew zero targets. I did not find an official depth chart reading, so I make no claim about starter status.
He is still on the field a lot. His Week 1 route participation was near 96%, and on Titansized's reading the problem was that the offense stayed underneath and did not target him, not that he was benched. Quarterback Cam Ward looked for him on the opening play against Houston, a 23-yard completion per NFL.com and club video titles. If the passing game starts pushing the ball downfield under offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, he is the veteran with the deep-ball résumé. Titansized noted he averaged 17.8 yards per catch in seven games with Ward last season.
The volume is very low and the team is losing badly. Targets are going to Tate, Robinson and the running backs, especially Spears. His Week 5 snap share (56%) is below Tate's and Robinson's totals. Ridley is 31, and the Titans' offense has barely attacked downfield. RotoWire describes a low fantasy floor going into Week 6 against the Colts.
Where analysts split
Broad agreement that the current role is small. The only open question is whether the coaching staff changes the scheme to get him downfield targets, and I found no reporting that it will.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
Others at WR
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