Watch for rookie WR breakouts
THIS year’s crop of rookie wide receivers has generated a tremendous amount of buzz in the fantasy football community. Every year, fantasy owners salivate over the prospect of being the one who drafts the next Odell Beckham Jr., and the class of 2018 has looked like a potential gold mine. The early hype focused on Michael Gallup and Courtland Sutton. Then we couldn’t stop talking about Anthony Miller, D.J. Moore and James Washington. But after an amazing Week 3 performance, there won’t be a single league out there where you will see Falcons wideout Calvin Ridley available anymore.
It wasn’t like Ridley was some under-theradar name no one knew about heading into this season. He was a star at Alabama, and the Falcons drafted him in the first round. We just tempered expectations as he was still just the third option behind Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu. Week 1 was quiet, but after Jones injured his calf during Week 2 against the Panthers, Ridley started to see extra targets come his way. He responded with four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Welcome to Club NFL, Mr. Ridley. Your table is right this way.
Fantasy pundits preach all the time about opportunity, and that was the foundation upon which Ri dley’s Week 3 146-yard, three-touchdown effort was built. In fact, this breakout performance shouldn’t have taken anyone by surprise. The handwriting was on the wall after his targets increased during Week 2, and the Falcons’ practice schedule throughout the week set the stage for this campaign.
With Jones sidelined throughout the week with a calf injury, Ridley spent all his time with quarterback Matt Ryan. They worked on the youngster’s route running, they worked on their timing together and they built the type of rapport a wide receiver needs with his quarterback to find success at this level.
Obviously, opportunity isn’t the sole reason for Ridley’s success. He has been gifted with amazing talent, strong hands and game-breaking speed. He can take it across the middle just as well as he can stretch the field for big plays. But without this opportunity to shine, we may never have seen the full scope of his talents. He’ll be one of the most highly coveted players on waivers this week, but he won’t be alone this season. Opportunity will knock for many others this season. You just have to be standing near the right door.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m. Go to Fantasy Alarm. com for all your fantasy sports advice, NFL player rankings.