The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t had a chance to see Calvin Ridley suit up in a teal jersey yet. The suspended wide receiver is expected to be reinstated soon, but when he makes his regular season debut with the team, it’ll be 23 months removed from his last NFL game.
Despite Ridley’s lengthy absence from football, the receiver hasn’t been forgotten by the next generation of pass catchers.
At the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, USC wide receiver Jordan Addison singled out Ridley and one other star receiver in the league as the players who have most influenced his game.
“I pattern my game after Calvin Ridley, Stefon Diggs,” Addison told reporters Friday. “What I take from them is just route running, you know being able to separate at the top of the route, create separation.”
Addison, a former Fred Biletnikoff Award winner, has drawn comparisons to Ridley after finishing his collegiate career with 29 touchdown receptions. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network ranks Ridley as the top wide receiver of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Ridley caught 19 touchdown passes in three seasons at Alabama before he was picked in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. In four seasons with the Falcons, Ridley caught 248 passes for 3,342 yards with 28 touchdowns.
