Where's the Love for Calvin Ridley?

[Johnny23]

I actually think it's because he little brother out shined him in the NC game. However, having said that if Saban would have put in the Hawaii kid earlier in the season he might have gone off.

No might about it. He had numbers his freshman year with a pocket passer in Coker comiserate with his talents. Hurts is a terrible passer.

 

[jay94]

I am on record as saying i love Ridley but he is 24 and will be almost 30 when his rookie deal runs out,i am not sure we want to resign a 30 year old WR.

To much is made of the second contract, guess what the second contract because of the timing if they are top 15 at their respective they will be the highest paid in the league, this is a very overrated concept. He can run great routes and that should let him stay in the league longer just because of that, all he has to do is avoid injuries. I'm not saying he needs to be the pick, just he gets way to much hate.

 

[AmericanCowboy]

To much is made of the second contract, guess what the second contract because of the timing if they are top 15 at their respective they will be the highest paid in the league, this is a very overrated concept. He can run great routes and that should let him stay in the league longer just because of that, all he has to do is avoid injuries. I'm not saying he needs to be the pick, just he gets way to much hate.

He gets a ton of hate.

I think Ridley is impressive and being able to run good routes and be a perfectionist with it from a guy who we hope becomes our number 1 receiver has a residual effect to everyone else (if he can be that number 1 eventually).

All of that said, WRs seem to always go high. I know they aren’t suspecting it but I have serious doubts that Ridley or even Moore will be available at 19.

 

[jay94]

I don't care if we draft him or not, but our fans seem to think were getting a top five player at 19.... I don't know how to convey/articulate that this isn't the case in a way that the fanbase who has hated on Romo his whole career to understand that. Watch more top ten highlights and form opinions, the general Cowboys fan.

 

[visionary]

Where's the hype?

Maybe got lost in the facts

 

[beware_d-ware]

I don't think he's as "explosive" or "as great of a route runner" as he's claimed to be. What happens is Bama pounds the rock 40 times a week, then they call play action, Ridley crosses the face of some CB caught staring in the backfield, and he's wide open for a score. It's true that Jalen Hurts is a bum, but that whole offense makes his life pretty easy sometimes.

And there are DTs with 31" vertical jumps. No excuse for a freaking 180 pound WR to be that lacking in explosiveness, especially not a first round pick. Couple in the age, and I feel like he's the most overrated prospect in this draft. IMO, he is a 3rd round type slot receiver.

 

[Hadenough]

Hes 189 lbs...and 6ft...very thin ...ud rather have Sutton

Hmmmm thats not good!

 

[cowboyec]

I aint drafting him to compete in the superstars competition...Im draftin' him to get open(which he can do) and catch the damn thing(which he can do).

 

[School]

I don't think he's as "explosive" or "as great of a route runner" as he's claimed to be. What happens is Bama pounds the rock 40 times a week, then they call play action, Ridley crosses the face of some CB caught staring in the backfield, and he's wide open for a score. It's true that Jalen Hurts is a bum, but that whole offense makes his life pretty easy sometimes.

And there are DTs with 31" vertical jumps. No excuse for a freaking 180 pound WR to be that lacking in explosiveness, especially not a first round pick. Couple in the age, and I feel like he's the most overrated prospect in this draft. IMO, he is a 3rd round type slot receiver.

He didn't test well either. Guys with his measurables and athleticism have rarely become top wide receivers. Of all the guys that compare to him in recent history, only Chad Johnson really succeeded.

 

[CATCH17]

Older, average athlete, thinly, relies on route running which all of these younger guys will naturally get better at in the Pro's.



I'm not drafting a #2 WR with my first round pick. Sorry.

Everyone wants to acknowledge he's a Z WR and they are still willing to call him the best in the class. Get out of here. I'm not giving up our most valuable resource for a freaking Z receiver.

 

[JIMMYBUFFETT]

Hes 189 lbs...and 6ft...very thin ...ud rather have Sutton

Marvin Harrison was 6ft. 185 and played a very similar game. I don't know that he'll ever be that type of receiver, but he played in a big time program, against the countries best, for one of the best coaches alive, and with really spotty QB play.

 

[baltcowboy]

Marvin Harrison was 6ft. 185 and played a very similar game. I don't know that he'll ever be that type of receiver, but he played in a big time program, against the countries best, for one of the best coaches alive, and with really spotty QB play.

Harrison had Peyton Manning as his quarterback.

 

[JIMMYBUFFETT]

Harrison had Peyton Manning as his quarterback.

Yeah, and Manning only threw the ball. Harrison was the one who had to catch 1102 passes, score 128 TDs, and gain 14,580 in yards over his career. Manning had the easy part .

 

[jday]

Damn good article for him .......have to admit, comments from the 2 scouts, have me thinking Hmmm.


Where's the Love for Calvin Ridley? Why the Draft's Top WR Doesn't Get More Hype
MATT MILLERAPRIL 17, 2018


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...t-get-more-hype?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium

In today's pass-heavy NFL, wide receivers are more important than ever.

You see as much reflected in free agency, where players like Allen Robinson and Sammy Watkins receive huge contracts to reward middling production. You see it too in the draft, where seemingly every year brings a handful of new hyped receivers to the league, including last year, when three (Corey Davis, Mike Williams and John Ross) went in the first nine picks.

In fact, since 2009, as many as six and an average of four receivers have been picked in the first round. So this year, when only one receiver is a lock to go in Round 1, how is there so little hype around him?
Where's the love for Calvin Ridley?

Ridley didn't have eye-popping numbers or get Biletnikoff Award recognition in his three seasons at Alabama, but among NFL executives, scouts and coaches Bleacher Report has spoken to, the consensus is that he's a level apart from any other receiver in this draft.

They look at Ridley and see a silky-smooth route-runner with plus speed and hands who can be a part of a dynamic passing attack on Day 1 in the NFL. My mock draft reflects that opinion, projecting Ridley to go 16th overall (the only receiver I have in the first round).

So why isn't he a household name?

Part of it is that the hype might already have passed Ridley by. He signed at Alabama as the top wide receiver in the 2015 recruiting class (and 12th-best player at any position, according to 247Sports) and burst onto the scene, catching 89 passes for over 1,000 yards as a true freshman. But his numbers dropped in each of the next two seasons—72 catches as a sophomore and 63 as a junior—and he never got over that 1,000-yard mark again.

Particularly since Dez was cut, I've been taking a closer look at receivers. I would still prefer an addition to the trenches in the first round, but if Dak-friendly is the goal, Ridley might just be the friendliest of receivers available this year. Behind him, I like Anthony Miller. I was initially high on DJ Moore, but the knock on him is the same knocks that have been attributed to Dez, and he is likely a slot receiver only. Admittedly, Anthony Miller is likely a slot receiver only, but unlike Moore, Anthony runs crisp routes and can manufacture separation on his own from DB's. Or so the scouting reports suggest.

Of all the receivers available, Ridley and Miller are the best route runners and I suspect that is what the Cowboys may mean by Dak-friendly. I could be wrong, though...

 

[Hawkeye0202]

I don't think he's as "explosive" or "as great of a route runner" as he's claimed to be. What happens is Bama pounds the rock 40 times a week, then they call play action, Ridley crosses the face of some CB caught staring in the backfield, and he's wide open for a score. It's true that Jalen Hurts is a bum, but that whole offense makes his life pretty easy sometimes.

And there are DTs with 31" vertical jumps. No excuse for a freaking 180 pound WR to be that lacking in explosiveness, especially not a first round pick. Couple in the age, and I feel like he's the most overrated prospect in this draft. IMO, he is a 3rd round type slot receiver.

Did you read the entire article? At least two NFL SCOUTS are raving his ability to run precision routes to perfection.....
Not only that, almost every narrative out there about this kid start with his route running ability. You may wanna read his profile little closer coz your post makes no sense at all. I'd rather say you're misunderstanding something with this kid than you don't know what you're talking about....

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Particularly since Dez was cut, I've been taking a closer look at receivers. I would still prefer an addition to the trenches in the first round, but if Dez friendly is the goal, Ridley might just be the friendliest of receivers available this year. Behind him, I like Anthony Miller. I was initially high on DJ Moore, but the knock on him is the same knocks that have been attributed to Dez, and he is likely a slot receiver only. Admittedly, Anthony Miller is likely a slot receiver only, but unlike Moore, Anthony runs crisp routes and can manufacture separation on his own from DB's. Or so the scouting reports suggest.

Of all the receivers available, Ridley and Miller are the best route runners and I suspect that is what the Cowboys may mean by Dak-friendly. I could be wrong, though...

It's not about speed......great Jerry Rice couldn't run a 4.5 if you paid him but he tell his entire game was built around great hands and route running which practiced EVERY DAY.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Outside of Nelson and maybe Roquan there isn’t a surer bet to be a pro bowl type player in this draft.
I don’t get the whole x or z concern. The Patriots barely have either and seem to figure it out year after year.

 

[jrumann59]

Did you read the entire article? At least two NFL SCOUTS are raving his ability to run precision routes to perfection.....
Not only that, almost every narrative out there about this kid start with his route running ability. You may wanna read his profile little closer coz your post makes no sense at all. I'd rather say you're misunderstanding something with this kid than you don't know what you're talking about....

Most scouts say he is a high end #2 so his perceived ceiling is Allen Hurns. If you spend a 1st he better be a #1.

 

[DFWJC]

I am on record as saying i love Ridley but he is 24 and will be almost 30 when his rookie deal runs out,i am not sure we want to resign a 30 year old WR.

fwiw, he's not 24.

 

[DFWJC]

Nobody knows how good any of these guys will be but Ridley is most similar to
Marvin Harrison or Antonio Brown
in both skill traits and size/weight/speed

Supreme route runner--better already than most pros
Can accelerate on multiple levels; both off the line of scrimmage and over the top
Fluid and effortlessly dominates dbs