Atlanta Falcons: Calvin Ridley, the next Antonio Brown?

Atlanta Falcons rookie Calvin Ridley has the chance to become a great NFL wide receiver, but could he become the next Antonio Brown?

There are only three weeks until the Atlanta Falcons offense will line up for the first series against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1 of the regular season. They will meet in the season-opener on the same field they narrowly lost to the Eagles to end last season.

There is no doubt that the 10 points they scored that afternoon impacted the organization’s decision to invest it’s first-round draft pick in the on Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Not only was Ridley a standout at Alabama in his three years in college, but he has potential to be an NFL great as well.

In fact, I believe he has the chance to be the “next” Antonio Brown. Let’s see how the two players stack up against one another.

Measurables

Games are played on the field. Highly touted first-round draft picks have slightly less than a coin flip’s chance of ever becoming an All-Pro. We all know the downfall of placing too much weight on Combine results.

Having said all of that, check the draft profiles and Combine results of Brown and Ridley. The similarities are pretty striking. Ridley, in most cases, probably has a slight edge. He is a bit bigger and a bit faster than Brown was when he came out of Central Michigan.

Results

Comparing stats of the two players while in college, you see a slight edge for Brown. In every notable area except average yards gained per reception, he out performed Ridley. One thought and potential rationalization here, though: The most obvious difference is the level of competition each player faced.

Last season, there were 77 players on NFL rosters that played their college ball in the Mid American Conference, where Brown played. Conversely, the SEC had 53 players drafted last year alone and led the NFL with over 350 players on league rosters. It is fair to say that Brown may have benefited slightly from facing lesser competition on Saturdays.

Supporting Cast

Brown was not always this version of himself. When he broke into the league, he did so in a pretty crowded Steelers receiving corps. Hines Ward was on his way to capping off a fabulous career that would leave him as the franchise’s leading pass-catcher in history. Opposite of Ward was the teams leading target, the speedy Mike Wallace.

Brown was able to assimilate to the offense quickly, often creating mismatches. Again, you can see some startling similarities to how the Falcon offense is set up to see Ridley experience immediate success in the same vein.

There may be no one in the league who draws double teams as often as Julio Jones. Mohamed Sanu has proven to be an excellent acquisition and the most sure-handed receiver in the league over the last two years. That all lends itself to Ridley having the opportunity to do as Brown did when he entered the professional realm.

Even considering the hype surrounding Ridley as a first-round pick, he should be given his fair share of one-on-one matchups to win. My guess is that he will win those matchups fairly often.