2019 NFL Draft: WR prospects for Ravens in each round

Round 2: Riley Ridley

If are, like me, are one of the many Baltimore Ravens fans who are upset the team passed on the chance to draft Calvin Ridley last year, you’ll be happy with the news I’m about to share with you… Calvin’s brother, Riley, is entering the 2019 NFL Draft class as one of its the most overlooked wide receiver prospects.

What Calvin Ridley was able to accomplish as a rookie with the Atlanta Falcons was masterful. The 24-year old receiver caught 64 passes for 821-yards and ten touchdowns. With Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu lined up with him, the three dominated for the Falcons through the air, and Ridley was a day one impact. For Riley Ridley, it could be more of the same for his future team.

Riley Ridley is a similar player to pro-Calvin Ridley. Riley is a silky-smooth route runner with red-zone capabilities, catching 13 touchdowns on 69 career receptions. Riley wasn’t overly used in the Georgia Bulldogs offense until 2018, and when given the opportunity he shined. Because of the scheme that the Bulldogs used, Riley was always a third-or-fourth option. It’s hard not to be when you have the ridiculous talent pool the team has at running back. This is starting to sound familiar, isn’t it?

With the Baltimore Ravens, Riley Ridley would insert himself into a nearly identical role for the team. With the run-heavy style of play the team wants to adopt, Ridley could become more of a secondary contributor, however his skill set he displayed as a junior would indicate that he can be just as good as his brother was in 2018. Riley Ridley could be Baltimore’s X-receiver they’ve been desperately searching for, and he’d give them a high-character player with a bulldogs mentality (see what I did there?).

If the Ravens were to trade back into the second round and miss a chance for a guy like Harry, Riley Ridley would be my preferred target.