It’s kind of a long read, but by the end, you’ll be targeting him in all your drafts (at least at his current ADP).
I’m not sure he’s gonna start hot. But give him a few subpar performances, and then trade for him.
He’s started training camp hot, that’s for sure…
I’m not saying he can’t excel. But the number of guys who take 2 years off and come back to excel is a hand full.
It’s kind of a unique situation, though.
Most players who are out of the league for a year or two and try to come back left because of an injury, and you never know if a player is going to be the same returning from a season-ending injury. Ridley missed half a season for mental health reasons, and the next season due to his suspension. Assuming he hasn’t completely let himself go physically (and from the videos, it appears he has not), he shouldn’t be too much different now than he was two years ago.
If Ridley returns to form, I’d say the biggest beneficiary of it could be Trevor Lawrence. If you give Lawrence a true alpha like Ridley can potentially be (and don’t even suggest Kirk in that role!), then Lawrence could join Allen and Hurts among the elite QB’s.
A lot of people are banking on that; Lawrence is kind of the trendy pick this year (like Hurts was last year).
I think it’s entirely possible, but I’m just drafting Mahomes and dominating this year, so I don’t have to think about it.
For average points per game, Hurts was superior to Mahomes last year. A great running QB with a good amount of passing volume will rule in fantasy. Mahomes is safe and elite, but not the top.
Hurts missed 2 games. He got me into a lot of playoffs last year. And his average PPG is still higher than Mahomes.
We are all fully aware of the reasons that Hurts is inferior to Mahomes.
I like Ridley, but only one season of top 5 round performance, going to be 29 towards the end of the season, in a new system, new QB with existing depth and multiple good RB’s at that draft capital… I dunno. The only way I’d do that if I got either 3 RB’s or 2 RB’s and a QB in 3 of the 4 rounds prior to his. His team mate Kirk has far less risk (later on) and has already done it in the situation he’s in. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kirk put up Ridley’s 2020 numbers this year. 
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Having watched both of them, Ridley is the superior WR between them. Ridley flashed alpha WR signs, whereas Kirk always seemed like he was on the border of alpha. That said, it only applies if Ridley has gotten over his head case issues.
Oh, I totally agree. What I’ve found in more than 20 years of playing fantasy is that you can’t count on players at - what amounts to - their base Madden rating. There’s so much more that comes into play production - one of which being chemistry. 
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Wondering when we’ll be doing it right for drafting Ridley? 
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