WR — Calvin Ridley 7.70
Scout- Jason Feiner
College: Alabama
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190 lbs
40-Time: 4.43
Vertical: 31.0
Bench Press: 15
Athleticism
Q.A.B. 8.00 Ridley has excellent agility and balance. He possesses great foot quicks and exceptional short area and lateral burst. He is a great athlete that can make players miss in space.
Flexibility 7.50 Ridley possesses good flexibility. He has shown the ability to locate the ball, and grab it at its highest point. He has the flexibility to torque his body and make difficult catches in awkward positions.
C.O.D. 8.00 Ridley has displayed outstanding change of direction through his career at Alabama. He is very shifty and has the ability to stop on a dime and come back for the ball. Ridley has excellent body control and short area quickness.
Explosion 8.00 Ridley is a great athlete with great explosiveness. He is a very fluid player with outstanding game speed. He displays the ability to break from is route and explode back to the ball. He has outstanding acceleration and can close a corners cushion easily.
Deep Speed 8.50 Ridley has outstanding deep speed. He has the ability to gain separation and take the top off a defense. He is a threat on each play and often will garner double coverage with a safety over top to eliminate his big play ability. Alabama frequently through the ball deep and relied on Ridley to run underneath.
Without Ball
Quicks Off LOS 8.00 Ridley is very quick off the line. He doesn’t display wasted motion, and has the acceleration to get into top gear fast. He could improve his initial step, but can close a defenders cushion quickly.
Release VS Jam 6.50 He utilizes a solid head fake when jammed to gain separation and release. He has active hands but can struggle against physical big bodied corners. He is an elite athlete, and can run away from coverage after getting off the line.
Route Running 9.00 Ridley is one of the premiere route runners at the collegiate level. He runs smooth and crisp routes. He has great quickness and the talent to lose a defender on crossing and drag routes. He is extremely fluid and can sink his hips when breaking out of a route.
Separation 9.00 Ridley uses his short area quickness, speed and fluidity to separate from defenders. He can consistently get in and out of his cuts with burst. Ridley has a knack for finding open space in the defense, and beating defenders to the ball.
Blocking 6.00 Ridley is a willing blocker, but can get beat and thrown around by bigger and more physical players. He has good effort and has shown the desire to block downfield but hasn’t shown the talent to be an effective blocker consistently.
With Ball In Hands
Hands 7.50 Ridley has great hands. He has displayed soft hands and a smooth catching ability. Ridley has had some trouble with drops, but can consistently catch the ball away from his body. He does a nice job of attacking the ball at its highest point; however, he has struggled on contested throws deep down the field.
Yard After Contact 6.00 Ridley is strong and an extremely effective runner with the ball in his hands, but he doesn’t generate to many yards after contact. While he has enough power to break through grabs and arm tackles, he is not a physical or powerful runner who will break tackles consistently.
Ability in Space 8.50 Ridley is excels in the open field. He can reach his top speed quickly, and he has the elite playing speed to outrun angles. He is dangerous with the ball in his hands, and is exceptionally elusive in the open field. He can find cut back and often reverses field to gain extra yards in the third level. He can consistently make tacklers miss while running after the catch.
Ball Security 8.50 Ridley has excellent ball security. He has only fumbled once in 232 career touches.
Competitiveness
Toughness 6.00 Ridley is a tough player. He has played through nagging injuries and has never missed time due an injury. However, his durability remains a concern, as he is a very lanky player. He is listed at 190 pounds, but some teams fear he is even lighter.
Production 7.50 Ridley has been a productive weapon in Alabama’s offense since his freshman season. He has done an admirable job replacing stud wideout Amari Cooper. He doesn’t have unbelievable stats that jump off the page, but some of the blame should fall on quarterback Jalen Hurts. He has been very productive and the number one receiver on the national champions offense.
Consistency/Motor 8.00 Ridley is very consistent and displays great effort on each play. He runs hard, and doesn’t stop until the whistle. Ridley never gives up on the play and has shown the ability and instincts to work back to his quarterback on broken plays.
Intelligence
Instincts 8.00 Ridley has great instincts, and has shown the ability to find the open space in the defense and sit in the pocket. He has great awareness and the ability to work open on broken plays.
Learn/Retain 8.00 Ridley is a very smart athlete and has been very productive in Bama’s system since his true freshman season. He was an immediate impact player, and didn’t need time to learn the system to become a role player.
Position Versatility 8.00 Ridley will primarily be an outside receiver with deep threat capabilities at the next level; however, his route running ability and quickness give him versatility, and some coordinators may be willing to move him around and play him in the slot to create mismatches. He is very smooth and has the talent to play all over the field.
Strengths
Ridley is an outstanding athlete with excellent agility and balance. He has exceptional short area and lateral burst. Ridley is very shifty and has the ability to stop on a dime. He has excellent body control and short area quickness. Ridley is an extremely fluid athlete with great explosiveness and outstanding game speed. He displays breakaway speed and the ability to gain separation and take the top off a defense. He possesses elite acceleration and can close a defenders cushion easily. Ridley doesn’t have wasted motion and he has a great release from the line. Ridley utilizes a head fake when jammed at the line to gain separation and cause hesitation. He has active hands but can struggle against physical players. He is an exceptional athlete with the talent and deep speed to run away from coverage after getting off the line. Ridley is one of the premiere route runners at the collegiate level. He is very fluid and has the ability to run smooth crisp routes. He has the talent to lose the defender on deep crossing and drag routes with the ability to sink his hips at the top of his route. He uses his speed, agility, foot quicks and fluidity to effectively separate from defenders. Ridley has displayed soft and smooth hands throughout his career. He does a nice job of attacking the ball at its highest point, and he has shown the flexibility to torque his body and make catches in awkward positions. He is dangerous and exceptionally elusive in open space.
Weaknesses
Ridley is an explosive athlete with great acceleration and speed. He thrives in the open field, but isn’t extremely physical. He is a very lanky player and is listed at 190 pounds; however, some scouts fear he is lighter than that. He struggles to get off the line when jammed by a more physical corner, and can get caught up before gaining separation and getting free. He is slow getting out of his stance and often takes an extra step before exploding off the line. He excels in the open field, but does not generate many yards after contact. While he can occasionally break through grabs and arm tackles, he is not a powerful runner who will break many tackles at the next level. He is a willing blocker, but can get beat and thrown by bigger players. He hasn’t shown the talent to be an effective blocker down field.
Big Picture
Ridley is very shifty and excels in the open field. He is extremely elusive and displays excellent short area quickness and burst. He is very fluid and explosive with the deep speed to take the top off the defense. He has elite acceleration and can get to top speed fast. He has the ability to close a defenders cushion and out run angles. Ridley can get off the line quickly and reach top speed to threaten a defense deep. Ridley utilizes a head fake in press to gain separation from a defender, but he can get tied up if a more physical player can get his hands on him at the line. Ridley is one of the best route runners at the collegiate level. He understands how to gain separation and use his quickness to his advantage. He has durability concerns entering the NFL, as he is very lanky and will need to add weight. He has shown soft hands and the ability to high point the ball. Ridley has the flexibility to twist his body in the air and make tough catches seem routine. He can occasionally lose concentration and drop the ball after turning up field to early. Overall, Ridley is an electric athlete with the capability to be a versatile weapon in an NFL system. He has the speed to threaten a defense deep and the quickness to beat defenders inside and across the middle of the field. Ridley is one of the top offensive weapons in this draft class.
