In our question of the day, the question really is … which history will Calvin Ridley be repeating? JuJu Smith-Schuster or DeAndre Hopkins?

So let’s look at the similarities between Steelers’ No.1 receiver Antonio Brown leaving Pittsburgh making JuJu Smith-Schuster the top receiver in Pittsburgh in 2019 (his third season), Andre Johnson being cut by Houston (playing for Indianapolis) leaving Hopkins in charge and Julio Jones being traded to Tennessee this offseason leaving Ridley as the top guy in Atlanta this season, his fourth year in the NFL.

All three men benefitted from being the No.2 guy on their team while defenses focused on the other side of the field where a superstar did his work. The trio improved their production in each of their seasons in their role as “Robin” to their “Batman.”

The minute Brown forced his way out of Pittsburgh to Oakland, then New England and finally Tampa Bay, Smith-Schuster as the No.1 receiver wasn’t what any fantasy owners expected or hoped for. He regressed. Some of his 2019 numbers can be argued were the result of poor quarterback play as Ben Roethlisberger went down in Week 2 and his replacements (Mason Rudolph and Devin “Duck” Hodges) were less than satisfactory (read awful). However, after Big Ben returned in 2020, Smith-Schuster’s numbers didn’t even reach his rookie year totals.

In Houston, after Johnson was cut by the Texans and signed a three-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts, Hopkins thrived in the solo spotlight. With only two journeymen, Nate Washington and Cecil Shorts, seeing more than 40 targets, Hopkins garnered 192 targets (third-most that season) and his production jumped 41% to 20.6 FPts/G which ranked fifth-best in 2015.

Now to our current situation.

Down in Atlanta, playing second fiddle to Jones, Ridley has improved in each of his three seasons, from 13.1 FPts/G to 15 and 18.8 last season. The difference between Ridley and Smith-Schuster might be that in 2020 we saw a glimpse of the future when Jones was sidelined for a major portion of the season by a hamstring injury and Ridley proved himself to be solid as the No.1 guy.

In the six games last season Ridley played while Jones sat injured he produced a stunning 21.9 FPts/G. That was a 27.3% increase in production over when the two receivers played together and extrapolated for a full season would have ranked him in a tie for second in the league with Tyreek Hill behind only Davante Adams.

The question will remains, however, whether defenses, having an entire off-season to prepare for a Ridley-led receiving corps will be different.

And of course the health of quarterback Matt Ryan is paramount. Ryan has thrown for at least 4,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons. Should something happen to Ridley’s starter, as it did to Roethlisberger, who among us thinks A.J. McCarron could produce at that level?

Other questions pop up in Atlanta for fantasy owners to ponder. What will the addition of uber-talented rookie tight end Kyle Pitts do to the equation? Will the Falcons play more two-tight end formations with Pitts and Hayden Hurst? Will Pitts actually play more outside than tight end? Will Russell Gage be a factor?

Here at FFToday, we think Ridley will be neither Hopkins nor JuJu. Oh, he’ll be a top-five receiver, but not to the level he produced last season. It’s just harder when all eyes are on you. Below are our projections for Ridley.