National Football League

Trevor Lawrence, Calvin Ridley connection fueling improved Jaguars offense

Published Nov. 30, 2023 12:53 p.m. ET

After surpassing 100 receiving yards in the Jaguars' blowout victory over the Titans on Nov. 19, more than a month since he last hit the century mark, wide receiver Calvin Ridley stood in the locker room, surrounded by a throng of reporters. One asked if his acclimation to Jacksonville's scheme and personnel has just needed time.

After all, he was the new guy. For all the talk of continuity — the Jaguars entered the season with nine returning starters on offense — Ridley has been the one who has had to adjust.

Not only is he playing with a new team, he's playing NFL football for the first time since 2021.

"Yeah, it takes time," Ridley said. "Sometimes it takes three-four years [to build chemistry]. It don't just pop, pop, pop. But I promise if we can pop, we can pop good."

The "pop" is becoming more apparent.

Ridley erupted for five receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown, plus a two-point conversion, in Jacksonville's 24-21 win over the Texans last Sunday. He has 80-plus receiving yards in three of the past four games, after hitting the mark just two times in the first seven games of the season.

Ridley is the Jaguars' No. 2 receiver based on production — Christian Kirk leads the team with 761 receiving yards while Ridley has 663 — but he has been their top pass-catcher since Week 8, with a team-high 295 yards and three touchdowns in that span.

Over the past month, his rapport with quarterback Trevor Lawrence has become what team observers had envisioned entering the season. The 8-3 Jaguars, in contention for the AFC's No. 1 overall seed, acquired Ridley via trade from the Falcons in November 2022, but he's in his debut season for Jacksonville after serving a year-long suspension for violating the NFL's gambling policy.

"I think the biggest thing and the biggest factor is Trevor and Calvin are on the same page and they communicate," coach Doug Pederson said Monday. "Then, by design, we try to get Calvin on some favorable matchups and let him use his athleticism, strength and speed to attack defenders."

Jaguars defeat Texans to lock down the AFC South

The 28-year-old Ridley has played his best football this season when fellow receiver Zay Jones has been active. Jones has missed time due to a knee injury, but in the five games Jones has played, Ridley is averaging 5.8 receptions, 89.4 yards and 0.4 touchdowns per contest. That's compared to 3.0 receptions, 36.0 receiving yards and 0.1 touchdowns per game in six outings without Jones. Four of the five games Ridley has had more than 80 yards — including all three 100-yard games — came when Jones was active.

Pederson acknowledged that the offense is more balanced when Jones is available, helping on third down and drawing coverage away from Ridley and the other pass-catchers.

Jones' presence has also allowed Ridley to play on the outside slightly more, giving him favorable matchups against man coverage to utilize his elite route-running skills. In five games with Jones, Ridley is playing 84.1% of his snaps from a wide alignment, compared to 81% in the six games without him.

Even when Ridley's receiving production fell short of expectations earlier in the season, his impact was still felt on the game. He leads the NFL with seven accepted defensive pass interferences drawn for 129 yards, according to NFLpenalties.com.

"I'm about to do whatever I need to do to help my coaches feel OK, help this team win games and help us keep going," Ridley said earlier this month. "That's what I'm about."

Ridley's emerging consistency is part of a larger theme: The Jaguars offense is starting to click, after an up-and-down start to the season.

Lawrence is getting his mobility back after suffering a knee sprain in Week 6 vs. Indianapolis. The Jaguars have allowed just one sack and turned the ball over once in the past two games, the team's best marks in a two-game stretch all year.

In Sunday's win over the Texans, the Jaguars had a 55.6% conversion rate on third down, their best mark since Week 5.

"It's coming along with not just Calvin, but the whole offense," Lawrence said Sunday. "We're getting better, we're being more explosive, kind of moving the ball at will. We're doing a lot of great things. We've got to play cleaner. Too many mistakes, too many dumb penalties, too many missed opportunities still, even with all the things that we did.

"We've got to continue to get better."

So the "pop" lasts.

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.