National Football League

What Calvin Ridley means for QB Will Levis, new Titans offense

Published Mar. 19, 2024 5:08 p.m. ET

Calvin Ridley joins the Titans already having strong familiarity with his new wide receiver running mate, DeAndre Hopkins.

They talk. They train together.

In Hopkins, Ridley sees another talented wideout who can help him do what he does best.

"I can learn a lot," Ridley said last week of playing with Hopkins, who last season was Tennessee's first 1,000-yard receiver since 2020. "He's just been very consistent his whole career. His catching. His routes. Just his mentality to be a dog and a real high-caliber player."

Ridley's addition gives the Titans a top wide receiver tandem to supercharge the development of quarterback Will Levis, who should be priority No. 1 for new coach Brian Callahan and his staff. The franchise must find out if the 2023 second-round pick is the long-term signal-caller.

That's why you see an investment in Ridley — four years for $92 million, including $46.98 million fully guaranteed — that some league observers have called an overpay. It's why Lloyd Cushenberry, a great pass blocker, gets a record-setting deal for centers (four years for $50 million, including $26 million fully guaranteed).

With Ridley in the fold, the Titans have two of the most heavily pressed wide receivers in the league. Of the 35 NFL wide receivers who had at least 100 targets last season, Ridley was pressed at the third-highest rate, at 36.8%, according to Next Gen Stats. Hopkins ranked second at 37.1%. That speaks to how much they're feared as route technicians (The Jets' Garrett Wilson, Raiders' Davante Adams and Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase round out the top five).

That threat opens up Callahan's playbook. Rub and pick routes, stacks and trips alignments are all known press beaters. With Ridley and Hopkins, those concepts could thrust opposing defenses into conflict — not only creating opportunities for the duo, but also the team's other pass-catchers and the two running backs, Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, out of the backfield.

"I think it's going to be hard for sure," Ridley said of game planning for both he and Hopkins. "Imma make it as hard as I can for them. We have two different types of play styles, but we can mix it very well together. Just a bunch of big plays I see."

WR Calvin Ridley headlines "Favorite New Face in a New Place"

Many of which should come on the outside, aligning with Levis' noted arm strength.

Ridley lined up from a wide alignment on 79.5% of his routes last season, fifth-highest among wide receivers who saw at least 100 targets, according to NGS. On targets outside the numbers, he had 52 receptions for 646 yards and five touchdowns, ranking third, seventh and tied for eighth in the league among all NFL wideouts, respectively.

And Levis played some of his most efficient football as a rookie targeting receivers outside the numbers. Four of his eight touchdown passes came in such situations, compared to two apiece between the hashes and up the seams, per Next Gen Stats.

At the NFL Combine, Callahan said that you can "never have enough" speed at the wide receiver position. And Ridley brings plenty of that. Despite his age — he turns 30 in December — Ridley slots in as the Titans' most explosive player at the position.

According to Next Gen Stats, his average max route speed was 22.11 miles per hour in 2023, tops in the league among qualified receivers. The closest to that on the Titans' roster last season was former first-round pick Treylon Burks at 21.46.

Ridley's acceleration and ability to separate should not only help Levis get rid of the ball quickly — which puts less pressure on the pass protection — but lead to more high-percentage throws.

"I'm 29 on paper, but I'm probably like 25 for real," Ridley said. "And not because of the two years off. The two years off did help, but I'm really like 25 years old on paper. … Y'all gonna see."

Ridley's catch rate left much to be desired last season at 55.9%, fourth-worst among the 35 wide receivers who had at least 100 targets, per NGS. Drops were an issue in his lone season in Jacksonville. He had seven, according to Pro Football Focus.

But as he noted in his introductory press conference, he still put up 1,000 receiving yards and eight touchdowns after missing nearly two years of football. (He missed all of the 2022 season due to a gambling suspension, and missed 12 games the previous year for mental health reasons.) He didn't miss a practice or game for the Jaguars.

Ridley arrives in Nashville healthy and with the rust knocked off.

"I'm the type of player who deserves this contract," he said. "I'm the type of player you want in the building, someone who is going to work for your organization.

"I want to crack the game off for us," he continued. "Coming over here, I want to do my thing. Takeover. I want to shoot this team through the roof in any way I can to help."

Ridley can do that, in large part, by showing the Titans what they have in Levis.

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.