How Does the Julio Jones Trade Affect Calvin Ridley?
The players presented as possible answers were the Green Bay Packers Davante Adams, Tennessee Titans AJ Brown, Buffalo Bills Stefon Diggs, Kansas City Chiefs Tyreek Hill, Arizona Cardinals DeAndre Hopkins, Minnesota Vikings Justin Jefferson, Atlanta Falcons Julio Jones and Seattle Seahawks DK Metcalf. On Monday, Pro Football Focus presented its projection for the player who will lead the NFL in receiving yards in the 2021 season, the Falcons Calvin Ridley with 1,561 (125 more receiving yards than Hill). How did Ridley go from outside the top eight options on May 15 to the No. On Sunday, Atlanta traded Jones for the Titans. Ridley has had three productive seasons with Jones. A pair of first-round draft picks from Alabama, Ridley and Jones are in first and second place in the NFL for receptions of 15 or more yards during Ridleys time in the league. Ridley has 67 and Jones has 63. Ridley has 217 receptions for 3,061 yards and 26 touchdowns in his 44 NFL games. Only three other players Marques Colston, AJ Green and Odell Beckham Jr.  in NFL history, those numbers have matched that point in their careers. Jones had 241 receptions for 3,649 yards and 23 touchdowns in his first 44 NFL games. ALABAMAS TOP 10 NFL RECEIVERS  With the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver leaving the Falcons lineup, Ridley becomes the No. 1 target for Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan after completing 833 passes for 12,628 yards and 59 touchdowns to Jones over the past 10 seasons when he became the franchises. -time receiving leader. There is some evidence that without Jones in the lineup, Ridley will produce stats that could lead the league. Since Ridley joined the Falcons, Jones has missed eight games. In those eight games, Ridley averaged 11.1 goals, 7.3 receptions, 107 receiving yards and 14.76 yards per catch. In the 36 games he played with Jones, Ridley averaged 6.6 goals, 4.4 receptions, 61.25 yards and 13.87 yards per catch. Ridley joined the Falcons as the 26th player to be selected in the 2018 NFL Draft. In his first season, Ridley caught 64 passes for 821 yards and set an Atlanta rookie record with 10 touchdown receptions. In 2019, Ridley caught 63 passes for 866 yards and seven touchdowns, but missed the last three games of the season due to an abdominal injury. Ridley produced 90 receptions for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns for Atlanta in 2020, though he missed one game. He finished fifth in the NFL in receiving yards last season. Jones led the NFL in two yards receiving 1,871 yards in 2015 (for the second-highest single-season total in league history) and 1,677 yards in 2018. In exchange for Jones and their sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Falcons will receive a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft from the Titans. TENNESSEE TITANS COUPLE JULIO JONES, DERRICK HENRY  Atlanta fielded a wide receiver this year, but Arizonas Frank Darby joined the Falcons in the sixth round as their final pick for 2021. But Atlanta used fourth pick in the 2021 NFL Draft over Floridas Kyle Pitts, the earliest which has been selected a tight end in the history of the competition. Over the past two seasons, the 6-foot-6, 246-pound goal caught 97 passes for 1,419 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Gators. Atlanta wide receiver Russell Gage caught 72 passes for 786 yards and four touchdowns and tight end Hayden Hurst caught 56 passes for 571 yards and six touchdowns last season, and both players will return for the Falcons in 2021. Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter@AMarkG1. MORE NFL:  Gabe Wright Signed, Marquel Wright Quits NFL  Jets ready to untie Quinnen Williams Williams  Eddie Jackson Releases Cinnamon Toast Squares  Slimmer AShawn Robinson ready to fill Rams gap  Titans couple Julio Jones, Derrick Henry  Falcons quickly say goodbye to Julio Jones with video tribute  Atlanta Falcons trade Julio Jones  Dolphin coach OK with access to Tua Tagovailoas