Calvin Ridley on pace to make Titans history in 2024

When the Tennessee Titans traded DeAndre Hopkins in late October, everyone assumed that general manager Ran Carthon was waving the white flag on the season. Instead, that trade has led to the emergence of one of the hottest receivers in the NFL, Calvin Ridley.

While Hopkins and Ridley were the perfect partners on paper, there were issues with the passing game going back to training camp. Hopkins was bothered by a knee injury and Ridley struggled to initially establish chemistry with sophomore quarterback Will Levis.

Between that and installing a new offense, Levis failed to click with Hopkins and Ridley early even though both are Pro Bowl-caliber receivers. Whether it was intentional or not, trading away Hopkins gave Brian Callahan the chance to focus on the best way to feature Ridley in the offense and it has paid massive dividends.

Ridley has become the Titans' big-play threat. A consistent chain-mover, Ridley is keeping drives alive and the numbers back that up. In the six games before the trade, the former Jacksonville Jaguar only had 12 receptions for 183 yards and one touchdown. Since the trade, Ridley has 29 receptions for 451 yards and two touchdowns.

From Week 8 to Week 12 (the post-Hopkins era), Ridley ranks:
-third in the NFL in receiving yards (451)
-first in yards per catch for receivers with 25+ receptions (15.6)
-first in aDOT for receivers with 20+ receptions (15.3)
-second in contested catches (8)

Ridley has been a star for the Titans, and if this keeps up he will do things that haven't been done in Tennessee in a long time. If Ridley maintains this hot streak, he is on pace for 75 receptions for 1,175 yards and six touchdowns.

No receiver has had that many yards for the Nashville-based franchise in a season since Drew Bennett did it 20 years ago. Not only is Ridley on pace to achieve Titans history, it's particularly impressive given he didn't really hit his stride until halfway through the season.

Over the first 12 weeks of NFL action, the Titans have faced pass defenses that have allowed an averaged of 211.3 passing yards per game. Over the next six games, they will face defenses that allow 232.8 air yards per outing.

So the Titans; job in the passing game is actually getting easier down the stretch of the 2024 season. That should make it easier for Ridley to etch his name in franchise history.