The Atlanta Falcons’ final game of the 2023 season couldn’t have gone much worse. Sunday’s 48-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints was so ugly that team owner Arthur Blank fired head coach Arthur Smith when the clock struck midnight.
It wasn’t all bad for Atlanta on Sunday, though. Former Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley capped off his first season in Jacksonville with six catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. Ridley’s big performance in Week 18 helped Atlanta secure a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Calvin Ridley needed 60% snaps OR 75 catches OR 1,000 receiving yards to convert a 4th round pick back to Atlanta into a 3rd for the upcoming draft.
He met ALL thresholds.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) January 7, 2024
Ridley was traded to the Jaguars in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round pick and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2024. That conditional selection was bumped up to a third-round pick due to Ridley hitting trade incentives.
The former Alabama star finished the season with 76 catches, 1,016 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. If Ridley gets an extension in Jacksonville, that third-round pick becomes a second-round pick.