It’s time for another season of Club Fantasy’s A Look Inside series. Throughout this summer, we will take a look at all 32 teams in both article and video form. You can find the videos on our YouTube channel, and the articles here! We work in reverse order, meaning we start with the worst teams in the league, which is precisely why the Tennessee Titans kick off this series. While the Titans were bad in 2024, Calvin Ridley was a pretty decent fantasy asset. With a new quarterback and almost no competition for targets, could Ridley be an even better value in 2025?
Calvin Ridley 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook
An Up-and-Down Career
From a stats-only perspective, Ridley’s career looks pretty solid. He was a first-round pick in 2018 and has played five full seasons since then (more on that in a moment). Over those seasons, he averaged 71 catches, 1,018 yards, and seven touchdowns—about 214 PPR points per year, which typically lands a receiver in the WR20–WR25 range. However, his draft capital almost never lines up with this performance, so there must be red flags.
To start, he was an older rookie, at 24 years old, when he entered the league. Drafters, especially dynasty managers, are often scared off by players coming in that late, expecting it could affect their longevity. Still, he scored 10 TDs as a rookie and seven more in his second season. In his third year, 2020, Ridley recorded his first 1000-yard season and found the endzone another nine times. Confidence had to be building in fantasy, with 26 TDs in three seasons.
Then, in 2021, after five games played, Ridley announced that he would be stepping away from the team for mental health reasons. While some applauded this decision, not all fantasy managers were as accepting. For the record, protect your mentals, always. Before drafters could come to grips with Ridley in 2022, he was suspended the entire season for gambling on football. Fantasy managers have trust issues, and Ridley had let them down.
However, not one of these things bothers me, and I think you should look past them, too. Old rookie? Who cares? Wide receivers often play well into their 30s, especially those with the talent Ridley has displayed. Taking time off to make sure you are mentally ready to play? You’ll never find me upset at that. Simone Biles took time off for similar reasons and still came back stronger. Athletes know themselves best—if they say they can’t go, they can’t go. I could write an entire article about the hypocrisy of penalizing an athlete for gambling on a game that HE WASN’T PLAYING while simultaneously advertising with FanDuel and DraftKings, but suffice it to say, I am not concerned about Ridley’s off-the-field habits.
Instead of worrying about his uniquely checkered past, I’ll focus on the fact that Ridley has performed on the field time and again. He was a Top-30 fantasy receiver again last year with questionable QB play, and now his ADP puts him outside the Top 35? That does not make sense.
Check Out Our Video Breakdown of the Titans!
What’s Changing in 2025
I could have also called this section “Enter Cam Ward.” Tennessee’s offseason was relatively quiet, except for one massive shift at quarterback. Will Levis wasn’t all that highly-regarded entering the league, and he did nothing on the field to change anyone’s opinion. In two seasons, he threw 556 passes, which is basically one good season for a starting QB. With those attempts, he posted a 61% completion percentage, 3899 yards, 21 TDs, and 16 interceptions. He also offered next to nothing running the ball, and fumbled 17 times in those two seasons. They aren’t the worst numbers we’ve ever seen, but they certainly aren’t good, especially the turnovers.
Enter Cam Ward! Ward was the most highly-regarded QB in this class, and as such, the Titans made him the first overall pick. Titan’s head coach Brian Callahan did not draft Levis. Ward is his guy, and that should mean a much better version of this fantasy-friendly offense (more on that later). Across his three years starting—two at Washington State and one at Miami—Ward completed 66% of his passes for 11281 yards, 87 TDs, and 23 INTs. Looking at his 2024 specifically, Ward finished with the best completion percentage (67.2%), yards (4313), TDs (39), and fewest INTs (7). You want to see improvement throughout college, and Ward got better every season.
The team also lost DeAndre Hopkins, who was traded halfway through 2024, and let Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who led the team in TDs last season, walk in free agency. Those receivers were replaced, but the new faces don’t quite command the respect or red-zone love that Hopkins and NWI saw last year. So, Tennessee has a better quarterback and possibly room for Ridley to grow in the TD department. Did I mention he’s being drafted as the WR34 when he finished 2024 as the WR28? These changes alone should demonstrate that he’s far more likely to improve than to get worse.
What’s Staying the Same
I will sum this section up into two parts. The offensive scheme is intact, and there is still no competition for targets. Starting with the scheme, Callahan is from the Bengals’ coaching tree, and with the right quarterback in place, that has been one of the most fantasy-friendly schemes we’ve seen recently. No, Cam Ward is not Joe Burrow, but he is better than Will Levis.
A Cincy WR has finished top-30 in fantasy for each of the last six seasons, and that was before Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, or Tee Higgins. The offense is set up for wide receivers to succeed. Last year, even with Levis, Ridley was the WR28 with 64 catches, 1017 yards, and four TDs. Even better, that was on 120 targets. Ridley only caught 53% of his targets, while his career average is 61%. A more accurate QB could bring him to 73 receptions, also improving the rest of his stats. But that’s assuming he stays at just 120 targets.
Gone from last year’s team are Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Tyler Boyd, vacating 117 targets. Some version of Tyler Lockett, Van Jefferson, Treylon Burks, or one of three rookie WRs will replace them, but none are as dependable as Ridley. Also, Westbrook-Ikhine scored nine touchdowns. If three of those scores, and maybe 10 targets, head Ridley’s way, we’re talking about 130 targets, resulting in 79 catches, 1100 yards, and seven TDs. That would’ve been good for a top-20 season last year. Again, you can land Ridley in the 6th Round as the WR34. The floor is there, and the upside is tremendous.
Conclusion
When I finished my projections for the 2025 season, Ridley came in as my WR17. Yes, a lot can change between now and your fantasy draft in August, but at his current cost, Calvin Ridley might be the best value in fantasy football. You can land him as your WR4, and he might outplay your WR2.
The series is just getting started, but this link will take you to the rest of our 2025 Look Inside team previews.
A Look Inside the Tennessee Titans
Editor’s Note: While this article focused on Calvin Ridley in fantasy football, we don’t want to leave you hanging on the rest of the team. Here is a quick look at the other fantasy-relevant Titans from Joshua Hudson.
Cam Ward
Ward was the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, so expect the Titans to give him a long leash to take this offense to new heights. While there isn’t much to work with in the passing game outside of Ridley, a good QB can elevate mediocre passing options. Ward averaged close to 38 pass attempts per game over his last three seasons in college. That potential alone makes him a QB2 with upside if touchdowns follow.
Tony Pollard
We saw last year that Pollard can handle being the lead back in this offense. We also saw that while he’s a solid RB, he’s nothing spectacular. He’s a top 20 RB you can grab at RB28 prices. There’s a lot to be said for consistency from your RB2.
Tyjae Spears
Spears spent much of last year hurt, leaving the full workload to fall on Pollard. But when Pollard got banged up towards the end of the season, Spears gave us RB1-level performances. Spears will see some work, but it won’t be a stand-alone value. He’s the clear RB2 in this offense, and his true value lies in a Pollard injury.
Tyler Lockett / Van Jefferson / Treylon Burks
If you like veteran retreads, this is the WR group for you! Lockett is past his prime, Jefferson is a better NFL player than fantasy player, and Burks needs to start a hog-tie league since he’s clearly better at that sport than football. One or maybe two of these players may not make the roster if any of the rookies below stand out in camp. None of them is worth an investment in fantasy.
Elic Ayomanor / Chimere Dike / Xavier Restrepo
This is the real training camp battle to watch. All three rookies have traits that can help this offense. It’s just a matter of whether they learn the offense quickly enough. The only one I’m interested in taking a dart throw on late is Ayomanor, who is likely to find himself as the starting X receiver opposite Ridley.
Chigoziem Okonkwo
We always say that when we consider a TE for fantasy, we want them to be 1st or 2nd on the team in targets. Well, Okonkwo has a clear path to being the 2nd option in the Titans’ passing attack. He has two straight seasons with 70 or more targets and a QB who found his TE in college over the middle for big plays a lot. Okonkwo is arguably the most athletic TE in the league and averaged 2.62 yards per route run in his rookie season. He’s a perfect late-round TE dart throw to see if chemistry can be built.
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