5 NFL Stats to Know Through Week 3

Calvin Ridley Scores 40.5 Fantasy Points

While the Atlanta Falcons suffered a crushing loss to their divisional rival New Orleans Saints, it was a memorable day for rookie wide receiver Calvin Ridley. After going without a catch in his Week 1 debut, Ridley flashed his talents with a four catch, 64 yard outing in Week 2. He also found the end zone for the first time as an NFL player. After this appetizer, Ridley delivered an epic main course in Week 3.

Ridley caught 7 of his 8 targets for 146 yards, with 3 touchdowns, giving him an outstanding 40.5 fantasy points (PPR scoring). He became only the third rookie wide receiver to eclipse 40 PPR points in a single game since 1999. Anquan Boldin marked his NFL debut with ten catches, 217 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 of 2003, on his way to 43.7 points. Odell Beckham had 12 catches for 143 yards and three scores in Week 15 of the 2014 season. This was good for 42.3 points.

Ridley was Week 3's most efficient pass-catcher on a per-target basis, according to numberFire's Net Expected Points (NEP) metric. He had 2.20 Target NEP per target against the Saints, the seventh-highest among all pass-catchers, as well as the highest for anyone who saw at least 5 targets.

I would be remiss in my duty if I didn't point out that Julio Jones scored the same number of touchdowns in 2017 (and so far in 2018) as Ridley managed in Week 3 alone.