INDIANAPOLIS — Georgia receiver Riley Ridley couldn’t wait to meet with the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night, excited about the possibility of playing alongside his brother.
“I meet with the Falcons right after this,” Ridley said late Friday afternoon from his NFL combine podium interview at the Indiana Convention Center.
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“I talked to a couple of their coaches …. with having my bother there, he has a lot of things in common with me,” he said. “So I’m going to meet with them later on, and I can’t wait for it.”
Atlanta has the 14th pick in the first round and the 13th pick in the second round. Some believe Ridley could be picked as early as late in the first round.
The Ridley brothers, Calvin and Riley, are both known as elite route runners.
Riley Ridley said there are some differences between him and his older brother, outside of the fact that Calvin played at Alabama.
“My brother is a shifty guy, (but) I have a little more body on him, I use my body in the game,” Ridley said. “I go up for contested grabs, but other than that, we’re similar. We like to run routes, and we critique ourselves on running routes.”
Ridley, who led UGA receivers with 44 catches for 570 yards and 9 touchdowns last season, said the level of competition he faced week-in and week-out prepared him to leave school early.
“I played in the SEC, and in the SEC you have competitors everywhere,” Ridley said. “So with me doing those things and competing each and every day, I felt I could do those things at the next level. Not that the NFL is college football, but I felt that I could compete and go into a system where I’m able to be valuable and change the system around and be a leader.”
Ridley said he also met with the Miami Dolphins on Friday, and his stock has continued to rise since he declared himself eligible for the NFL draft.
Ridley and three other former Georgia players — receivers Mecole Hardman and Terry Godwin, and tight end Isaac Nauta — will run the 40-yard dash on Saturday and perform other field drills at Lucas Oil Stadium.
On Friday, Elijah Holyfield tested with the running backs, while Ridley did the bench press.
The 6-foot-1, 199-pound Ridley did 13 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press on Friday, but scouts likely took note of his 10 1/4-inch hand measurement (thumb to pinky).
“As a player, you never look at it,” Denver Broncos’ GM and Hall of Famer said in 2016. “As a GM, you always do.”
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