Wims, Ridley fight for bigger roles

[Staley Da Bear]

Wims and Ridley, former college teammates at Georgia, fill out a receiving corps that includes Robinson, Anthony Miller and Ted Ginn Jr. Wims' game has drawn comparisons to Robinson, while Ridley strives to be proficient in several roles.


Ridley has absorbed mentorship from Robinson, Ginn and his older brother, Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley. On Wednesday, he caught a long touchdown pass from Nick Foles during a two-minute drill.


"I'm really proud of [Ridley]," said receivers coach Mike Furrey. "He's come in, obviously like we've talked [about], he had that experience, he's been around the playbook, but this guy never misses an extra walk-through. He's always there. He's trying to learn every single position."


Ridley caught six passes for 69 yards as a rookie, appearing in only five games last year. His output resembled Wims' rookie performance when he caught four passes for 32 yards in four games in 2018.


Wims was able to work his way into more playing time in his second year and caught 18 passes for 186 yards. Furrey believes that Wims is due for another step up.


"I think Javon has taken some of the deficiencies that he's been kind of a little bit stubborn about denying over the last couple years," said Furrey. "He's really been open to coaching and very receptive of those ideas of what he needs to work on in regards to those deficiencies."


Despite being the top receiver on a Georgia team that went to the National Championship, Wims entered the league with a reputation as a raw player with a high upside. While he feels that "stubborn" is a bit too strong of a word for his disposition, he largely agrees with Furrey's assessment.


"I wish I would have started this transition back when I was in college," said Wims. "Maybe I wouldn't have had to wait until Year 3 to try and fix it. Maybe I'd have come in a lot more polished as a route runner, versus becoming polished now."