Who are Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage’s backups for fantasy football Week 5?

The Atlanta Falcons will be without their starting wide receivers Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage, as neither will make the trip to London. Gage continues to deal with an ankle injury, while Ridley won’t make the trip due to personal reasons.

With a good matchup against the New York Jets, their absence should open the door for other pass-catchers to see more work. The most logical targets aren’t actually wide receivers, as tight end Kyle Pitts and running back Cordarrelle Patterson rank second and third in targets on the team. And we know Patterson is a converted wide receiver and Pitts is a tight end who lines up like a receiver.

Last week with Gage out, Ridley led the team with 43 routes run, while Olamide Zaccheaus was second with 36, then Pitts at 35, then running back Mike Davis with 32, Hayden Hurst at 24 , Tajae Sharpe with 14 and Patterson at 12. The target leaders after Ridley’s 13 were, Pitts with 9, Patterson and Hurst with 5, Zaccheaus at 3, then Davis and Sharpe with 2.

Ridley’s absence gives the team a big target void to fill, which will be spread out, but Pitts should be in line for double-digit targets and after Patterson’s huge Week 4 and Davis’ continued below average play, Patterson could take a step up as well.

If you are going to gamble on anyone other than Patterson or Pitts, Zaccheaus is the guy. He should be the No. 1 wide receiver and has a chance to put up fantasy numbers in a good matchup.