He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he was a part of the national championship-winning teams in 2015 and 2017.

[1] His younger brother, Riley Ridley, played college football for Georgia and was selected in the 4th round of the 2019 NFL draft.

[2] In 2002, Ridley and his younger brothers were taken to a foster home after their father was deported back to Guyana and their mother was imprisoned.

[3] When he was younger, Ridley played Pop Warner football in the same league as Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown and Ravens cornerback Trayvon Mullen, in the Pompano Beach area of Florida just four miles from the high school he would attend.

[8] Ridley attended and played college football at the University of Alabama under Nick Saban from 2015 to 2017.

[22] In the 2017 season, Ridley started off strong with seven receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown in the 24–7 victory over Florida State.

[25] In the National Championship against Georgia, he had four receptions for 32 yards and the late game-tying touchdown to help force overtime in the 26–23 victory.

[26] On January 10, 2018, it was announced that Ridley would forgo his senior year at Alabama in favor of the 2018 NFL draft.

[32] On September 23, in Week 3, Ridley recorded seven receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns in a 43–37 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints.

He was named to PFWA All-Rookie Team, becoming the fourth Atlanta Falcons receiver to get this award, joining Shawn Collins (1989), Mike Pritchard (1991), and Julio Jones (2011).

[36] In Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, Ridley caught four passes for 64 yards and the first receiving touchdown of the season as the Falcons lost 12–28.

[37] In Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Ridley caught eight passes for 105 yards and a touchdown as the Falcons won 24–20.

[38] In Week 11 against the Panthers, Ridley finished with eight catches for 143 receiving yards and a touchdown as the Falcons won 29–3.

[41] In Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, Ridley recorded a career-high nine receptions for 130 yards and two receiving touchdowns as the Falcons lost 25–38.

[43] Ridley tied Andre Rison for the franchise record for the most receiving touchdowns in the team's first two games of a season with four.

[45] In the following week's game against the Panthers, Ridley continued his early season form, recording eight catches for 136 yards during the 23–16 loss.

[46] In Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Ridley recorded eight catches for 124 yards and a touchdown during the 20–17 loss.

[56] After not traveling with the Falcons for their London game against the New York Jets the previous week due to an undisclosed personal matter,[57] Ridley returned on October 24 against the Miami Dolphins, catching four passes for 26 yards and a touchdown, helping the Falcons win 30–28.

[61] On November 1, 2022, despite being suspended for at least the entire 2022 season, the Falcons traded Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars for conditional 2023 sixth-round and 2024 fourth-round picks.

In his first game in 686 days, Ridley caught eight passes for 101 yards and a receiving touchdown as the Jaguars won 31–21.