The Baltimore Ravens put more effort into addressing their wide receiver corps than they have in quite a while. Granted, some of the moves they have made might have looked better years earlier, but nevertheless, they have certainly added pedigree to the room.
In addition to using their first-round pick on wide receiver Zay Flowers, they also signed two former first-round picks in free agency. The more notable is Odell Beckham Jr., of course, but the addition of Nelson Agholor also offers valuable depth behind the returning Rashod Bateman.
And Ravens head coach John Harbaugh believes this group could be the best in team history at the position. Not that there is all that much in the way of stiff competition. After all, the Ravens have only two 4,000-yard passing seasons in their history, and only two with 30-plus passing touchdowns. One was back in 1996.
Harbaugh recalls one group, though, in particular, a photo of which he has framed in his home with Torrey Smith, Steve Smith Sr., and Jacoby Jones. “I thought, ‘That was a good group’”, he said during minicamp. “This group rivals that group, and it might be the best – we’ll see. That’s up to them to determine that, but I’m very excited about those guys”.
The only year in which Smith Sr. and Jones were teammates in Baltimore, Jones only caught nine passes, in 2014. But the former caught 79 for 1,065 yards and six touchdowns. And Torrey Smith caught 49 passes for 767 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Okay, so not exactly incredible. The latter Smith and Jones were also a part of the championship 2012 team with Anquan Boldin, who caught 65 passes for 921 yards and four touchdowns that year. Smith had 49 catches for 855 yards and eight touchdowns, while Jones caught 30 for 406 and one touchdown.
So, no, we’re not exactly talking the greatest show on turf here. As a matter of fact, the Ravens only have 14 1,000-yard receiving seasons in their history, and of the 14, five occurred over two decades ago. They only have two seasons of 10-plus touchdowns, one being Smith’s, another being tight end Mark Andrews, and the other Michael Jackson back in 1996.
If we’re being honest here, suggesting that this could be the best group of wide receivers in Ravens history is a low bar. Granted, they’re not one of the oldest franchises in the NFL, but that they have struggled to draft and develop at the position during that time is well documented.
Indeed, they’re following their old script in adding from the outside. With the exception of Torrey Smith and Jackson (who was a Cleveland Brown before the franchise move), their best wide receivers have been free agents like Smith Sr., Derrick Mason, Derrick Alexander, Boldin, Qadry Ismail, and even Mike Wallace.
Now they’re resting much of their hopes on a soon-to-be-31-year-old former All-Pro who hasn’t played football in a year and a half in Beckham while hoping that at least one of their recent first-round picks at the position proves to be halfway decent for more than half a season.
