2014 Receiver Depth Chart
WR1- Steve Smith Sr.
WR2 - Torrey Smith
WR3- Marlon Brown
WR4 - Kamar Aiken
WR5 - Jacoby Jones
WR6 - Michael Campanaro
2014 Recap
Gary Kubiak took over a subpar offense and hoped to improve the production of Joe Flacco. The main protagonists in his tale were Steve and Torrey Smith. Each had their own successes in Kubiak's offense which favors the WR1 which in this case was Steve. Torrey had a massive drop in yardage but nearly led the league with his 11 TDs. The offense improved from the year prior in the passing game jumping from an NFL rank of 18th in 2013 to 13th in 2014. The biggest issue was the inconsistencies from the third and fourth receivers. Jones started the season higher on the depth chart but had a few drops to start the season thus losing his spot to Brown and Aiken. The lack in production outside of the Smiths goes back to what plagued this team all year, injuries. Brown, Aiken and Campanaro all missed time with injuries. Campanaro missed the most time, shining in the Tampa Bay game before injuring his hamstring and missing most of the season.
2015 Outlook
WR1 - Steve Smith Sr.- Ozzie basically has told him, after Steve initially said he was ready to come back, to take some time to reflect on whether he wants to honestly come back. All signs are pointing to him returning for his 15th season but can his old body take another season? After all the talk at the beginning of last season of him setting a career mark(four out of first six games he had over 100 yards) he had a less than stellar second half. Only going over 100 yards once after week six. At least the once was the first round of the playoffs! I could see Smith having a similar start to next season but possibly seeing more of the younger guys step up later in the year.
WR2 - Torrey Smith - He has become one of the most talked about free agents from the team this year. Rampant debates among Ravens fans and the talking heads of local radio. Can he run crisp routes? Not really. Great hands? Average at best. However the guy still hustles and has barely missed any time. Local product out of Maryland who hasn't had any issues off the field, for the right price I would welcome him back. My gut tells me he is going to get offers from teams like Carolina, Oakland or possibly the Colts. Any of those teams have the cap space to make an offer to Torrey.
WR3 - Marlon Brown - Brown was a mystery last season. It is hard to figure what he will do in 2015. With or without Torrey's return I would guess that Brown will go back to being productive as he was in 2013. Trestman is used to having big targets at his disposal and Brown definitely fits that bill. All Brown has to do is stay healthy and stay in the good graces of Harbs.
WR4 - Kamar Aiken - Out of all of the returning talent he is the one I am most excited about. From the little we saw of him last year we did see that he has hands. His rookie campaign had flashes of greatness and I'm hoping to see more of that next season.
WR5 - Jacoby Jones - HE GONE! Look, I love Jacoby as much as the next Raven fan but his decline in the the return game and lack in ability to catch the ball make his departure that much easier to deal with.
WR6 - Michael Campanaro - The local boy out of Silver Spring, MD who people are hoping to be the next Wes Welker (sans the concussions) or Julian Edelman (sans the douchebaggery) out of the slot. Another case of, will he stay healthy enough in 2015 to show his potential? He and Aiken looked like the real deal against Tampa this season. Then again, so could anyone against them. Campanaro could have a break out year with a bulk of the return duties as well as working in the slot.
Competition from the Outside
First of all, if you think the Cowboys are going to let Dez Bryant out of Dallas you have clearly lost your mind. Stop calling radio stations with this notion crazy people! I expect the Ravens to either re-sign Torrey Smith or possibly upgrade if the financial numbers work. If we learned anything from this postseason it is that Green Bay could survive without Randall Cobb. Cobb will probably get a big pay day anywhere which normally eliminates the Ravens. There have also been some rumors that Brandon Marshall will follow his former head coach Marc Trestman to Baltimore. If he was a free agent I would be all for it but I personally don't like us giving up picks for possibilities. As great as Marshall is, he is coming off injury. Besides, this is a team that normally builds from the draft unfortunately with little success in the team's history. This year, there is a strong receiver class.
Draft Outlook
First and foremost, there is absolutely no damn way we are going to trade up for Kevin White! I don't care how great he looked in the season, how he dominated in pretend football during the combine or his ability to apparently walk on water. We aren't getting him. So all you Raven bloggers who keep posting "WRs to watch for in this years draft, Ravens edition" please stop. A more believable option if we do go for one on the first day is Jaelen Strong. 17 TDs and 2,287 yards in his collegiate career and a great showing at the combine (4.44 second 40 yard dash and an impressive 42 in vertical leap) make Strong a valid option to be a potential number one. I know me personally, I have leaped many a time, I don't think I have totaled 42 inches in my lifetime while leaping vertically. Not to mention he is a monster at 6'2" 217 lbs. I would suspect the Ravens to stay away from problem child Dorial Green-Beckham, that whole "marijuana" issue and "domestic violence" problem is something they are trying to clear their image of.
I would expect them to keep an eye on local prospect Stefon Diggs (Maryland) and not so local prospect Philip Dorsett in the later rounds to possibly fill the role of Jacoby Jones. Occasional receiver, return guy. Both were speedsters at the combine running sub 4.5 sec forties but Diggs definitely has the injury bug which could cause him to drop in the draft. Also keep an eye on Breshad Perriman out of UCF. The interesting fact on Perriman is the comparisons to a former UCF alum in Brandon Marshall. Minus the diva act and going nuts/punching through a TV that sounds great to me. The negative is that he would be a project, like Torrey Smith has been. Not crisp running routes but talented. I do expect the Ravens to probably grab three of four receivers either in the draft or post draft with undrafted free agents. They need at least a couple for the practice squad to fellas.
2015 Roster Predictions
WR1 - Steve Smith Sr.
WR2 - Jaelen Strong
WR3 - Marlon Brown
WR4 - Kamar Aiken
WR5 - Michael Campanero
WR6 - Stefon Diggs
I'm guessing two of our wide receivers will be picked up in the draft but it is possible that a veteran could be resigned (like Torrey Smith). Possibly a veteran could be picked up in free agency but the draft class is more populated with upside than the potential crapfest that is the NFL WR 2015 free agent class. Whoever is on the practice squad is going to be a late round or undrafted free agent. Not too much turnover but I can assure you that we will have at least one new face to look at in our wide receivers if not more.
