Five Things I Hate About the Denver Broncos

This has been a long time coming. I have had a lot of hate brewing all summer for all of our opponents this year and FINALLY...I get to let it all out. No player is safe, no city is safe and certainly all of their fans may get a little butt hurt. If so, I must be doing something right.

1) That moment you realize Peyton Manning has a familiar face...

Just so you aren't confused that is NOT Peyton Manning. That is a picture of Rocky Dennis from The Mask. In all honesty I spent hours doing research on massive foreheaded human beings and this was the best match. If Peyton went on Maury to prove that this was not his child, the lie detector would detect...THAT WAS A LIE! Seriously just look at that forehead and imagine a giant red splotch from a helmet plastered in the middle of it. Want a visual aide?

YOU CAN'T DENY IT!

2) The amount of "fans" the team got when they signed Manning.

If people want to start calling Seahawk fans bandwagoners slow down. Broncos were the biggest ones on the planet. First they were super crazed for Tebow, guy wins a playoff game, he's our guy. Holy hell! We got Manning? Tebow sucks, I love this team now. Friends of mine(not living in Colorado) switched over to liking them as soon as Manning signs, I mean come on GTFOHWTBS. This seems similar to when they won back to back Super Bowls. At least, that was a successful team in the big game. Not just free agency.

3) They cried like whiners when we had to open our season there the year after we won the Super Bowl.

Am I the only one who remembers the video of the reporter in Denver walking around and mocking the Flacco banners? How dare the NFL market the defending Super Bowl champion! They clearly forgot what that was like 20 years ago when they won in Denver. Thanks for choking, er I mean playing.

4) Biff from Back to the Future is their GM

Man does he hate Baltimore, let's hate him back...together. Some of you youngins don't remember or maybe just haven't Googled it before, this guy denounced Baltimore when we drafted him as the Colts. He threatened to go play baseball....for the Yankees. What a douche!

5) Their inability to wear appropriate garments in 0 degree temperatures

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with that guy? It's a whopping -2 degrees wind chill and this ass hat is wearing a barrel, a cowboy hat and winter gloves. The suspenders aren't even covering those nips which I can assure you are poised for cutting a million pieces of glass. Lowe's should sign this guy up to be in their glass booth in the local Denver locations for that exact job. I just caught a cold looking at this. I now need to get some Theraflu.

Man that feels better. Feel free to add to the list because there are many more reasons to hate the folks of Mile High. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go put some food in Peyton Manning's mama's dish. Good evenin'!

Would the Real Contender...

Please stand up, please stand up. We're a contender so don't be a pretender and won't the real contender please stand up, please stand up, please stand up. Will Smith doesn't have to cuss in his blogs to get views, oh yeah well...

Well before I go all Marshall Mathers, this question is asked every season by the true contenders for a division. The Broncos faithful have to wonder if the Chiefs or Chargers are going to matter. The Colts have to hope for four more years of sucking for the Texans and Titans. The Patriots have, uh, the Patriots have, uhm, OH WAIT I GOT IT! The Patriots have to figure out how to make the NFL look like a bunch of morons each season and whether or not someone in their division might get out of mediocrity. While us in purple country, MD wonder who is going to be a bigger thorn in our side. The Steelers or Bengals.

If we all want to believe Sports Illustrated's Peter King who recently said we could go to the Super Bowl this season with the only thing being in our way....the Cincinnati Bengals. Citing that they have won 4 out of the last 5 meetings between us. That lone victory was the insane overtime home game where AJ Green caught that TD pass to tie the game off of a deflection from Ihedigbo. I had a Bengal fan drop this gem on me, "Andy Dalton (regular season version) always seems to be the Red Rifle against you, (terrible) against most everyone else." Easy bro, Dalton hasn't exactly been precise in our meetings. Surprisingly productive in crunch time yes but his TD-INT is terrible. He has 7(passing) TDs compared to 12 INTs. His QBR isn't that impressive either with only eclipsing a 90 rating twice (out of eight meetings). So while the Bengals fan may have said something silly, King points towards the Bengal defense as their reason for success. While our defense aged and hit kind of a rut, the Bengals have improved significantly on offense and defense over the past few years. Their D has held us to 18.8 points per game. Doesn't bode well for getting another important factor for success in the playoffs. King believes that for the Ravens to go to the promised land we need homefield advantage. I got to say, I 100% agree with that fact. The Harbaugh led Ravens are 45-11 at home and a measly 27-29 on the road during the regular season. Would you rather enjoy playing in the nest in downtown Baltimore for the AFC championship or freezing your nether regions off in Denver/New England?

That being said, let's look at who is actually playing New England on Thursday night. The Steelers will be opening the season against the reigning champs from New England where there are probably going to be a total of 90 points put up. The Steelers, like us, have had a severe change in their lineup over the past few years during our rivalry, arguably the best one in the sport. Their defense is just straight doo doo. While we (surprisingly) finished in the top 10 last year, Pittsburgh fell down into 18th. Not terrible but also not the Steeler football that we are used to seeing. On the flip side of that, they were the second in the league in both total offense (a mere .3 yards behind the Saints) and passing (behind Indy by 69 yards). The killer B's (Big Ben, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown) all

The Killer B's
Photo Credit: Bleacher Report

have something to do with that. Brown and Bell are arguably the best at their position. Ben is the best QB in the division, ouch that hurt to type. Anyway the man is more than likely going to post a 5,000 yard season this year especially with Bell out the first two games of the year while going against okay pass defenses. New England doesn't really have a shut down corner(and Ben has done well before since Belichick hasn't figured him out). San Francisco may have one, in the year 2020. So he might legitimately have nearly 1,000 yards by the end of week 2. No Bell means little to no run game (sorry DeAngelo Williams) and even though the team is without their deep threat in Bryant they still have a bevy of other weapons they can use. The cupboard isn't bare in Pittsburgh. What does this have to do with the Ravens you say? Well in all honesty, as far as the season series goes we can usually pencil whip a 1-1 split between the teams. Most times they will be close, someone may die/get severely injured and we are going to have one of a battle with some jerkwad on social media about something Suggs does. Happens every time. The thing is, Pittsburgh always plays well later in the season, you know when the season is on the line, and we do get to play them in a part of their schedule that they are usually in a groove.

In all honesty there is a wrong answer here. That answer is what King said. I don't see how, with the chip on our shoulder from last year, we don't march all over Cincy when we play them in week 3. Harbs seems to be quite pissy lately when the team isn't performing up to par and I don't see them doing that again against the Bengals. Hell, by week 17 they could be out of the playoff picture. They have a tougher (first place) schedule, an aging oft injured defense, their star player is coming back from several injuries from just a season ago (A.J. Green) and a QB who (most of the time) chokes under pressure. I hate/respect Big Ben. If we aren't up by 9 or more against the Steelers with more than :35 on the clock I'm nervous. If anyone says other wise they are lying more than Tom Brady in court.

All in all I expect this year to be a down year for the Bengals and Coach Lewis to finally be cut loose. The Steelers, whether we like them or not, get the Ravens to play their best football. Even in the Boller years (ugh) we always got amped up to beat/play them. Plus that high powered offense utterly destroyed us last season and considering our lack of depth in the secondary it could happen again. Look for the Ravens and Steelers to be going blow for blow all season.

The North Report - Preseason Edition: Cleveland Browns

I know, I know. The Browns are awful! Why would anyone waste any portion of their life previewing a team that is more than likely going to finish last in the division, of which they MIGHT win 2 games in said division? Well for starters, it allows the writer to mock a crappy team and laugh at what poor soul decided being on the Browns was a good career move in the offseason. "I'm gonna go to the Super Bowl!," said no Browns QB ever.

Key Departure

Josh Gordon and Johnny Football's substance abuse problems? Well yes and no. In all seriousness the team lost a key piece to their offense when Jordan Cameron (not to be confused with Cameron Jordan) took his talents to South Beach to catch passes from Ryan Tannehill. Cameron's biggest issue was staying on the field in 2014 but it is hard to deny that he, at one time, was a dominant force in this offense. A piece defensive coordinators had to focus on and figure out how to eliminate him from their game plan. Add to that Gordon is serving a one year suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy which unfortunately takes out two cogs in the offense.

Without Gordon and Cameron the Browns will rely heavily on Andrew Hawkins, somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe, Brian Hartline and Gary Barnidge. Gary who? Gary "never had more than 13 receptions in a season, God I hope we have a good running game this year, is it January yet?"

Also, Brian Hoyer is gone. We knew that was going to happen when the team drafted Manziel.

What about the draft?

The Browns may not have made too many free agent splashes however they did have 12 draft picks this year. Before we go too crazy let's remember that there are 7 rounds to the draft and this team had 5 of those 12 picks in the 6th and 7th. However, that allowed them to add some young depth to their squad. Starting with their piss poor defensive line from a year ago that EVERYONE ran on, they went with a plug up the middle in DT Danny Shelton who adds depth to a line that lost a man to free agency and has another (Phil Taylor) returning from injury AND playing in a contract year, going young is a good move. Also in the first round they added depth to their offensive line (also piss poor) by adding Cameron Erving. It will solidify the right side of the Browns line as well as add much needed depth. Which is basically what the team did with the rest of the draft. Why in the hell this team drafted yet another running back (who fantasy types like myself are just hoping bursts through) I have no idea. For some reason this team took a flyer on Duke Johnson in the third round. Adding him to an already crowded backfield makes little sense but when do the Browns honestly make sense.

Did they pick up anybody?

Well I kind of spoiled it above discussing who was in the receiving core. The team acquired oldie but goodie Brian Hartline and younger unproven Dwayne Bowe. The biggest acquisition was the person throwing these two guys the ball. Josh McCown is in town, throwing balls around, not very sound and probably gonna go down....a lot. I don't really see this is much of an improvement at the position with Hoyer's departure. McCown is more of a veteran but he is still not throwing balls to the likes of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey in Cleveland like he was when he was successful in Chicago. All in all this feels like a lateral move to McCown who is just a place holder until Manziel is ready to have another go at starting. I'm guessing by midseason it will be Johnny Football time.

Prediction

It's not hard to predict where these cellar dwellers will finish. They occasionally shock a division opponent and luck out playing the Raiders (who will probably beat them). Having a completely new offense as far as receivers go doesn't bode well along with a brand spanking new quarterback who is unproven without having superstar receivers to back him up. Their first four games are a complete tossup. They honestly could win all of the games (@Jets, Titans, Raiders & @Chargers) but after the division play starts. The NFC West starts and the good teams in the AFC West start. They go to Seattle and KC (losses no doubt) towards the end of the season. You know, to solidify their draft spot. It's going to be a long season for these guys. The defense may surprise some folks and if their offense can keep pace they are going to surprise some teams. Not enough to matter in the thick of things.

4-12, Last place, 2nd worst record in football

So that covers the division. Now we are ready for some FOOTBALL! Well after this last week of preseason that is. Let's just hope all teams get through this last game with the least amount of injuries, for fantasy purposes of course.

The North Report - Preseason Edition: Pittsburgh Steelers

So let me get this straight. The Steeler's open the season with the Hall of Fame game and also open the regular season against what will probably be the Brady-less (waaa waa Pats fans) Patriots squad. Interesting. In all honesty I missed the game this past Thursday. Starters barely play in the first game and fans barely get a chance to see new players in action. Even realize the team has new players. I didn't get to hear the wife say,"Oh crap! He's a damn Steeler now?." Well now you(and she) will know.

Key Departure

This is a no brainer. It is a sad day when a future hall of famer leaves a team and the Steelers losing Troy Polamalu to retirement is disappointing. Ravens fans and Steeler fans alike loved arguing who was better between he and Ed Reed. Polamalu may have not been the same player in recent years but his presence definitely mattered in a young Steeler locker room. He was the quiet warrior and I for one am sad to see him go. Just like Hines Ward (who we all STILL hate respect) he was part of a beautiful disaster that was our rivalry with this team. I'm not going to miss him causing Flacco headaches near our own goal line (yes Steeler fan we remember that play) nor will I miss him terrorizing our entire backfield. In other words, respect!

Shamarko Thomas is stepping into the unfillable shoes of a legend. 

Update: A few days after writing this article Martavis Bryant was handed a four game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Apparently, he couldn't stay out of Le'Veon Bell's stash. Anyway his suspension hurts the offense across the board(not JUST the fantasy board). An offense that will already be missing Bell for two of those games. Markus Wheaton is going to have to step up with those two key pieces missing on offense.

What about the draft?

While every one of their fans will argue, you know they were looking for the heir apparent to Heath Miller and we snagged Maxx Williams before they could. However they still had a successful draft grabbing some depth for their linebacking core and defensive backs. They grabbed a pass rushing LB (Alvin Dupree, Kentucky) something this team has been missing since James Harrison left. Yes I know he came back and did his thing for a few games but they need it on a more consistent basis. When he was in the backfield that is when this team was dominant on the defensive side of the ball. As we all know, their pass defense was terrible last season. Almost as bad as the Ravens (which was pretty terrible). They went with a corner in the second round(Senquez Golson, Ole Miss) who was known in his college years as a ballhawk (he had 10 INTs last season at Ole Miss). In all honesty I always try to keep an eye on the receivers this team drafts. Lately they have been hitting homeruns with their later round receiver picks. This year's diamond in the rough could be Sammie Coates out of Auburn. While he did have a case of the drops he also had a case of averaging over 20 yards a reception in the SEC last season.

Did they pick up anybody?

In a word...yes! The biggest knock on the Steelers last year was how one dimensional they became without Le'Veon Bell on the field. That all should change with a significant upgrade in his backup. Deangelo Williams will be spelling Bell this season and more than likely starting in his place for a the first two games while he serves his suspension. Williams is not the runner he once was but he is still a dangerous back when healthy. He certainly isn't Bell but he can at least be dangerous as a runner which this team was missing last season when Bell wasn't out there. 

Update: While I still believe Williams to be the most significant pickup of the offseason for the Steelers, the team has signed veteran dog kill...er quarterback Michael Vick as a backup. Will Vick even see the field this season? Probably not. We all know that it literally takes a motorcycle accident for Big Ben to miss any significant amount of time. However, I can assure you that some Steeler fans (ie, the wife) were/are not too happy to see him on the team. Then again my wife likes dogs more than people.

Prediction

This really isn't prediction as much as it is a fact. This is a contending team for the division and possibly the AFC. They are year in and year out and that is mostly due to their franchise QB. There will be a battle between them and the Ravens for the AFC North which fortunately we play towards the end of the season (in week 16). However, this is during a 5 game stretch towards the end of the season where they have a quite a meaty sandwich with Browns bread. After their first game with the Browns in week 10 they get to rest up for a brutal stretch that includes @Seattle, Colts, @Cincinnati, Broncos and @Ravens before closing the season out against the Browns. This team is usually one who has started to pick up steam towards the end of the season but this one could fare differently because of that rough stretch. Yes, they are going to play the Pats without Brady more than likely in week one. Who cares? They still have to win the game without arguably their best player in Bell. So quit complaining Ravens fans, this is why they hate us. Not cause they ain't us. However if Janeane Garofalo or whatever that kids name is beats them (shut up I know his name is Jimmy Garoppolo) I will be the first to laugh at the wife until we play on Sunday against the Broncos.

10-6, wild card/possible division crown

There you have it, the division is wrapped up. Should make for an interesting football season. Remember kiddies, only a couple more sleeps until the beginning of the season!

The North Report - Cincinnati Bengals Preseason Edition

While it's great and all to talk up your team, the best offense is a good defense. Knowing your opponents (and in this case division foe) is very important to a team's success which makes the fanatics go crazy all the way through the playoffs. Mostly if you're friends are like mine they go, "so and so is with them now!" Throughout fantasy drafts and Sundays don't lie, it's heard all around. "I didn't know he was on the Bengals." Well now you will know.

Key Departure

Losing Jermaine Gresham may have been a God send for this team who suffered more losses in their deep secondary (all be it Terrance Newman and Taylor Mays) then on offense. Gresham had been falling off in his production over the last couple of years. While last year may have been only 2 receptions behind his career high, he only averaged 7.9 yards a catch. The stat that may get by some people is just how key his catches were. Sure he may have only had 5 touchdowns, 24 of those catches were for first down. Nearly 39%. It is possibly for him to be resigned but it seems that they are leading him out to pasture. He recently worked out for the Arizona Cardinals but has yet to be signed.

Expect the team to stick with Eifert.

What about the draft?

Someone needs to protect Dalton! Lord knows they don't want the AJ McCarron show quite yet. Tackles were what they desired (since they lost a starter in free agency) and they enjoyed being the third best team in the league only allowing 23 sacks last year. I wouldn't be surprised to see their 2nd rounder Fisher performing better than (probably starting before) his oft injured first round competition. They also beefed up an already loaded secondary with USC's Josh Shaw. Shaw figures to be a special teams contributor and used against the slot receiver. He should be able to keep up with the best of them, he did run a 4.39 40. 

Did they pick up anybody?

Well...define anybody. Their biggest signing (other than resigning some of their key guys) would be A.J. Hawk. Not just cause his dad was....I guess still is, part of the Legion of Doom. There are other reasons. If you know anything about the Bengals linebackers it is that they seem to have a problem with the injury bug. Whether it be Burfict or Maualuga, one if not both tend to get injured. Hawk is more than capable of carrying his own but was getting out shined in every way by his former teammate Clay Matthews in Green Bay. Hawk is more than capable of carrying his own but will only be the "in case of emergency break open glass" guy.

Prediction

I mean honestly who makes predictions before preseason? Oh wait, everyone. It is all together possible for this team to start off 1-5. Don't laugh I'm serious. They laid some stinkers last season when everyone declared them the class of the AFC.  That being said, I doubt they start that way but it could happen. There is little chance they lose to the Raiders even if it is their season opener in the black hole. The next 5 are kind of a toss up. San Diego can never be trusted (mostly cause of inconsistencies), Baltimore on the road (that sweep last year still stings) follow that up with KC, Seattle and a roadie to Sexy Rexy Ryan in Buffalo and it makes for an interesting start to the season. Their schedule at the end of the season is truly brutal. The last 4 games are Steelers, @ 49ers, @Denver and Ravens. Those 4 weeks will decide if they make the playoffs. Knowing this division they will be in it until the end. 10 wins might take the division crown. However I think Marvin's luck has run out.

9-7, miss playoffs/possible wild card

Keep an eye out for my next installment, yet another hated rival (aren't all the division teams hated? Except the Browns, they're sad. Damn! Answered my own question!) the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Top 50 Ravens in 2015

Can you feel it? Football season is approaching! Faster than Peyton Manning can yell, "OMAHA!" training camp will be here. What does that usually mean for you the reader? Lists, TONS OF LISTS! Fantasy, super bowl odds, MVP, injury reports, arrest records and lord knows what else.

So here is one of the many lists you will see, the difference being mine is awesome! Stay tuned as this is part of a major article for  Purple Reign . They are compiling a list of...

Top 50 Ravens of 2015

1. Terrell Suggs
2. Justin Tucker
3. Joe Flacco
4. C.J. Mosley
5. Justin Forsett
6. Marshal Yanda
7. Elvis Dumervil
8. Steve Smith Sr.
9. Kelechi Osemele
10. Jimmy Smith
11. Brandon Williams
12. Courtney Upshaw
13. Timmy Jernigan
14. Rick Wagner
15. Dennis Pitta
16. Lardarius Webb
17. Jeremy Zuttah
18. Daryl Smith
19. Eugene Monroe
20. Breshad Perriman
21. Sam Koch
22. Kyle Juszczyk
23. Kyle Arrington
24. Lorenzo Taliaferro
25. Kendrick Lewis
26. Will Hill
27. Chris Canty
28. Asa Jackson
29. Marlon Brown
30. Albert McClellan
31. Kamar Aiken
32. DeAngelo Tyson
33. Maxx Williams
34. Arthur Brown
35. Michael Campanero
36. John Urschel
37. Matt Elam
38. Carl Davis
39. James Hurst
40. Crockett Gilmore
41. Javorius Allen
42. Matt Schaub
43. Darren Waller
44. Terrance Brooks
45. Morgan Cox
46. Deandre Carter
47. Anthony Levine
48. Za'Darius Smith
49. Kiero Small
50. Casey Walker

There you have it. When the article is posted to the main website, it will be posted here . 

Offseason Review: Wide Receivers

The 2014 receiving core definitely had its ups and downs this season. Looking forward into next season it is hard to say if we will recognize half of the starters. There could be a major overhaul resulting in half of the squad changing going into next season. Last season the Ravens had six members of their depth chart belonging to receivers.

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.