Ravens Might Have Work to Do in Wide Receivers Room
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens received high grades for their overall performance in the 2022 draft.
However, they still might have more work ahead of them to fortify their wide receivers' room.
The Ravens' wideouts were ranked as the least improved by Pro Football Focus. ESPN also ranked the wide receivers as the least improved in the league.
"Baltimore did add two receiving threats at tight end on Day 3 in Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar and Coastal Carolina’s Isaiah," Ben Linsey wrote. "Likely, but it still looks like the Ravens are going to have to lean heavily on Mark Andrews in 2022 unless they plan to sign more help in free agency."
The Ravens traded Marquise Brown and the 100th pick — a third-round compensatory selection— in the 2022 draft in exchange for the 23rd overall pick. Baltimore took Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum with that selection.
So, it seemed likely the Ravens would have selected a wide receiver in the draft.
However, it didn't happen.
The Ravens reportedly had their sights on Calvin Austin III of Memphis in the fourth round, but the Steelers grabbed him with the 138th pick. Baltimore selected tight end Isaiah Likely with the next pick. Likely plays like a big-bodied wide receiver and his game could translate well at the pro level.
The Ravens have a young group of wide receivers on the current roster with Rashod Bateman, a first-round pick last year, headlining this group. Baltimore also has Devin Duvernay, James, and Tylan Wallace pushing for more playing time.
All of these players have the potential to be playmakers, but they have to produce when given the opportunity this season.
The Ravens also reportedly signed several undrafted wide receivers, including Makai Polk (Mississippi State), Slade Bolden (Alabama), Trevon Clark (California), Emeka Emezie (North Carolina State), and Devon Williams (Oregon) to compete for jobs.
The Ravens could still bring in a veteran, but they seem ready to see what these young players can do.
"We took ‘Bate’ [Rashod Bateman] last year; he was our first-round guy, and I think he’s going to show you why," GM Eric DeCosta said. "Devin, we have a theory that guys that end up playing on special teams and being really good special teams players end up being really good position players. We think Devin is a great young player. We took Tylan last year, and kind of the same thing. He’s a young player and we were very excited to get him last year. He’s a guy last year that we got in the fourth round, that we probably would have taken a round and a half earlier last year. Then we have James, and James made a jump last year and made some critical plays in games.
"So, we like our group. We will add players to the mix. We’re doing that right now, and we’ll look at veteran players as well. It wasn’t really by design that we wanted to create a hole on the team. I don’t look at it that way, but in this business, you pivot, you dodge, you weave – you’re always really going to be chasing a need."