Expect Heated Competiton Among Ravens Wide Receivers to Make Final Roster
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens suddenly have a crowded wide receivers room and there will be heated competition to earn a spot on the final 53-man roster.
With the addition of Rashod Bateman and Tylan Wallace in this year's draft, Baltimore now has seven players vying for perhaps six roster spots. Newly acquired Sammy Watkins, Marquise Brown, Miles Boykin, Devin Duvernay and James Proche all should be ready to compete when training camp opens in July.
"We’re very happy the way it played out," DeCosta said. "We’re excited. But I also want to say that we feel really, really good about the guys that are already on the campus. Those guys are going to compete, they’re good players, [and] they’re going to help us win a lot of games. All we’ve done really is just kind of stack the deck and create a lot of competition.”
The Ravens need to boost a passing attack that ranked last in the NFL in yards per game and attempts. Quarterback Lamar Jackson needed more playmakers to expose the backend of opposing defenses.
The new-look group of wide receivers has the potential to drastically improve the Ravens' passing attack.
"I don't want to call it an embarrassment of riches, but when you talk about Hollywood and Devin and Miles, I really feel good about the guys we have," offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. "This offense is really one that runs through Lamar. We're always going to do what gives us the best chance to win. When you add talent like that, it's really going to expand our profile quite a bit, actually. To play with the kind of balance that we really want to play with.
"I really think it will probably take some pressure off guys that have been here like Marquise, free him up a little bit as well. The field's about 53 yards wide, and I think people are going to have to defend all 53 yards of it."
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the heated competition for roster spots os only going to be beneficial to the team.
"We like to build as deep of a roster as we can because the more good players you have in camp, the better the competition, in terms of offense versus defense, one on ones, drills that we run," Harbaugh said. "You get better by going against good players. It makes our established veterans better. It makes our young guys better. We like to have a deep roster. So, yes, I’m really excited, I’m happy. As a coach, I like the look of the roster, and I’m looking forward to going to work, start practicing and start improving.”
