OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens will look to upgrade at wide receiver in free agency.
The Ravens’ wide receivers totaled the NFL’s fewest receptions (137) and receiving yards (1,729) last season, and this group will be among the league’s youngest with Willie Snead IV heading into free agency and Dez Bryant not expected to return. Wide receiver is among Baltimore’s biggest needs, if not the top one, when free agency kicks off next week.
"We want playmakers,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said at the end of last season when asked about which wide receivers he might pursue during free agency. "We want guys that can stretch the field. We want guys that can catch the ball inside on third downs. We want guys that can scare the defense and allow us to be flexible and balanced up front on offense.”
What kind of wide receiver will Baltimore bring in? Recent history shows a varying level of success with veteran pass-catchers.
Over the last decade, the Ravens have acquired 10 veteran wide receivers who have produced extreme results, from the Mile High Miracle to the biggest failed catch in team history.
Here is a ranking of the veteran wide receivers added by Baltimore since 2011:
1. Steve Smith Sr.: Smith didn’t produce a 100-catch season like Derrick Mason or win a Super Bowl like Anquan Boldin, but Smith will be remembered as one of top free-agent wide receiver additions in Ravens history. After signing one of the team’s best bargain deals (three-year, $10.5 million), Smith brought a toughness and an edge to Baltimore’s offense. In 2015, he recorded seven catches for 137 yards after missing one game with four micro fractures in his back. John Harbaugh has said Smith is one of his all-time favorite players that he’s coached because of his competitiveness. In 37 games with the Ravens, Smith caught 195 passes for 2,534 yards and 14 touchdowns.
2. Jacoby Jones: You can make an argument that Jones’ heroics in the Ravens’ 2012 Super Bowl run should put him at the top of this list. Jones delivered one of the most memorable catches in NFL history with the “Mile High Miracle,” the desperation 70-yard touchdown bomb from Joe Flacco that forced the AFC divisional playoff game in Denver to go into overtime. In the Super Bowl, he hauled in a 56-yard touchdown pass from Flacco. “We don’t win Super Bowl XLVII without Jacoby,” then-general manager Ozzie Newsome said. In the regular season, Jones wasn’t consistent enough to become Baltimore’s No. 2 receiver and finished with one touchdown catch with the Ravens.
3. Mike Wallace: Wallace added some pop to Baltimore’s offense after signing a two-year, $11.5 million deal. His eight catches of 50 yards or more in his two seasons with the Ravens topped the NFL. But Wallace also dropped a handful of passes, including a couple in the 2017 season-ending loss to the Cincinnati Bengals that knocked out Baltimore of playoff contention. Still, Wallace is the last Ravens wide receiver to eclipse 800 yards receiving, when he totaled 1,017 yards in 2016.
4. Willie Snead IV: He was an under-the-radar addition in 2018, when Baltimore signed him to an offer sheet as a restricted free agent after bringing in Michael Crabtree and John Brown. Snead proved to be more reliable than Crabtree and Brown and outlasted both of them in Baltimore, pulling in 126 catches for 1,422 yards and nine touchdowns in three seasons. His contributions extended beyond the stat sheet. Snead’s physical blocking helped Baltimore top the NFL in rushing in each of the past two seasons.
5. John Brown: Brown was explosive in his only season in Baltimore (2018), averaging 17 yards and scoring five touchdowns on 42 receptions. He got off to a fast start with Flacco, but his production drastically fell after Lamar Jackson took over as the starting quarterback. The Ravens went in another direction by drafting Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in the first round.
6. Michael Crabtree: He turned out to be the exact opposite of a sure-handed, red-zone weapon when he led the NFL with eight dropped passes in his only season (2018) in Baltimore including a potential game-winner in Cleveland. Crabtree’s best showing was catching two touchdowns in a wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but he never developed into a go-to target (54 catches for 607 yards receiving). He was cut one year after signing a three-year, $21 million contract.
7. Jeremy Maclin: The Ravens’ disappointing signing of Crabtree came one season after the even more frustrating addition of Maclin. Signed to a two-year, $11 million deal in 2017, Maclin recorded career lows with 40 catches for 440 yards. His one season in Baltimore was marked by injuries and a lack of intensity.
8. Seth Roberts: Like Maclin, Roberts produced career lows with 21 catches for 271 yards in his only season in Baltimore. Roberts’ lasting impression in 2019 was an unsightly drop in the divisional playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans.
9. Dez Bryant: It’s difficult to chalk up the signing of Bryant to a disappointment because the Ravens were simply taking a flier on a 32-year-old receiver who hadn’t played the previous two seasons. He made minimal impact on the field last season (six receptions for 47 yards and two touchdowns), but he was applauded by teammates and coaches for bringing competitiveness and a positive attitude. Bryant, though, wrote on Twitter that he wasn’t a fit in Baltimore and will be playing elsewhere next season.
10. Lee Evans: The mentioning of his name still brings a painful look to Ravens fans. Evans failed to hold onto what would have been a game-winning, 14-yard touchdown pass from Flacco in the 2011 AFC Championship Game. The ball was slapped out of Evans’ grasp by Patriots defender Sterling Moore. This capped an exasperating one season in Baltimore for Evans, who managed four catches after the Ravens traded a fourth-round pick for him.
"bad" - Google News
March 09, 2021 at 06:06PM
https://ift.tt/38oL3BP
Good, bad and Lee Evans: Ranking Ravens' wide receiver acquisitions - Baltimore Ravens Blog- ESPN - ESPN
"bad" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SpwJRn
https://ift.tt/2z7gkKJ
No comments:
Post a Comment