Before I dive into this, sorry for the crazy lack of posts. I won’t bore you with excuses, but I’m hoping to start to get back into the normal pace.
Anquan Boldin is the guy in Baltimore right now. He’s been talked about by millions, and the trade has been dissected by thousands. What hasn’t been looked at as much, however, is what this trade does to the Ravens’ other receivers, and how it will affect the rest of their offseason.
Going into this offseason, the #1 need was by consensus, a playmaking wide receiver. Adding Donte Stallworth helped, but now with Boldin, that goal is met. Assuming Derrick Mason returns for a chance at a Super Bowl run, and the team returns either Kelly Washington or Demetrius Williams, you have four veteran receivers. I still believe the team will add a 2nd or 3rd round receiver/kick returner prospect similar to Mardy Gilyard.
Boldin will be the #1, and hopefully catch over 70 passes. Mason would be relegated to #2, where he can make a big impact with his hands if Boldin is being contained and double-teamed by the opponent. Stallworth could be that wild card who gets open deep and makes a big play when the team most needs it. Combined, that’s a pretty rockin’ receiving corps. When one of the top three isn’t rolling, the other one can pick them up. Last year, if Mason was a non-factor, Flacco was forced to try to squeeze the ball to Ray Rice every play. I haven’t even touched on that yet. Rice should be able to have some big games out of the backfield catching the ball again this season because he won’t be the team’s leading threat in the passing game. Very exciting prospects for the 2010 Ravens offense.