Baltimore Ravens receivers: Where art thou?

Through three games, the Baltimore Ravens receivers have been virtually nonexistent. It’s something that has to change for this team to have success this season.

Where have the Baltimore Ravens wide receivers been this season? That’s a question we’ve had to ask through the first three games of the regular season. A group that we were told not to sleep on has fallen asleep themselves. The Ravens sit at 2-1, but there are some concerns at the wide receiver spot from what we’ve seen so far.

Let’s take a look at the stats.

Jeremy Maclin: 14 targets, 7 receptions, 95 yards, 2 touchdowns

Mike Wallace: 9 targets, 3 receptions, 21 yards, 0 touchdowns

Breshad Perriman: 9 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards, 0 touchdowns

If you’re keeping track, thats 121 total yards and two touchdowns through three games. Jeremy Maclin has accounted for all of the touchdowns and close to 80% of the total yards gained between these three this year. We knew he’d be the No. 1 target, but it can’t be this lopsided. And Maclin’s numbers are troubling within itself. The fact that a Ravens wide receiver doesn’t have more than 100 receiving yards through three regular season games is a concern.

All the blame can’t be placed on the big three, the rest of the Ravens wide receiver depth chart has been no where to be found. Michael Campanaro, Chris Moore, Chris Matthews have been non-factors. If it weren’t for special teams, you wouldn’t even notice them on the field.

Who’s to blame?

There are many fingers to point for these problems. For one, Joe Flacco has not played well at all. He’s made some poor throws and there’s been an obvious miscommunication between him and the Ravens receivers. After missing most of the offseason, that’s what is going to happen.

The play calling hasn’t helped the cause either. I understand the want to commit to the run game, there’s got to be a balanced offense. That includes commitment to the pass. How many times have we seen Flacco take a deep shot down the field? Not enough. The problem doesn’t seem to be Flacco’s back. The deep balls we’ve seen him throw this season didn’t have much success, but the ability is still there. With three of the fastest wide receivers in the league, that has to be something Marty Morhinweg takes advantage of.

For me, the biggest concern comes with Breshad Perriman. After injuries hindered the start to his career, Perriman really played his rookie season last year. He showed some promising flashes and we heard the Ravens coaches, staff and writers all praise his offseason progress. It’s tough to think of Perriman as the receiver of the future for this team. He still has trouble holding on to passes and hasn’t been much more than a deep threat at times. You can hear the bust labels being yelled in the background and while I’m not ready to do that yet, it feels more and more like it.

We’ve seen such a small sample size from this receiving group and that has to change. The Ravens offense isn’t going to get anywhere if these three receivers aren’t producing. With no real home run hitters at running back, the receivers are the closest the Ravens have to that threat.

The bottom line

When you look long-term, Maclin and Wallace are both around the age of 30 and aren’t going to be around forever. Perriman has had his ups and downs and is already in the third year of his rookie contract. The rest of the receiving core is up in the air. Pair that with a 32-year old quarterback and there’s legitimate concern.

Next: Baltimore Ravens: 3 reasons why they can turn things around

In reality, the Ravens have never been the team to invest in the wide receiver position. The last real deep threat Joe Flacco had was Torrey Smith. Even then, Smith was a late second-round pick. Ozzie’s philosophy of  signing the veteran receiver has been a bandaid that is slowly and painfully peeling off. It’s not a problem the Ravens can fix now, but there has to be a concerted effort to invest in offensive weapons going forward, specifically at receiver.