Baltimore Ravens: The pros and cons of targeting Dez Bryant
By Joe Schiller
Pros
Why have one big-bodied possession receiver when you can have two? After signing Michael Crabtree to a three-year deal earlier this offseason, the Ravens could pair him with a similar type of threat in Dez Bryant.
Bryant’s 6-2 frame gives him the size that Joe Flacco thrives with. It’s been compared so many times but Flacco truly had his best success with a player like Anquan Boldin who can go up and grab the football. Bryant has the athleticism much like a low-post basketball player to box out defenders and position his body to make catches. That allows for a quarterback like Flacco to complete passes on even of his less accurate throws. The catch radius makes a difference.
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Bryant is an immediate upgrade over what the Ravens currently have on their depth chart. That’s a testament to the poor play at the position but there’s no disagreeing that adding Bryant gives the receiving core a boost. Even at his worst, he’s still been more productive than 99% of what the Ravens have had. As I mentioned, Bryant’s 838 receiving yards and six touchdowns would have ranked first among the receiving corps in Baltimore last season.
The production never matched his contract extension in Dallas but the free agent market is a whole different ballgame. Bryant’s value could very well be in the range of the Ravens’ current cap space, which ranges around $10 million.
To be frank, adding one or more rookie wide receivers isn’t enough with the current state of the depth chart. That’s nothing to take away from John Brown and Crabtree but there’s a reason why they weren’t highly touted players on the open market. Bryant is a cap casualty, meaning he doesn’t count against the compensatory formula, something Ozzie Newsome certainly factors into his free agent decisions.