How does the Ravens wide receiver corps work if they bring on Dez Bryant? Whose the odd man out?
The Baltimore Ravens have room for a big bodied veteran receiver like Dez Bryant.. It would give the purple and black and insurance policy just in case Miles Boykin doesn’t have the breakout year that has been practically promised to us. Bryant would be a good signing. It could change the hierarchy at wide receiver but that’s not a bad thing.
Bryant hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2017. It’s hard to really know what to expect from the former Dallas Cowboys receiver. In 2017 he had 69 receptions for 838 yards and six touchdowns. If he’s anywhere close to being able to provide that for the Ravens, John Harbaugh will take that without hesitation. The Ravens wouldn’t need Bryant to be a number one wide receiver. They just need him to be a productive part of the offense.
Other than Marquise Brown and Willie Snead, there isn’t a lot of written in pen kind of answers. The Ravens have players with potential, not proven weapons at the NFL level. It’s quite possible that Bryant would be the second best target on the team. If he ends up third or fourth in the pecking order, that’s fine too.
Signing Bryant would finally shut down the idea of the Ravens signing Antonio Brown. For a lot of Ravens Flock members this would be a great boost to their sanity. Bryant is a fiery personality but he shouldn’t be a player that is a disruption in the locker room. He’s just passionate. Antonio Brown is 84 different kinds of crazy,
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Bryant is just driven and emotional. If anything that fits into the Ravens way of doing things. Passionate players have never been a problem for Harbaugh. Bryant is a low risk signing. It literally can’t hurt and the rewards could be very beneficial.
Making room for Byrant isn’t that hard when you think about it. The Ravens are going to have four young receivers and Snead. If the Ravens want seven receivers they keep Chris Moore. If the Ravens don’t want to keep seven receivers, they can make room for Bryant by cutting Moore. This is an idea that’s going to get a lot of vitriolic responses but I assure you other players can play special teams. Moore offers the offense almost nothing of value. If it becomes Bryant v. Moore for a roster spot, give me Bryant every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Special teams is actually an area the Ravens can improve a lot on. Moore may be a special teams ace, but James Proche can take his place. Proche can be a gunner on punt team and the return specialist on the punt return team. It’s a good bet that Geno Stone will make an impact on special teams. Keeping a player solely for special teams versatility can’t cost the offense. That’s a luxury not a necessity and getting new faces involved in special teams is a must one way or the other.
I’ve argued that the Ravens should keep Jaleel Scott because Boykin shouldn’t be the only big bodied receiver on the roster. Well, if the Ravens sign Bryant, they would be taking a better chance. They;d be taking a chance on a player who has caught 531 passes in the NFL. Just imagine an offense with Boykin and Bryant on the outside, with Andrews at tight end and Hollywood Brown in the slot. That would give Jackson his favorite two targets inside, where he likes to throw the most. It would give him to players who can win the jump balls on the outside.
The Bottom Line:
A rookie Devin Duvernay can flourish. Boykin can take the next step. Brown can become a superstar. Signing Bryant doesn’t get in the way of any of this for the Ravens offense. It gives them more to work with at wide receiver. More possibilities come into play with a signing of Bryant.
This can work. There’s actually no reason the Ravens shouldn’t go for it. There are only reasons to go ahead with it and to get Bryant wearing purple and black.