Exploring whether or not Ravens really need a number one wide receiver

Do the Baltimore Ravens need a number one wide receiver? Would it make the Ravens’ offense better? 

I mean, the fans want one. I want one. You probably want one. At this point, the rest of the NFL is probably tired of hearing about the Ravens not having that number one wide receiver.

But do they need one? I don’t believe that they do. Honestly, I don’t believe that the value one would bring matches the cost. For example, Kenny Golladay just received a contract from the New York Giants for 4-years, worth a max value of $72 million including $40 million guaranteed.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really like the idea of having any player besides the quarterback with a cap hit of $18 million or more. It just doesn’t seem like the way to build a team that can sustain success year after year.

I get it, though. Many people believe that a number one wide receiver would have gotten the Ravens to the Super Bowl each of the last three years in the playoffs. But that’s not necessarily true. The Ravens had other issues, like snapping the ball for example.

And in 2019, the Ravens went 14-2 without a number one wide receiver. Their passing attack may have been more efficient, but it was still in the bottom of the league in total yards produced. I understand they lost in the playoffs, but that wasn’t because they didn’t have a number one wide receiver. Things just fell apart. The team got complacent and they weren’t prepared for the Titans and Derrick Henry.

What is wrong with the Ravens offense then?

Honestly? The Ravens have a terrific offense. Just somewhere along the line, they lost that balance. They are the best at running the ball, but they lost that balance that allowed them to pass when necessary.

Many fans and critics like to blame this on Greg Roman, but just hold on for a second. Greg Roman was the play-caller in San Francisco when Colin Kaepernick led the team to a Super Bowl appearance. Kaepernick did this with efficiency as a passer, as well as elusiveness as a runner. You know, similar to Lamar Jackson the year he won the MVP.

Roman has always worked with teams that have stout defenses and mobile quarterbacks. He is not going to build the top passing attack around a mobile quarterback. The Ravens are a team built for running the football. Kaepernick and Roman proved that you can get to the Super Bowl like that. They almost won that game in the end too. But the Ravens’ defense was too much for them.

But Jackson is a superior quarterback to Colin Kaepernick. So, to suggest that it is not possible to get to and win a Super Bowl with the Ravens offense is just plain wrong and inaccurate.

It is not an issue that the Ravens don’t pass a lot. It’s an issue of how elementary the scheme was last season. Because the Ravens passed in the bottom percent of all teams in 2019 too, but they were more efficient in that passing and had more touchdowns.