Baltimore Ravens: Wide receiving core has massive makeover

The Baltimore Ravens went into the 2021 offseason with a need to remake its wide receiving core and it looks like they did just that.

For the vast majority of its history, the Baltimore Ravens have never had a quality, let alone good, wide receiving core. There have been some exceptions, such as 2010 (Derrick Mason and Anquan Boldin) or 2014 (Steve Smith Sr. and Torrey Smith), but other than the few anomaly seasons it’s been an underachieving unit for, well, ever.

It hasn’t been for a lack of effort, though. The team has expensed first-round draft picks multiple times and has attempted to throw money at veteran receivers; it just never seems to pan out for them. Guys like Breshad Perriman have haunted Baltimore in the first round in recent years with plenty of misses in the mid-to-late rounds busting as well. Then there are free agent splashes like Jeremy Maclin and Michael Crabtree who fall flat on their faces and are borderline embarrassments to the franchise. It’s simply been rough to see.

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General manager Eric DeCosta has seen these failures and decided that the only way to get better is to continue to swing for the fences and have more at-bats at the position. DeCosta hasn’t been shy about trying to make this receiving core better as evident by his draft selections. This offseason, in particular, has stood out significantly compared to the rest, however.

In this offseason alone, EDC has brought in a solid free agent in Sammy Watkins, used a first-round pick on Rashod Bateman, and also drafted an underrated stud in Tylan Wallace. Adding these guys to this offense is a huge move for the team.

The Ravens have been cited as a team that has been stubborn in giving its franchise quarterback, Lamar Jackson, any help in the passing game. The narrative should be gone now after these three huge moves.

These three join a wide receiving core that features former first-round pick Marquise Brown and solid contributors such as Miles Boykin and Devin Duvernay. With these guys altogether, this is a vastly better wide receiver room than before. In fact, it might be one of the best wide receiving units the franchise has ever seen.

Even for a team that runs the football as much as Baltimore does, the team still needs capable weapons in the receiving game to keep the offense balanced and potent. This philosophy is one the Ravens clearly agreed to adapt and the investments could be huge.

Once a massive weak point for Baltimore, the wide receiving corps looks like it could become a pillar of strength for this roster. It’s a completely remade group of guys that could turn the franchise’s fortunes around at the position.

The narrative that the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver room is weak could be drastically changed after all the expenses it made to the spot this offseason. This wide receiving core looks much improved and could become a strength for the team moving forward.