For what feels like the first time ever, the Baltimore Ravens have the makings of a deep, productive wide receiver room — and it’s only getting healthier.
Rashod Bateman and Miles Boykin are both set to from the injured reserve in the coming weeks, but their arrivals leave the Ravens in an unfamiliar predicament.
Through the first four weeks of the season, the Ravens have been assembling and ironing out the most threatening passing offense the team has had in years.
Part of this transition comes from their rejuvenated receiver room, buoyed by the arrival of Sammy Watkins, and relying on significant maturation from Marquise Brown, Devin Duvernay, and James Proche.
Now the Ravens are adding this year’s first-round pick, Bateman, to the mix, and the receiver room can begin to evolve into its peak state.
Rashod Bateman offers the Ravens even more versatility
Presently, the Ravens’ receiver room does not appear to be the most imposing or versatile, but each player can adapt to multiple specific roles.
In Bateman, above anything else, they are adding a receiver whose archetype is not really represented in the receiver room.
While he has inside/outside versatility, Bateman’s strength is outside — he can thrive as the X receiver.
At Minnesota, he produced so much due to his ability to release off the line of scrimmage, and run sharp, sophisticated routes at every level. Add his ball tracking and catching ability and he fills the profile as an outside threat.
Sammy Watkins somewhat offers that, and that is the role he has occupied thus far, but Bateman projects to be a more consistent and recognizable threat outside.
Watkins is a very sophisticated route runner who can also win with his release, and he certainly possesses the ball skills to be that guy, but he hasn’t done that in his NFL career, nor has he done that so far with the Ravens.
While he has been a threat, giving every other receiver more space, and he’s had several big catches and conversions, he hasn’t been a true outside receiver threat, which the Ravens are still missing.
Bateman is a receiver who wins from the snap. With the Ravens’ offense transitioning and passing the ball more, the team can absolutely use a receiver who can win immediately in any situation.
He offers the threat outside on every snap being a big play, even with the ability and experience to be moved around the formation.
Bateman projects to be the most complete receiver on the Ravens roster.