Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said plenty of interesting things during a Wednesday conference call with season-ticket holders. He said something particularly interesting about the team’s draft needs at tight end and receiver.
“We absolutely need a tight end. We do not absolutely need a wide receiver,” Bisciotti said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPNcom.
How can Bisciotti say that, with Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones gone and Steve Smith 36 years old and only five other receivers on the roster (Marlon Brown, Jeremy Butler, Michael Campanaro, Aldrick Robinson, and Kamar Aiken)?
“I’ve got my guys very high on our wide receivers,” Bisciotti said. “So, I’m not desperate for a wideout.”
Of the returning receivers not named Steve Smith, Kamar Aiken generated the most receiving yardage in 2014 with 267 -- and Aiken technically isn’t under contract because he hasn’t signed his exclusive rights free agent tender.
At tight end, the Ravens have Crockett Gilmore, Dennis Pitta, Allen Reisner, and Konrad Reuland under contract. Owen Daniels followed former Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak to the Broncos.
Even if the Ravens decide they’ll take a receiver, Bisciotti suggests that it won’t happen in round one.
“You look at Pittsburgh that has had some wonderful success in the last five, six years in the third round,” Bisciotti said. “They might not be perfectly well-rounded wide receivers, but you can get some fliers in the third round, guys that can take the top off a defense.”
And now comes the part where we ignore everything Bisciotti said, because he’s smart enough to know that anything he says will be used by other teams for clues as to what his team will be doing when they’re on the clock. If the Ravens are believed to be in play for a receiver in round one, they’re vulnerable to being jumped in line. If it’s a sure thing that they’ll be taking a receiver at some point in the draft, they’re vulnerable to be jumped in any round.
Of course, there’s a chance that Bisciotti has opted to go next level, telling the truth in the hopes that competitors will assume he isn’t. Either way, it’s risky to take anything anyone says at face value when it comes to the draft.
