Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti did his best to cool talk about the Ravens taking a wide receiver early in the draft when he said recently that the team’s need for a tight end was greater than their need for a wideout.
Bisciotti’s not the only one pushing the notion that the Ravens will be fine without a high-profile addition to Joe Flacco’s receiving corps. Coach John Harbaugh has called drafting a receiver early a “crapshoot” and assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta is on board as well. DeCosta framed the team’s view of their receiver need through Flacco’s ability as a quarterback.
“You can look at any team in the league that has good receivers, and you’ll see a quarterback who is pretty darn good,” DeCosta said, via the team’s website. “You’d be hard pressed to find a really, really good receiver that doesn’t have a good quarterback. In saying that, we have tremendous confidence in Joe Flacco and his ability to develop receivers.”
General Manager Ozzie Newsome’s track record may say more than any words about the likelihood of an early receiver pick. The Ravens have selected at least one wide receiver in nine of the last 10 drafts, but only three in the first three rounds and that’s a sign of how much the organization prioritizes using early picks on receivers.
That said, Flacco’s ability to develop wideouts is up for debate. The only one of those drafted receivers to really blossom in Baltimore with Flacco has been Torrey Smith, who was picked in the second round. Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith and Derrick Mason all developed elsewhere and that might mean it is time for Baltimore to buck tradition n hopes of lifting their offense.
