Raves for Ravens' Receivers

Over the course of Ozzie Newsome's tenure as Ravens VP of Player Personnel/General Manager/Man in Charge of the Team, there has been very little to complain about. The organization has been one of the best at both drafting players and finding undrafted talent. There hasn't been a major mistake made in free agency. Even the one time the team really had a purge, 2002, the Ravens were in position for a potential playoff berth with two games left while having the youngest team in league history.

However, two main issues come up time and time again throughout the fifteen-year run* of the Ravens in Baltimore.

1. The inability of the organization to find or develop a quality, long-term quarterback.
2. The inability of the organization to find or develop a quality, deep-threat receiver.

*I say the whole run, though that really isn't true. The Ravens came to Baltimore, of course, with Vinny Testaverde at quarterback and two quality receivers in Derrick Alexander and The Other Michael Jackson. The receivers didn't stick for very long, however, and it's always a good argument how much of a "quality" quarterback ol' Interceptiverde was.

With the drafting and development of Joe Flacco into at-worst a league-average quarterback in two years, I think it's obvious the first complaint has been erased, hopefully for the next decade. That still leaves the receiver issue, and that may have been erased by Friday's trade for Anquan Boldin.

Of the Ravens' nine 1,000-yard receiving seasons, seven of them belong to three players: Alexander, Jackson and Derrick Mason. Mason has been arguably the best individual free-agent signing in team history, with a shade under 5,000 yards for his career with the Ravens, and about 80 more than second-place Todd Heap. He has been the primary receiving weapon on the team over his five years as Heap struggled over the two years previous to 2009. But besides him, there hasn't been much to speak of.

Just the fact that Mark Clayton is third on the team's receiving list, almost 1,800 yards behind Heap, should tell us what we need to know about the receiving situation.

It isn't for lack of effort. The Ravens have drafted 15 receivers in the 14 drafts of their existence. Only linebackers (17) and defensive backs (19) have received more focus, and the team has been far more successful with those positions.

The Ravens have even drafted their receivers earlier than other positions: on average, in the late-third and early-fourth rounds of the draft. By comparison, they average their offensive tackles in the late-second; guards and ends in the mid-to-late-third; defensive backs and tackles in the late-third, early-fourth; linebackers and running backs in the early-fourth; fullbacks mid-to-late-fourth; quarterbacks, punters and centers in the late-fourth and early-fifth; and tight ends in the early-fifth.

However, as of 2009 the only receivers drafted by the Ravens still in the league (having a reception listed on Pro-Football-Reference.com) are Clayton and Demetrius Williams of the Ravens, Brandon Stokley of the Broncos and Yamon Figurs with Tampa and Detroit

Anquan Boldin, on the other hand, is the third-leading receiver in Arizona Cardinals history. In his rookie year, before Larry Fitzgerald joined the team and as the only weapon for the worst offensive team in the league, he was third in the league in receiving yards and had 2.5-times as many yards as the team's next-leading receiver. He was the first piece in the rebirth of the Cardinals into a consistent contender.

The price was not bad, either. The Ravens have had good luck in the third- and fourth-rounds historically, but they really have had good luck in every round of the draft historically. Getting the fifth-round pick back helps, and the three-year extension to give Boldin essentially $7 million a season is well worth it for a player of his caliber.

He's not without his flaws, though. He's also going to be 30 years old and has averaged 2.5 games missed per season for his career*. Despite his great rookie season, ever since he's been in the shadow of Larry Fitzgerald which has likely helped pad his stats at least a little.

*There has already been a lot made of the whole "He's only played a full 16-game schedule twice". However, there are two problems with that.

1) It is rare the football player that plays every game of every season. Just dropping the number to 14 gives him two more seasons, and 12 two more. The real argument is that he's played three-fourths of his games in all but one season.

2) Even while hurt he still gets his yards. In 2008, for example, he put up a 1,000-yard receiving season in only 12 games.


Having Boldin for 3/4 of a season is as good as most receivers for a full year. And even if he does get hurt, Donte Stallworth is pretty good insurance.


In addition, despite the addition of Stallworth (who comes with his own set of talents and issues), the Ravens right now don't have a number #2 receiver. Derrick Mason is a free agent, and may or may not be returning to Baltimore. So another receiver is a must.

Boldin is a critical step, though. The Ravens simply have never had a receiver with his combination of size, speed, and actual production. This is not the last move that needs to be made to help the Ravens get over the hump from a playoff team to a Super Bowl team, but it is about as good a first move as could be made.