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Baltimore Ravens WR depth chart - what on earth? (1 Viewer)

barackdhouse

Footballguy
Aside from the obvious Steve Smith and assuming Perriman is eventually healthy and makes it into the starting lineup this year, who the heck do we think is the #3? I think this is the most under-discussed and least understood position battle in FF this year, so far. I don't know if Perriman will be ready for week 1 or not, but it's not looking so good right now. Smith may or may not hold up throughout this season. So whoever gets the #3 job will be the #2 while Perriman is out, and of course if Smith gets hurt or is ineffective, may end up being the new #1, at least for awhile. Kamar Aiken? Marlon Brown? Waller? Campanaro? Someone else? I saw an article today that Brown might not make the roster. I feel like there is a huge opportunity here that no one is talking about. Also, if the Ravens put out a bunch of rag tag receivers, does this hurt Flacco and Forsett?

 
I guess I feel that it will be somewhat of a mixed bag and not huge numbers so while someone may emerge as rosterable, I don't see them as being startable so in my mind that is why it's not discussed much.

 
I was thinking a healthy Marlon Brown could put up some gaudy numbers in a Trestman offense, but he is not healthy right now at all. You're probably right, Warhog. I guess my question should have been more specifically - who do people think has the most talent out of this group? Snce the opportunity is likely to be there, even if only sporadically.

 
We know that Flacco is going to sling it. Someone has to catch the balls there and a lot of them... I'm guessing we're going to see quite a lot of WW moves come week 1 and 2 from the Ravens WR corps to our fantasy teams...

 
We know that Flacco is going to sling it. Someone has to catch the balls there and a lot of them... I'm guessing we're going to see quite a lot of WW moves come week 1 and 2 from the Ravens WR corps to our fantasy teams...
YES!! Exactly. I'm hoping to find that person earlier than that, but it really is most likely that it will be a committee in terms of fantasy production. Maybe Crockett is the upside play. Who knows? I do think that Forsett will be solid and that Trestman will call good plays for Flacco, who indeed will sling it and probably score points. Maybe this will sort itself out over the next couple preseason games.

 
How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.

 
How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.
I don't consider him to be on the verge of a career best by any means. I just think he is a solid NFL quarterback and somewhere in the QB9-15 range, which is a very small point differential. I think he can be a solid part of a QBBC approach. I absolutely don't think there is necessarily any stud WR emerging in Baltimore this year, aside from the obvious upside of Perriman. I am simply curious if others have a grasp on the rest of the depth chart in terms of talent, etc. I'm sure the answer is probably not - I'm just looking for speculation and curious to hear other's opinions. It's certainly not a centerpiece to any strategy of mine. Maybe there is a diamond in the rough there. Odds are long. But if you can pick up Aiken or such for $1 in an auction or in the late teens of a snake, it's probably worth a shot.

 
How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.
I don't consider him to be on the verge of a career best by any means. I just think he is a solid NFL quarterback and somewhere in the QB9-15 range, which is a very small point differential. I think he can be a solid part of a QBBC approach. I absolutely don't think there is necessarily any stud WR emerging in Baltimore this year, aside from the obvious upside of Perriman. I am simply curious if others have a grasp on the rest of the depth chart in terms of talent, etc. I'm sure the answer is probably not - I'm just looking for speculation and curious to hear other's opinions. It's certainly not a centerpiece to any strategy of mine. Maybe there is a diamond in the rough there. Odds are long. But if you can pick up Aiken or such for $1 in an auction or in the late teens of a snake, it's probably worth a shot.
His career best is QB11 (2010) and he has 3 other finishes as QB14.

He's a solid NFL QB who belongs somewhere in the mid- to low- QB2 echelon coming into this season.

All that said, there's value to be found in the Ravens passing game outside of Smith. But damned if I know where it is yet. I'm loading up on Forsett, but everything else is a giant red X right now.

 
Pretty much. By the way, I love the Bob Dobbs icon. My parents' friends used to throw a big party every year called Slackfest. Good times.

 
How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.
If he did a lot of "slinging it" then he would be going higher off the board. I like the Ravens as a team, but aside from Forsett, there isn't much value to any player on that roster fantasy wise.

 
tangfoot said:
After Smith, it's a giant ball of Nope. And I don't even want Smith as anything more than a high WR3.
Steve Smith will retire after this season. Smith currently has 915 career receptions. If you are playing in a PPR league, Smith is a lock for 85 receptions to reach 1,000 before retirement.

 
tangfoot said:
After Smith, it's a giant ball of Nope. And I don't even want Smith as anything more than a high WR3.
Steve Smith will retire after this season. Smith currently has 915 career receptions. If you are playing in a PPR league, Smith is a lock for 85 receptions to reach 1,000 before retirement.
I will happily take the under. Not in the cards, sorry.

 
Anybody have any info regarding Trestman's past usage of the slot receiver? Campanaro could be a solid play if that role is significant...

 
Anybody have any info regarding Trestman's past usage of the slot receiver? Campanaro could be a solid play if that role is significant...
Trestman isn't really particularly gung-ho in the passing game, at all.

In his career, he's put together offenses that create league-average passing games, and typically feature only a handful of targets:

- First and foremost, the RB. THIS, and this alone, is why following Trestman around the league is vital for FF purposes. He's averaged more than 100 pass completions to his RB stables throughout his career, and when there's a standout guy, that guy can become among the league leaders in receptions.

- The WR1. The only really noteworthy performances out of Trestman WR1's have been when it's been players like Jerry Rice or Brandon Marshall. If the WR1 wasn't in the discussion for being among elite WR's in the league before Trestman got them, they certainly didn't become that way under his tenure. (Edit: MAYBE Alshon Jeffrey as an exception, but I think that one was pretty much in the mail. But still -- if you see any budding Alshons on the Ravens, there may be something there.)

- The WR2. Never, ever a real FF asset, but occasionally puts up 60 reception seasons. No big TD numbers anywhere to be found.

- The TE. Nothing noteworthy outside of Bennett last year, but some TE2 type performances out of the Brent Joneses of the world.

That's pretty much it.

WR3's under Trestman have averaged something like 30 receptions for no yards and no scores a year. And that paints too rosy a picture, because those numbers are blown up a bit by the couple REALLY talented and deep offenses he's been on ('95 Niners, '02 Raiders). If your team wasn't coming into the season with a chance at having the league's #1 offense, your WR3 that year was probably a lot closer to 20 receptions, unless someone got hurt.

Trestman is an EXCELLENT reason for the stock of Justin Forsett to be through the roof.

For all other Ravens, it's reason to yawn.

 
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This is a good thread regardless of what the shallow leaguers say... :)

A lot of competition for this spot and Perriman probably won't be ready

 
A guy I was interested in before the draft was 6'6 WR Darren Waller. He was a 6th round pick so I'm sure he wasn't working with the first unit but he has been catching everything and making some plays.

Looks like he will make the team.

I like him as a dynasty stash.

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/blog/ravens-talk/ravens-6-foot-6-wr-waller-making-strong-case-make-roster

Ravens 6-foot-6 WR Waller making strong case to make roster


August 20, 2015, 4:30 pm



- It’s going to be very difficult for the Ravens to cut WR Darren Waller.

I say Waller makes the 53-man roster, after another very impressive day. He used his 6-foot-6 size to make two catches with Eagles corners draped over him. Waller is raw, but he has the potential to become a very good player. After drafting him in the sixth round, the Ravens are unlikely to let a potential weapon like Waller walk away.



 
tangfoot said:
After Smith, it's a giant ball of Nope. And I don't even want Smith as anything more than a high WR3.
Steve Smith will retire after this season. Smith currently has 915 career receptions. If you are playing in a PPR league, Smith is a lock for 85 receptions to reach 1,000 before retirement.
I will happily take the under. Not in the cards, sorry.
Agreed. Smith hasn't caught 85+ balls since 2007, and even last year, when he had that ridiculous start to the season, he still only got to 79. And he's a year older. I think about 62-870-6 sounds about right.

 
How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.
He's averaged 3900 yards and 22 TD's the last three years and I expect those numbers to go up in 2015. Even if they remain constant, that's a lot of yards to divvy up between WR's.

 
How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.
He's averaged 3900 yards and 22 TD's the last three years and I expect those numbers to go up in 2015. Even if they remain constant, that's a lot of yards to divvy up between WR's.
Whoa, now. Let's just unpack that a little.

His 4,000 yards last year translated to one guy over 1,000 yards (and just barely at that), one guy around 750 yards, one TE with just over 500 yards and NO ONE ELSE ON THE ROSTER over 300 yards.

I expect his production to rise, but not more than about 10%. That doesn't translate to big gains for anyone in the receiving game except Forsett.

 
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Waller remains a guy to watch here IMO... huge and fast... flashing already.
Yeah... you always have to be careful when a guy with his measurables drops so far. But given the increasingly positive camp reports and low-level buzz maybe he'll beat the odds.

And if you want to make a case for reasons he might have dropped that have nothing to do with talent you can point to three things:

The two marijuana-related suspensions at Tech. Says he stopped once he realized that he might actually make the pros and have a career. Who knows? But after the Hernandez, Gordon, Rice, McDonald fiascos it's not hard to imagine the NFL is especially gun shy in 2015.

He only caught 51 passes at Tech. And half of those came in his last nine games. However, he was splitting a very limited number of opportunities with DeAndre Smelter, who's a legit pro prospect as well.

Finally, he's 6'6" and all of the guys you might reasonably compare him to are 6'4" or 6'5". He's basically a full inch taller than the next closest WR prospect I can find (Plax). I can't prove this, but I think guys who don't fit a known "mold" sometimes fall, at least a little bit.

If none of those things are important (I have no idea, but I'll take the chance given the price and the quality of names below), his best comps are Mike Evans, Brandon Marshall and Marques Colston. It's an especially interesting group considering that Marshall was drafted 119 and Colston went 252. (Waller was selected 204.)

 
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How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.
He's averaged 3900 yards and 22 TD's the last three years and I expect those numbers to go up in 2015. Even if they remain constant, that's a lot of yards to divvy up between WR's.
Why would you expect those #'s to go up? Because his #1 WR is a year older and closer to retirement? Because his #2 isn't likely to be ready to start the season? Because his TE situation to start the season is worse than it's been in a long time?

Not gonna happen.

 
Waller remains a guy to watch here IMO... huge and fast... flashing already.
Yeah... you always have to be careful when a guy with his measurables drops so far. But given the increasingly positive camp reports and low-level buzz maybe he'll beat the odds.

And if you want to make a case for reasons he might have dropped that have nothing to do with talent you can point to three things:

The two marijuana-related suspensions at Tech. Says he stopped once he realized that he might actually make the pros and have a career. Who knows? But after the Hernandez, Gordon, Rice, McDonald fiascos it's not hard to imagine the NFL is especially gun shy in 2015.

He only caught 51 passes at Tech. And half of those came in his last nine games. However, he was splitting a very limited number of opportunities with DeAndre Smelter, who's a legit pro prospect as well.

Finally, he's 6'6" and all of the guys you might reasonably compare him to are 6'4" or 6'5". He's basically a full inch taller than the next closest WR prospect I can find (Plax). I can't prove this, but I think guys who don't fit a known "mold" sometimes fall, at least a little bit.

If none of those things are important (I have no idea, but I'll take the chance given the price and the quality of names below), his best comps are Mike Evans, Brandon Marshall and Marques Colston. It's an especially interesting group considering that Marshall was drafted 119 and Colston went 252. (Waller was selected 204.)
You're only comparing him to 'comps' that worked out and had solid careers. What about all the other 'comps' that don't come to mind because they were terrible in the NFL. This is a common fallacy when trying to compare players who have shown nothing to players who have had success in the NFL. Don't get ahead of yourself.

 
No -- those are all the comps.

If you wanted to expand the criteria to include some guys that are still similar, but I don't think quite "fit" you'd pick up some misses in (USC) Mike Williams, Jon Baldwin, Mario Urrutia and DeAndre Brown.

But if you do that you'd also have to add Calvin, VJax, Funchess, DGB, Plax and Benjamin. And I don't think it's the right approach.

Actually Mike Williams is a pretty good fit. So you could include him above if you wanted to. I pulled him because of the whole lawsuit and sitting out a year thing , but that's not really dissimilar to the possible character concerns with Waller. Or DGB I guess.

 
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Waller remains a guy to watch here IMO... huge and fast... flashing already.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2554060-team-by-team-nfl-rookie-class-report-card-heading-into-preseason-week-3/page/4

  • Round 6 (204) Darren Waller, WR, Georgia Tech
The Baltimore Ravens appear to have a mixed bag with their crop of 2015 rookies. The big disappointment, of course, is that first-round draft pick Breshad Perriman has missed virtually all of training camp with a knee injury.

Wide receiver Darren Waller (four receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown) may end up ahead of Perriman on the depth chart when the season opens.



 
How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.
He's averaged 3900 yards and 22 TD's the last three years and I expect those numbers to go up in 2015. Even if they remain constant, that's a lot of yards to divvy up between WR's.
Why would you expect those #'s to go up? Because his #1 WR is a year older and closer to retirement? Because his #2 isn't likely to be ready to start the season? Because his TE situation to start the season is worse than it's been in a long time?

Not gonna happen.
On Trestman alone. That's why I'm banking on the numbers going up. Mind you I don't own a single Baltimore WR and have Flacco as a backup in one league, but I see his numbers going up. True, he could spread it around enough that nobody does much fantasy wise, but I expect to find some WW gold in Baltimore.

 
How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.
He's averaged 3900 yards and 22 TD's the last three years and I expect those numbers to go up in 2015. Even if they remain constant, that's a lot of yards to divvy up between WR's.
Why would you expect those #'s to go up? Because his #1 WR is a year older and closer to retirement? Because his #2 isn't likely to be ready to start the season? Because his TE situation to start the season is worse than it's been in a long time?

Not gonna happen.
On Trestman alone. That's why I'm banking on the numbers going up. Mind you I don't own a single Baltimore WR and have Flacco as a backup in one league, but I see his numbers going up. True, he could spread it around enough that nobody does much fantasy wise, but I expect to find some WW gold in Baltimore.
FOOL'S GOLD.

In Trestman's magical system, the Chicago QBs put up 4241.5 passing yards on average in the past two seasons. That's less than 300 yards more than Flacco put up last year. Again, how much are you expecting Flacco's numbers to improve with (not even arguably) much worse talent receiving the ball?

 
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TheFanatic said:
Warrior said:
TheFanatic said:
How much over his career best are you guys expecting Flacco to be? "Slinging it" is not something he has ever done successfully.
He's averaged 3900 yards and 22 TD's the last three years and I expect those numbers to go up in 2015. Even if they remain constant, that's a lot of yards to divvy up between WR's.
Why would you expect those #'s to go up? Because his #1 WR is a year older and closer to retirement? Because his #2 isn't likely to be ready to start the season? Because his TE situation to start the season is worse than it's been in a long time?

Not gonna happen.
On Trestman alone. That's why I'm banking on the numbers going up. Mind you I don't own a single Baltimore WR and have Flacco as a backup in one league, but I see his numbers going up. True, he could spread it around enough that nobody does much fantasy wise, but I expect to find some WW gold in Baltimore.
Again, Trestman doesn't make anyone's numbers go up except RB's who catch passes. And they become virtual slam dunks to achieve top 10 overall value, no matter how historically mediocre they've been.

And the QB's numbers don't go up correspondingly, since those RB receptions come at the expense of rushes and catches by WR's #2 on down.

 
Aiken is the clear #2 option to start the season, and there really isn't a #3, since Perriman is still on the shelf and will be far behind (not to mention in Harbaugh's doghouse) when he returns. And Marlon Brown has also been on the shelf.

Meanwhile Aiken has had a very good preseason. But being the clear #2 in this offense still might only mean 500 yards and 3 TDs.

The Ravens love Waller. Keep an eye on how much special teams he plays (coverage, not as a returner). Historically, that's how late round picks make the Ravens under Harbaugh and then they sometimes work their way into more playing time. He's been doing well on special teams so far this preseason -- but if they suddenly take him off that unit, it signals to me that they think he has real WR value this year and they don't want to risk him getting hurt. If he stays on teams, they are probably still looking at him as a WR6 for his rookie season.

But it's a guarantee he makes this roster. Definitely worth a dynasty stash in very deep leagues.

 
Sitting on Aiken in 2 deep leagues and waller in one of those as well. Have heard some comps to boldin for Aiken, could be a good thing even with Mr Elite getting hime the ball.

Im just hoping waller blows up, took him in the 5th of our rookie draft this year, if he busts then oh well.

 
Aiken is the clear #2 option to start the season, and there really isn't a #3, since Perriman is still on the shelf and will be far behind (not to mention in Harbaugh's doghouse) when he returns. And Marlon Brown has also been on the shelf.

Meanwhile Aiken has had a very good preseason. But being the clear #2 in this offense still might only mean 500 yards and 3 TDs.

The Ravens love Waller. Keep an eye on how much special teams he plays (coverage, not as a returner). Historically, that's how late round picks make the Ravens under Harbaugh and then they sometimes work their way into more playing time. He's been doing well on special teams so far this preseason -- but if they suddenly take him off that unit, it signals to me that they think he has real WR value this year and they don't want to risk him getting hurt. If he stays on teams, they are probably still looking at him as a WR6 for his rookie season.

But it's a guarantee he makes this roster. Definitely worth a dynasty stash in very deep leagues.
Do you expect the TE to be targeted more due to the lack of options at WR?

 
After Smith, it's a giant ball of Nope. And I don't even want Smith as anything more than a high WR3.
Steve Smith will retire after this season. Smith currently has 915 career receptions. If you are playing in a PPR league, Smith is a lock for 85 receptions to reach 1,000 before retirement.
I will happily take the under. Not in the cards, sorry.
Agreed. Smith hasn't caught 85+ balls since 2007, and even last year, when he had that ridiculous start to the season, he still only got to 79. And he's a year older. I think about 62-870-6 sounds about right.
Yes, 79 first year as Raven; and after watching last nights game, I don't see anyone else stepping up and Perriman's an ?. So, it wouldn't surprise me if he got close to 1000.

 
After Smith, it's a giant ball of Nope. And I don't even want Smith as anything more than a high WR3.
Steve Smith will retire after this season. Smith currently has 915 career receptions. If you are playing in a PPR league, Smith is a lock for 85 receptions to reach 1,000 before retirement.
I will happily take the under. Not in the cards, sorry.
Agreed. Smith hasn't caught 85+ balls since 2007, and even last year, when he had that ridiculous start to the season, he still only got to 79. And he's a year older. I think about 62-870-6 sounds about right.
Yes, 79 first year as Raven; and after watching last nights game, I don't see anyone else stepping up and Perriman's an ?. So, it wouldn't surprise me if he got close to 1000.
No one is doubting his heart or talent. It's not likely he can play a full 16 games at that level, though.

 
After Smith, it's a giant ball of Nope. And I don't even want Smith as anything more than a high WR3.
Steve Smith will retire after this season. Smith currently has 915 career receptions. If you are playing in a PPR league, Smith is a lock for 85 receptions to reach 1,000 before retirement.
I will happily take the under. Not in the cards, sorry.
Agreed. Smith hasn't caught 85+ balls since 2007, and even last year, when he had that ridiculous start to the season, he still only got to 79. And he's a year older. I think about 62-870-6 sounds about right.
Yes, 79 first year as Raven; and after watching last nights game, I don't see anyone else stepping up and Perriman's an ?. So, it wouldn't surprise me if he got close to 1000.
No one is doubting his heart or talent. It's not likely he can play a full 16 games at that level, though.
I think Joe's going to be force-feeding him the ball early in the season due to lack of basically any other weapon. He'll probably wear down but I'll have him in my lineups early in the season.

 
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Id have to think Aiken is the best option on this offense after Forsett and Smitty, but as discussed in Trestman's offense that might mean he still isnt a viable fantasy option.

 
Wow that first team offense looked really good last night. I was fortunate enough to have 50yd line seats to the show. Flacco looked great, smith looked great, Aiken looked good. Gillmore had a 33yd TD that was beastly as he threw down one opponent and drug a DB into the endzone that was called back. That defense absolutely crushed the skins. No running room, consistent 1st quarter pass rush. Final score very deceiving.

 

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