There's still a long way to go until the Ravens cut their roster to 53, but as of now, it looks like there's going to be some very difficult decisions.
Last week, undrafted rookie wide receiver Tim White was a human highlight reel at the team's open M&T Bank Stadium practice. On Saturday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, it was undrafted wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo who was turning heads.
Adeboyejo made several big catches down the field, and it wasn't against the second- and third-team defenses either. Adeboyejo made catches over veteran cornerback Brandon Carr and veteran safety Lardarius Webb.
"Quincy has had a really good camp," Head Coach John Harbaugh said.
"I think what you saw tonight is what we've seen pretty much every day in training camp. A lot of the younger guys are doing similarly well. All directions now point toward Thursday night to see what those guys do."
The Ravens have seen other undrafted rookie wide receivers flash only to trail off when games began. LaQuan Williams and Deonte Thompson often stood out in practice, but never caught on as impact wide receivers (they both did make the 53-man roster at various points, however). Adeboyejo said he "can't wait" for Thursday's preseason opener against the Washington Redskins.
"Growing up, dreaming about playing in the NFL, it's finally here," he said. "I can finally go out there and compete and be a Raven."
Adeboyejo never put up huge numbers at Ole Miss. His biggest season came as a junior when he posted 38 receptions, 604 yards and seven touchdowns. He has the tools for more, however. Adeboyejo has a dangerous combination of size (6-foot-3) and speed (4.42 40-yard dash).
"Guys are afraid of speed," he said. "When you're running fast, it's easy to get out of breaks when they think you're going to beat them deep every play. I'm just trying to play fast."
He also credits his strong training camp start to digging into his playbook. He said the Ravens offense is quite different from anything he's played in before. He wasn't even accustomed to huddling up because in college he received play calls via hand signals from the sideline.
Adeboyejo first made his connection to the Ravens with Wide Receivers Coach Bobby Engram, who coached him at the East-West Shrine Game. Adeboyejo had a good week there under Engram's tutelage.
Adeboyejo attended the NFL Scouting Combine and was expected to be drafted. Engram called him before the draft and said he was trying to get him to Baltimore. After Adeboyejo went undrafted, he said he had 15 NFL teams calling for his services. He chose the Ravens, who hadn't drafted a wide receiver, because of Engram.
"I just trusted in Bobby," he said.
Adeboyejo still has a lot of competition to make the 53-man roster. The Ravens' top four wide receiver spots are pretty much locked up with Mike Wallace, Jeremy Maclin, Breshad Perriman and Chris Moore. That leaves two spots for Michael Campanaro, Chris Matthews, Kenny Bell, Keenan Reynolds, Griff Whalen, Adeboyejo and fellow undrafted rookies White and C.J. Board.
The Ravens have also seen other undrafted rookies such as defensive lineman Patrick Ricard, cornerback Jaylen Hill, fullback Ricky Ortiz, running back Taquan Mizzell and others stand out thus far.
"It's probably too early to say it … but this is a good class, a strong class," Harbaugh said. "There are going to be some guys that are going to make our team, and there are other guys who are probably going to make other teams. I think it's a really good group."
