The Ravens emphasized before the draft that adding a wide receiver early was not a top priority.
Ozzie Newsome said it. John Harbaugh said it. Steve Bisciotti said it.
They all pointed to the young players currently on the roster, saying that the replacement to recently-departed receiver Anquan Boldin was already in Baltimore.
But several draft analysts still predicted the Ravens would target a receiver with their first few picks. A number of mock drafts had the Ravens taking a receiver with pick No. 32.
After Baltimore waited until the final round to draft a receiver – Elon's Aaron Mellette – some fans started questioning that strategy on Twitter to the team's top wideout Torrey Smith.
The third-year receiver assured fans that they have nothing to worry about.
"We have talent," Smith responded on Twitter. "Just watch."
The talent Smith is referring to are the young receivers who have been waiting for a chance to get on the field. Tandon Doss, David Reed, Deonte Thompson and LaQuan Williams have all been given limited opportunities to show what they can do. They will compete with Mellette and last year's sixth-round pick Tommy Streeter for a spot in the rotation.
"We need to figure out if those guys can play," General Manager Ozzie Newsome said. "The only way they're going to get the opportunity to play is to get them out on the football field. And now not having Anquan, those guys will get that chance."
The competition at receiver is mostly likely for reps behind Smith and Jacoby Jones, who was the team's No. 3 target last season. Jones could play more of an increased role in the offense, but the Ravens also have to balance his snaps on offense with the impact he makes on special teams.
Doss appears to be the favorite in the competition, as he has the most experience after Smith and Jones. Doss split reps with Jones last season, and finished the year with seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Reed, Thompson and Williams have all played limited offensive reps and have mostly been special teamers. But the Ravens like what all three can do, as Thompson and Williams made the team as undrafted free agents and Reed just signed a new two-year contract.
"Hopefully one or two of those guys are going to emerge," Newsome said. "It would be great if all four of them did, but if two of them did, then that would help us to be able to say, 'OK we need to sign David going forward, or we need to sign Tandon going forward.' But if we don't get a chance to get them on the field and tell them, 'The job is yours to win, we'll never get the opportunity to be able to provide for those guys to be able to play here in the future."
