The Ravens failed to make the postseason for the fourth time in five years, but where exactly did their players stack up across the NFL in 2017?
Whether it’s discussing the Pro Bowl or picking postseason awards, media and fans spend much time debating where players rank at each position, but few put in the necessary time and effort to watch every player on every team extensively enough to develop any kind of an authoritative opinion.
Truthfully, how many times did you closely watch the offensive line of the Los Angeles Chargers this season? What about the Detroit Lions linebackers or the Miami Dolphins cornerbacks?
That’s why I can appreciate projects such as Bleacher Report’s NFL1000 and the grading efforts of Pro Football Focus. Of course, neither should be viewed as the gospel of evaluation and each is subjective, but I respect the exhaustive effort to grade players across the league when so many of us watch only one team or one division on any kind of a consistent basis. It’s important to note that the following PFF rankings are where the player stood at the conclusion of the regular season.
Below is a look at where Ravens wide receivers ranked across the league, according to those outlets:
Running backs
Defensive linemen
Tight ends
Cornerbacks
Mike Wallace
2017 offensive snap count: 714
NFL1000 ranking: 38th among outside receivers
PFF ranking: 49th
Skinny: The speedy veteran rebounded from a brutal first half to collect 32 catches for 481 yards and two touchdowns over the final seven games. He has clear limitations and is a No. 2 wideout, but he’s rebuilt his value in Baltimore, which will make it interesting to see what kind of free-agent market he’ll have.
Jeremy Maclin
2017 offensive snap count: 512
NFL1000 ranking: 29th among slot receivers
PFF ranking: 52nd
Skinny: Maclin was supposed to be the No. 1 receiver, but he instead posted career lows in catches (40) and receiving yards (440) and never meshed with Joe Flacco. He remains under contract for 2018, but a $7.5 million cap number and doubts about his dedication don’t seem like a tenable combination.
Chris Moore
2017 offensive snap count: 375
NFL1000 ranking: 58th among outside receivers
PFF ranking: 88th
Skinny: The special-teams standout showed improvement in his second year, but enthusiasm for his development was much more of a product of the failure of the passing game. Moore shouldn’t be viewed as any better than a No. 3 or No. 4, but he’s the safest bet of any incumbents to be on the 2018 roster.
Breshad Perriman
2017 offensive snap count: 387
NFL1000 ranking: 96th among outside receivers
PFF ranking: 118th
Skinny: The 2015 first-round pick was one of the worst receivers in the NFL — he was dead last in PFF’s grading — and regressed dramatically from his second season when he was at least a functional contributor with 499 receiving yards. Perriman has much to prove just to secure a 2018 roster spot.
Michael Campanaro
2017 offensive snap count: 263
NFL1000 ranking: 30th among slot receivers
PFF ranking: n/a
Skinny: The River Hill product was finally healthy enough to appear in a career-high 13 games and performed well as a punt returner, but his lack of size and straight-line speed limit his upside as a receiver. He will be an unrestricted free agent, but you wouldn’t expect him to have much of a market.
Quincy Adeboyejo
2017 offensive snap count: 21
NFL1000 ranking: n/a
PFF ranking: n/a
Skinny: The undrafted rookie turned some heads early in training camp, but a knee injury limited him in the preseason and he spent the entire season on the practice squad until Week 17. Like fellow rookie free agent Tim White, Adeboyejo carries some intrigue, but he’ll have to earn his way onto the 2018 roster.
2018 positional outlook
This position group looks nothing short of disastrous going into the offseason as Wallace is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent and the disappointing Maclin looks to be a cap casualty. At some point, this organization needs to make a real commitment to improving at wide receiver beyond hoping for the best with past-their-prime veterans and drafting one in the first round once every decade. Since taking Torrey Smith in the second round of the 2011 draft, general manager Ozzie Newsome has selected one receiver (Perriman) with his 20 Day 1 and Day 2 picks over the last six drafts. It’s fine to point to the franchise’s poor history with drafting receivers, but that’s not an excuse for doing so little over the years to try to change that narrative. You get what you pay for, and the Ravens have done an awful job building an offense around Joe Flacco, who doesn’t deserve as much blame as he receives from so many of his critics.
