4 WRs You Wanted The Ravens To Draft

The rallying call for Baltimore to draft a wide receiver can be heard in message boards this offseason – again.
 
Last year, the Ravens also entered the NFL Draft with wide receiver as an area of some need.
 
They ended up trading out of the first round after Dallas moved one spot ahead of them to snare wideout Dez Brant. The Ravens took David Reed in the fifth round.
 
For the fun of it – and to show how difficult it can be to draft an immediate impact wide receiver – let’s take a look back at some of your requests from last year and how the receivers’ seasons panned out.
 
Here’s what you said:
 
Jsn.Archie:  Dez Bryant, Arelious Benn, Jordan Shipley, and Mardy Gilyard seem to me like the players that will have an immediate impact on an NFL team. The only others that might have an immediate impact are Demaryus Thomas, Dexter McCluster, and Brandon Lafell.
 
BoyRaven:  I definitely want Demaryius Thomas I mean the guy is huge!
 
BokeyBoi407:  Golden Tate is a great player I would def take him also, he’s going to be a great nfl wr. Looks like a wes welker type if I were to use him in my O. Benn looks good to I just hope we can get one of these wr in the 2nd round
 
Riceisnice:  Dez Bryant will be gone LONG before the 25th pick. If the Ravens trade up that far, they kill the rest of their draft
 
Here’s how they performed as rookies:
 
Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos (22nd overall)
Stats: 10 games (2 starts), 22 receptions, 283 yards, 2 TDs, 16 kick returns (24.9 average)
Notes: Thomas, who dealt with a pre-draft foot injury, had an injury-prone rookie season. He missed six games last year due to a re-aggravation of the foot injury, a concussion and a sprained ankle. He tore his Achilles heel earlier this month.
 
Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys (24th)
Stats: 12 games (2 starts), 45 receptions, 561 yards, 6 TDs, 12 kick return (24.4 average)
Notes: Bryant was on the verge of breaking out when he suffered a broken fibula, which ended his rookie season. He logged six games with receptions of 28 or more yards.
 
Arrelious Benn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (39th)
Stats: 15 games (9 starts), 25 receptions, 395 yards, 2 TDs
Notes: Benn only recorded four receptions once in a game. He was outshined by rookie Mike Williams (4th round) and finished the season on Injured Reserve with one game remaining.
 
Golden Tate, Seattle Seahawks (60th)
Stats: 11 games (0 starts), 21 receptions, 227 yards, 0 TDs, 16 punt returns (12.6 average)
Notes: The re-emergence of wide receiver Mike Williams and the struggling Seattle offense didn’t help Tate. He wasn’t active for five games and reportedly had trouble with more complex routes.