After making the roster last year as undrafted free agent, LaQuan Williams is entering his second year with the Baltimore Ravens. And he faces just as much of a challenge to make the roster this year as he did last year.
The Raven's acquisition of Jacoby Jones and Tommy Streeter signifies competition for LaQuan's roster spot. And of course, there is the ever-present threat of second-year receiver, Tandon Doss, whom Joe Flacco hand-picked from last year's draft. And even after those three, you still can't count out undrafted free agent, Deonte Thompson, who is a long-shot to make the roster. Currently, the depth chart projects to be as follows (italicized means player may not make final roster):
WR #1 |
Anquan Boldin |
WR #2 |
Torrey Smith |
WR #3 |
Jacoby Jones |
WR #4 |
Tandon Doss/LaQuan Williams/Tommy Streeter |
WR #5 |
LaQuan Williams/Tommy Streeter/David Reed/Deonte Thompson |
As it stands, it seems as if the only prevalent threat to LaQuan Williams roster-spot is David Reed and possibly Deonte Thompson. If LaQuan WIlliams wants to stick around and get more playing time, he needs to prove himself this off-season and make an impact on special teams (a relatively similar path to playing time as recently-retired WR, Derrick Mason). I , for one, am extremely excited to see how LaQuan deals with this challenge.