The Ravens haven't been a team fantasy football owners turn to when it comes to receivers.
Outside of the 1996 season, the first year of the franchise, the Ravens haven't had as much success throwing the ball as compared to other teams in the league. The Ravens have had much of their offensive success with the ground game, with Ray Rice being a fantasy star since 2008 (excluding last year, of course). Joe Flacco has never been much of a fantasy quarterback, which is one reason why the receivers would be easy to avoid.
However, Torrey Smith could wind up being the exception to the rule this year. Smith asserted himself as more of a well-rounded wideout a year ago, showing his route tree has improved to where he's not just running nine-routes down the field. His upper body has added strength over the past three seasons, which has helped him fight press coverages that limited him early on.
In standard leagues a year ago, Smith finished with 136.1 points in 15 fantasy games (Week 16 is generally excluded from fantasy schedules). This was good for an average of 9.1 points per game. To put it in perspective, Smith finished with a better per-game average than receivers Riley Cooper (8.9), Victor Cruz (8.7), T.Y. Hilton (8.2) and Mike Wallace (7.9).
Right now, Smith is valued as a sixth-rounder in fantasy drafts, with FantasyPros.com averaging him out to be the 67th overall player.
Getting Smith at this stage is essentially drafting him as a Flex player, though that could vary depending on your draft strategy.
Gary Kubiak's offense could make Smith a valuable pick at this stage. Flacco stands to have an improved season and could find himself taking more calculated shots downfield to Smith, as opposed to deep throws that seemed forced at times a year ago.
If Smith is available in the sixth round, especially near the end, then it would be wise to take him. At this spot, you're essentially drafting a Flex-caliber player with WR2 potential. It's hard to go wrong given the upside Smith has entering this season.
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