Drops become an issue for Ravens’ wide receivers in Thursdays OTA practice

The Baltimore Ravens main priority this offseason was rebuilding the wide receiver depth chart, similarly to how they improved the secondary last year when bringing in Brandon Carr, Tony Jefferson, and Marlon Humphrey.

Baltimore released Jeremy Maclin and decided to not bring back either Michael Campanaro or Mike Wallace, even though he is currently still on the team, there is no guarantee Breshad Perriman makes the roster after three seasons mired with injuries and drops.

Baltimore brought in Michael Crabtree and also double-dipped late in the 2018 NFL Draft with Jaleel Scott and Jordan Lasley; they also acquired Willie Snead and John Brown in free agency.

With new faces come new expectations, but with new faces also comes learning curves and bumps in the road. Particularly in Thursdays' open media OTA practice. Drops have been a massive issue for the Ravens over the years and some of the receivers fell victim to it, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.

Drops are and have been an issue for Lasley; he dropped 21 passes in his last two years with UCLA. Snead and Brown having a bad day will happen as they try to gain chemistry with quarterback Joe Flacco and getting used to being in a new home. From what we’ve heard before, Brown and Snead are showing off what they can do and the team knows both Brown and Snead bring a good mix of speed and possession on the offense. Perriman, on the other hand, can’t afford days like this.

The Ravens declined Perriman’s fifth-year option, making him a free agent at seasons end. As mentioned before, with the new group of receivers, including the two late-round draft picks plus the return of Tim White and, hopefully, come training camp Quincy Adeboyejo, Perriman has no room for error in 2018. The new unit the front office built is going to have growing pains and they need the good to outweigh the bad as practices continue. Once the season starts the Ravens hope the investment pays off from the veteran acquisitions and the young players.