Pro comps for wide receivers the Ravens could target early in the draft: Terrace Marshall

The 2021 NFL Draft is inching closer and closer and it is full of promising prospects at positions of need for the Baltimore Ravens.

Terrace Marshall is the first of the professional comparison series for wide receivers that they could target in the early rounds.

Pro comparison: Justin Jefferson

Look no further than his former LSU teammate who just rewrote the Minnesota Vikings rookie record books for a favorable and fairly accurate comp for Marshall. He didn’t put up as gaudy of stats in his junior season in 2020 as Jefferson did during the Tigers’ 2019 national championship-winning season, but that was in large part due to a shortened season and the mass exodus of talent that departed to the NFL following his sophomore year.

However, while Jefferson was in lighting it up during his inaugural season and Ja’Marr Chase was out of the picture after opting out, Marshall had an incredible and highly productive final collegiate season.

In seven games, he averaged more than 100 receiving yards per game and recorded double-digit receiving touchdowns for the second straight year. He finished the year with 48 receptions on 70 targets for 731 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The strongest comparison between the two is their versatility to be just as dynamic in the slot as they are out wide. Last season was Marshall’s first working out of the slot and he was on pace to have just as prolific of a season as Jefferson had in 2019 when he put career highs in receptions (111), yards (1,540), and touchdowns (18).

Marshall was also more of a vertical threat in his career year with inferior quarterback play than Jefferson was in his with eventual Heisman Trophy winner and No.1 overall pick, Joe Burrow. He averaged 15.2 yards last season compared to Jefferson’s 13.2 the year before.

While both players weigh about the same, Marshall (6-foot-3) also brings a little more height to the table than Jefferson (6-foot-1) which gives him more of an advantage in jump-ball and contested situations in the red zone.

Jefferson was the fifth receiver taken in the first round last year and ended up being the best and most productive of the bunch by the end of the season with 88 catches for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns.

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Marshall has the potential to have just as explosive and impactful of a rookie year even if he doesn’t put up as lofty numbers. Jefferson plays in a run-heavy offense as well in Minnesota so never say never.

He’d add some much-needed size to the Ravens’ wide receiver room and has already been a popular name mocked to the team in the first round at 27th overall. He has all the tools and intangibles to be the reliable ‘X’ receiver that has been missing since seasoned veterans Steve Smith Sr. and Anquan Boldin enjoyed brief, productive stints with the team.