Breshad Perriman was a much-hyped rookie wide receiver entering 2015. Unfortunately, the hype couldn’t heal him as he missed the entire season due to injury. Fortunately, the latest reports expect him to be ready for the offseason program and his knee issues from a year ago aren’t chronic.
But while Perriman missed all of last year, Kamar Aiken stepped into Baltimore’s No. 1 wide receiver role with Steve Smith also out for half of the season. Aiken finished with 944 yards and five touchdowns, although it’s hard to see the Ravens giving him the same kind of production if Smith and Perriman are both healthy. Remember, they spent a first-round pick on Perriman and there’s no way they won’t give him time.
With other relevant receivers active and on the roster, Aiken is merely a slot receiver. For him to reach the 127 targets he had a year ago, Perriman and Smith will once again have to get hurt. The early news on Smith is good and he should be ready for camp and that will help him in the long run. Perriman is a speedster, but having a guy to draw attention on the other side of the field, as well as being a veteran, can only help.
Maybe the best news for Perriman – and the Ravens – is that Joe Flacco’s knee recovery is going “as good as doctors have seen.” That’s quite the statement, but as long as he gets some time with Flacco before the regular season, this could turn into a fine QB-WR duo.
And yet, there’s not much hype for Perriman this season. He’s getting ranked as the No. 45 overall fantasy receiver, which is below what he was getting taken at before injuries were a concern last year. Now, Perriman is getting drafted after fellow 2015 rookies Devante Parker, Dorial Green-Beckham and Kevin White.
06 December 2015: Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh looks down on the sidelines during the NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire)
Sure, the upside for all of those guys is great after having disappointing rookie seasons, but why are all they considered much better options than Perriman? Parker is getting ranked as the No. 32 receiver. Is Ryan Tannehill that much better than Flacco? No.
Part of these rankings for Perriman are because he screwed people over last year by not playing and now, no one has any faith in him. Personally, I have as much faith in him as I do in someone like Parker.
The thinking for the Ravens is that Perriman will slowly mold into their new No. 1 wide receiver as Steve Smith strolls into the sunset. Maybe Perriman didn’t play last year, but at least he will come in knowing most of the playbook. That’s an added boost. And as seen last year with Aiken, it doesn’t really matter who Flacco’s No. 1 WR is, he’ll likely target him a bunch.
Steve Smith is great, there’s no doubt about that, but he’ll also be 37 years old and it’s hard to see Flacco looking his way as much as he did at the beginning of 2015. Smith was one of the top WRs in the first half of the year after topping 130 yards in three of the first five games.
With Perriman now in tow, expect Flacco to toss his patented bomb multiple times in Perriman’s direction.
Perriman is a huge fantasy risk, there’s no doubt about that, but why are other second-year wide receivers getting ranked above him despite not much to show for it in 2015? The Ravens need Perriman to become a halfway decent offense again. They’ll use him as much as possible, which is all you can ask for from a guy getting ranked as the 45th-best fantasy wide receiver.
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