Can Breshad Perriman Replace Torrey Smith as Ravens' Big-Play Wide Receiver?

The message from Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti was clear during an early-April conference call with season-ticket holders. There wasn’t a dire need on his roster for a wide receiver.

“We absolutely need a tight end,” he said, via Ryan Mink of Ravens.com. “We do not absolutely need a wide receiver.”

A more truthful assessment of the Ravens’ draft needs would have sounded something like this: “We desperately need a wide receiver, and we desperately need a tight end. We’ll take two of both.”

Only one dire need made sense as a focus during the first round of the 2015 NFL draft Thursday night. It was filled with a gift: Breshad Perriman.

Perriman was selected with the 26th overall pick after a shining 2014 season at Central Florida that included 1,044 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

His fit was far too convenient for general manager Ozzie Newsome, who's now replacing Torrey Smith with another Torrey Smith. That's ideal for an offense with a strong-armed quarterback in Joe Flacco, who connected on 50 percent of his passes that traveled 20-plus yards in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus.

A deep, vertical threat is critical for what the Ravens do offensively. Now the task ahead for Perriman is to duplicate Smith’s long striding, and athleticism to win contested balls. He’s been blessed with the tools to succeed in that mission, but first let’s get a more specific idea of exactly what hole Perriman is filling.

Smith departed for the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent, leaving the Ravens without an essential element in their offense: blazing, neck-wrenching speed. The sort of speed that led to a per-catch average of 16.9 yards over Smith’s four seasons in Baltimore.

With his leaping ability, Smith also became a consistent red-zone target, especially during his final Ravens season. In 2014, Flacco threw 21 regular-season touchdown passes to his wide receivers. Over half landed in Smith’s hands.

He finished tied for seventh at the position with 11 touchdowns.

Wide receiver	Touchdowns
Torrey Smith	11
Steve Smith	6
Kamar Aiken	3
Michael Campanaro	1

Speed and separating for deep catches followed by long jogs into the night isn’t really a problem for Perriman. Running away from coverage is never an issue when you can cover 40 yards in 4.24 seconds.

Perriman’s whirlwind 40-yard dash time at Central Florida’s pro day varies depending on exactly which stopwatch you read. The official times passed along to teams were 4.24 and 4.27, according to NFL Network’s Gil Brandt, who also said some scouts timed him at a truly grass-burning 4.19.

The statement communicated by any of those times is loud: He’s comically fast. That speed powered some rather chunky yards-per-reception averages over Perriman's final two collegiate seasons.

Year	Receiving yards	Yards/catch
2013	811	20.8
2014	1,044	20.9

Perriman recorded three 130-plus yard games in 2014 and a stretch of seven straight weeks with a touchdown.

Perhaps the best example of how unfair Perriman’s speed can be came in 2013 during his 91-yard touchdown reception, the longest play from scrimmage in Central Florida history. Note the five-yard gap between Perriman and the Akron cornerback when the ball finishes its descent, and then the quick cut to force a missed tackle.

At 6’2” and weighing 212 pounds, Perriman has the ideal blend of speed and bulk. It’s the sort of combination that ends in a lot of involuntary scout drooling, which is why Perriman's draft stock skyrocketed after the 21-year-old set off his pro day fireworks.

Consistent hands became Perriman's primary weakness during the pre-draft evaluation process, as he dropped eight of 54 catchable targets in 2014, per Rotoworld. But with better quarterback play and coaching, that flaw can be overcome, along with the route-running concerns highlighted by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein.

Some rawness will certainly be tolerated when it’s traded for nearly unmatched speed, the kind that prompts comparisons to premier talents occupying the league’s top tier.

The Ravens may not have viewed wide receiver as a draft priority, or at least Bisciotti didn’t. But they have their man now, and he can turn Smith into a memory.