Torrey Smith Fantasy: Ravens WR Will Shut Rex Ryan's Mouth with Monster Game

Prior to last week, Baltimore Ravens rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith was a virtual unknown to fantasy football players and football fans in general.

After exploding to the tune of five catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns against the St. Louis Rams in Lee Evans' absence, however, everyone has taken notice, particularly New York Jets head coach and resident big-mouth Rex Ryan.

Ever the trash talker, Ryan wasted little time in trying to get into the head of Baltimore's new-found star pass catcher. Ryan doesn't expect Smith to go off again this week, and even joked that he might stay in his old stomping grounds of Baltimore if he did.

Ryan also disrespected Smith by suggesting that stopping him would be as easy as having All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis cover him. Revis would certainly pose a huge challenge for Smith, but he'll likely have the assignment of blanketing Anquan Boldin on the other side.

While it's possible that Ryan actually believes what he says, I feel like his comments on Smith are a defense mechanism as he is worried about how his secondary will handle the first-year speedster. With Revis occupied with Boldin, Smith would normally be covered by the athletic Antonio Cromartie.

Cromartie reportedly suffered an injury to his ribs and a bruised lung in the Jets 34-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. He is apparently "highly unlikely" to suit up against Smith and the Ravens in Week 4.

This probably leaves Kyle Wilson with the task of trying to cover Smith. While the 2010 first-round pick is certainly capable, he has worked primarily as a nickel corner during his short NFL career. Cromartie would have been a nice matchup for Smith, however, as his speed might have allowed him to stay with Smith down field.

Smith may have put on a flash-in-the-pan performance last week, but there's reason to believe he can have another big game against the Jets. New York's run defense was exposed by Darren McFadden and the Raiders last week, so Ryan and co. could very easily overcompensate against Ray Rice and the Ravens.

If that is the case, then Smith will have room to operate on deep routes and an opportunity to take the top off the defense. When it comes to a big-play receiver like Smith, all it takes is one catch to constitute a big game.

Prediction: Four catches for 110 yards and one touchdown.