Torrey Smith: Should Fantasy Owners Start Ravens WR in Week 4 vs. Jets?

Yes, Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith had an excellent regular season debut performance in Week 3 against the St. Louis Rams, and yes, he's a waiver-wire must grab as a result. But those facts don't necessarily make him an ideal fantasy start this week when the Ravens take on the New York Jets.

The Jets boast one of the best cornerback tandems in the league with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie making up the core of the New York defensive backfield. Though Revis will likely be locked into fellow Ravens receiver Anquan Boldin, this can easily shift should Smith start pulling down big passes.

Smith does have a good chance against Revis, who is two inches shorter than the receiver though he boasts similar bursting speed; Cromartie, at 6'2", is taller than Smith but is less talented than Revis, and would be a better matchup for the receiver in terms of his potential for success.

Cromartie is currently questionable for Sunday. He suffered bruised ribs and lungs in the team's loss last week at the Oakland Raiders and is day-to-day; he participated in today's practice and ESPN's Rich Cimini thinks he's likely to face the Ravens, albeit with a bit of extra protective padding.

If he does take the field, however, it's possible that Cromartie's effectiveness will be somewhat limited with the injury, opening up a great chance for Smith to have yet another impressive performance.

For those fantasy GMs who picked up Smith off of the waiver wire this week, I suggest you proceed with caution in weighing your decision whether to start him this week.

If you have a solid receiver corps that you have supplemented with Smith, go with your regular starters. However, if you grabbed Smith to augment a lack of depth on your roster, then he is a risky WR3 or flex start, but a risk you should take.

For what it's worth, Jets head coach Rex Ryan doesn't believe Smith will repeat last week's three-touchdown, 152-yard performance against his squad this Sunday night; but then again, he isn't paid to believe an opponent will go wild on his team. Take Ryan's comments with a grain of salt and examine the facts instead.