Torrey Smith Fantasy: Lee Evans' Absence Means Another Huge Game for Ravens' WR

After going without a catch in each of his first two career games, not much was expected of Baltimore Ravens rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith. Five catches, 152 yards and three touchdowns later, however, Smith is the talk of the fantasy football world.

Smith was the fourth-most added player in ESPN standard leagues this week, and for good reason.

The speedster out of Maryland is an excellent target for big-armed quarterback Joe Flacco. Never in his career has Flacco had a downfield threat like Smith, so it completely changes the dynamic of the offense.

The Ravens traded for veteran wide receiver Lee Evans from the Buffalo Bills to fill that void prior to the preseason, but he has been ineffective and injured to this point. Evans is slated to miss yet another game on Sunday, and it should be very beneficial to Smith's fantasy value. 

While it could be argued that Smith will have a target on his back against the New York Jets, they will likely be more concerned with Anquan Boldin on the other side. All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis will probably be covering Boldin and not Smith, leaving the task of covering the rookie to Antonio Cromartie instead. Although Cromartie is a highly athletic corner, he is often prone to getting beat deep due to deceptive routes like double moves.

With that in mind, Smith is sure to be running plenty of double moves on the overzealous Cromartie Sunday night.

Also, Cromartie is nursing a rib injury, so he may be even less effective than usual. The Jets could always choose to put Revis on Smith instead, but Boldin would probably be able to victimize the hobbled Cromartie as well.

I would also expect the Jets to overcompensate for Baltimore's running game as well. The Oakland Raiders' Darren McFadden torched New York's defense for 171 yards on the ground last week, and they will want to make sure that Ray Rice doesn't do something similar.

This should allow somebody like Smith to take the cover off the defense with extra men in the box. You shouldn't expect three touchdowns every week, or even this week, but as long as Evans is on the shelf, Smith should be a quality fantasy starter.

Provided Smith can beat Cromartie for at least one big play, he should end up with over 100 yards and at least one touchdown.