Torrey Smith was a key cog in the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl run this past season. Along with former teammate Anquan Boldin, the pair was quite the tandem towards the end of the season, representing a classic yin and yang to each other’s game.
Smith would take the deep routes and the Boldin would take the underneath routes. But now that Boldin is gone, where does that leave Smith production wise?
I wouldn’t expect Smith’s number to drop but I also wouldn’t expect them to rise significantly. The Surprising x-factor the Ravens passing game this season may come from the tight end spot, most notably from Kyle Juszczyk.
We are all well aware or Juszczyk’s versatility from playing full back to tight end. The Ravens are in need of someone who is the 5th wheel when Smith and Jacoby Jones see some action at wide receiver and Ray Rice along with Dennis Pitta get their fair share of receptions.
It has been speculated that Pitta may move out wide quite regularly and take over Boldin’s spot part time in the slot. Such an approach would allow Smith to continue to grow into the type of receiver the Ravens need.
The third-year receiver has yet to have a 1,000-yard season in his career with 855 receiving yards being his career high in 2012. Is it realistic to say Smith could reach 1,000 yards? Of course!
You often hear the cliché bantered about by coaches, that you can’t teach speed and nobody in the league proved it better than Smith in 2012. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith had 2.27 of his routes drawing penalties, which was the highest among all receivers in the NFL to go with a league-high 16 penalties drawn. Combine that with Joe Flacco’s arm, we should all enjoy this combo for years to come.
