Wide receiver options Part I

February 3, 2010 7:46 AM by Dan Kolko View Comments

Is it spring yet?

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting a little sick of all this snow. I'll take 75 and sunny as soon as possible, please.

I'll be braving the conditions (and the inevitable post-snow traffic) to head out to Owings Mills today for the yearly State of the Ravens press conference. We'll chat with team owner Steve Bisciotti, president Dick Cass, GM/executive vice president Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh about the offseason and how the team plans to work on improving the roster.

Check back this afternoon for some notes from the presser.

Meanwhile, with all the recent talk about free agent wide receivers and who might be an option for the Ravens this offseason, I figured I'd put together a list of some of the guys who are likely to be considered.

You'll notice that the most attractive options fall under the "restricted" category. Those names are listed below, with the unrestricted free agent possibilities coming later in the morning.

Keep in mind, signing RFAs from other rosters is difficult because those players' current teams hold the right of first refusal and the Ravens would need to give up draft picks to acquire the guys listed below.

With that said, here are the top restricted wideouts on the market:

Vincent Jackson, 6-5, 238 pounds, San Diego Chargers
If Jackson was unrestricted, he'd spark quite a spicy bidding war. The total package, Jackson is fairly young, has size, speed, and can produce. He had 68 receptions for 1,167 yards and 9 touchdowns in a Chargers offense filled with playmakers. He'd be the perfect target for Joe Flacco, but it's tough to see a situation where San Diego lets him go.

Brandon Marshall, 6-4, 230 pounds, Denver Broncos
Where to begin? We all know Marshall can put up numbers when he wants to (101 receptions for 1,120 yards and 10 touchdowns in '09), but his problem is just that - he does what he wants to. The locker room and legal issues make him a liability, and we saw at the end of this season that he can blow up at any moment. Denver will look to trade him, but don't expect Marshall to be in purple and black in '10.

Malcolm Floyd, 6-5, 225 pounds, San Diego Chargers
Another of the behemoth Chargers wideouts, Floyd isn't as dynamic as Jackson but can still make plays. He had 45 receptions for 776 yards and 1 touchdown this season, but again, that was in an offense with a ton of big-play options. If he's made a team's No. 1 guy, he could do big things. He's a more realistic target for the Ravens, but they'd still have to give up a lot.

Miles Austin, 6-3, 216 pounds, Dallas Cowboys
Austin went undrafted, had just 18 receptions through his first three pro seasons and looked like a No. 4 wideout at best. Then he went and posted 81 catches for 1,320 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Weird, wild stuff, huh? The 'Boys will want to keep him around, and he would be a risky acquisition for another club because he's still fairly unproven.

Braylon Edwards, 6-3, 215 pounds, New York Jets
Edwards has all the potential in the world but can't seem to put it all together. After a breakout 1,289 yard, 16 touchdown season in 2007, he's developed a major case of the dropsies and has had his share of off-field incidents. He's still very talented, but probably not worth the draft picks, money or effort right now.

Steve Breaston, 6-0, 193 pounds, Arizona Cardinals
Breaston has good speed and hands and at 26 has yet to hit his peak. He's done well in a Cardinals offense that has two big-play wideouts ahead of him on the depth chart in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, and played well when Boldin was out with various injuries the last couple years. He had 55 receptions for 712 yards and 3 touchdowns this season and might be a nice second-tier guy to target.

Other RFA possibilities: Lance Moore, Jason Avant, Maurice Stovall, Mark Bradley

Coming up in a little bit, I'll list the unrestricted guys that could be possibilities for the Ravens.