5 Wide Receiver Training Camp Battles to Watch This Offseason

Baltimore Ravens

As I profiled earlier, with expectations that Steve Smith's role on the Ravens offense will be scaled back this year, and with Torrey Smith now a San Francisco 49er, a huge opportunity for someone to step in as Joe Flacco's new number one receiver has emerged.

And as an impressive physical specimen whose skill set fits in perfectly with Flacco's strengths and tendencies in the passing game, the Ravens' first-round draft choice, Breshad Perriman, is a prime candidate to take over this role. Standing at 6' 2" and 212 pounds, and with 4.24 40-yard speed, Perriman can fill both the deep ball role previously held by Torrey Smith, and -- with his size and superb body control reminiscent of Cincinnati wideout A.J. Green -- is also a threat on possession routes as well.

However, as many have criticized Perriman for in the past, his unreliable hands at UCF have already resurfaced in Baltimore with four drops on the opening day of mini-camp.

So while Perriman may be this team's best athlete in the wide receiver department, these mental errors and lapses in concentration leave the door wide open for Marlon Brown or Kamar Aiken to slide right in and take the X receiver role in Trestman's offense from him.

In terms of Trestman's system, the Ravens' new offensive coordinator has a tendency to feed the top two wideouts on his offenses. Indeed, nearly 40% of the Bears' pass attempts last season under Trestman went to the number one and two wideouts on the team.

Therefore, if Perriman -- or any other wideout on this team for that matter -- hopes to have a shot at decent production this season, the importance of landing at the top of the depth chart for the Ravens sooner rather than later becomes obvious.