The Baltimore Ravens have been searching for stability and consistency at the wide receiver position, and over the past three offseasons, they have invested quite a bit into finding exactly that. Not many teams have invested more at wide receiver in the NFL Draft than the Baltimore Ravens since 2019.
Baltimore Ravens drafted WRs since 2019
- Marquise Brown (1st round, 2019)
- Miles Boykin (3rd round, 2019)
- Devin Duvernay (3rd round, 2020)
- James Proche (6th round, 2020)
- Rashod Bateman (1st round, 2021)
- Tylan Wallace (4th round, 2021)
Four of the players the Ravens selected were top-100 picks. In the 2021 offseason, they also brought in former Kansas City Chiefs receiver Sammy Watkins, the former 4th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft who has struggled to reach his full potential at the NFL level.
Despite all of the additions this team has made at wide receiver in the last three offseasons, the selection of Tylan Wallace stands out as one of the best values, even for a team like the Baltimore Ravens that is consistently known for getting great value year after year.
Ravens WR Tylan Wallace since 2017:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 20, 2021
46 contested catches (1st)
40 receptions of 20+ yards (1st) pic.twitter.com/wzDxSKpNM4
Wallace was the prime example of an elite downfield threat at the college level and that’s something he will obviously be expected to bring at the next level. Even when he didn’t create as much separation, Wallace showed the ability to come down with difficult contested catches.
One of Wallace’s top physical and athletic comps is Stefon Diggs, who was once a fifth-round pick out of Maryland. Diggs didn’t post the most impressive pre-draft measurables but we’ve obviously seen how his game translates to the NFL in terms of being a strong route runner, playing bigger than his size downfield, plucking the ball out of the air with his hands, and a guy who is extremely physical in the way he plays.
Wallace’s play style is going to be absolutely perfect for the Baltimore Ravens, and the other guys on the roster who have been picked in the last three years should probably understand that at this point, they are on notice.
Although he was the 131st pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, it’s safe to say that Wallace — like many receivers in the last two years — was under-drafted based on the depth of the classes at that particular position.
Wallace was a Biletnikoff finalist in a sensational 2018 season, and looked like he was en route to a possible first-round selection after the 2019 season before injuring his knee in practice.
Even after the knee injury, Wallace showed some impressive stuff in 2020 and is going to enter the Baltimore Ravens’ offseason program as one of the top young players to watch.