Let’s begin by stating that the Baltimore Ravens, in all likelihood, are not going to be terrible in 2017. This team has a quality defense, year-to-year continuity in the coaching staff and depth at key spots. Baltimore has experienced only one losing season in the John Harbaugh-Joe Flacco era, and Vegas pegs the Ravens as a 9-win squad for 2017. In a traditional NFL power ranking, we’d slot Baltimore solidly in the top half of the league, somewhere in the 11-to-14 range.

But this exercise is obviously not a traditional NFL power ranking. Around here, we care primarily about a team’s fantasy relevance in the season ahead — yards, points and draft-worthy players. And that’s where things get messy for this group. The only upper-tier fantasy asset on this roster is the kicker, Justin Tucker. No other Ravens are selected among the top-100 picks in standard Yahoo drafts, nor should they be. Marty Mornhinweg returns as OC following a season in which his offense did nothing well. Fantasy-wise, there’s not much to see here.

So you’re saying Joe Flacco is less than elite.

Baltimore ranked first in the league in pass attempts last season (679), but just 12th in net passing yards (4100) and 21st in passing touchdowns (20). That’s brutal. Flacco averaged just 6.4 yards per attempt, tossing 15 interceptions and posting a career-low TD percentage (3.0). He actually finished with the fifth highest single-season attempt total in league history (672), yet he ranked 20th in fantasy scoring among quarterbacks. Over nine NFL seasons, Flacco has zero top-10 positional finishes. He’s purely a backup in our game. His average draft position in Yahoo leagues reflects his low statistical ceiling (125.1). Honestly, drafting Flacco at any spot feels like an act of total surrender.

Three significant members of last year’s receiving corps are no longer in the team picture for the Ravens. Steve Smith Sr. retired after 16 brilliant seasons, Kamar Aiken relocated to Indianapolis via free agency and Dennis Pitta suffered another hip dislocation during the offseason. Unfortunately, Pitta’s injury could be a career-ender. The departure of those three vets will leave 272 targets up for grabs in Baltimore.

Mike Wallace is back, coming off a year in which he reached 1000 receiving yards for the first time since 2011. Wallace finished second on this team in both targets (117) and receptions (72) in 2016. He was annoyingly quiet in the second-half of the season, failing to find the end-zone or reach 65 receiving yards in any of Baltimore’s final eight games. At 30, Wallace’s best seasons are almost certainly behind him, but he’s still likely to produce WR3/WR4 numbers for the year, assuming good health. If you can land him at or near his current draft price (123.9), he’ll deliver an easy profit. He’s best used as a field-stretcher, not unlike the Ravens’ bookend outside receiver, Breshad Perriman.

If you’re targeting Perriman in fantasy drafts, I won’t fight you for him. He caught three balls for 64 yards in his best game last year. Perriman is a burner with sub-4.3 timed speed, but we’re all still waiting for a notable performance. He was a high-buzz player throughout OTAs, for what it’s worth…

Flacco on Perriman: “listen, you can just see the confidence in his eyes.” — Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) June 13, 2017





…which seems to have excited the expert community. Personally, I can’t believe he’s being drafted so close to Wallace (ADP 129.4). Obviously there’s little risk attached if you’re selecting him outside the first 10 rounds, but he enters the year as the No. 3 receiving option in a low-yield offense.

Jeremy Maclin signed with the Ravens not long after he was released by the Chiefs, and he’s clearly in line for a significant workload. He’ll do most of his work from the slot, where he’s been highly productive in recent seasons. Maclin produced back-to-back 1000-yard campaigns in 2014 and 2015, but injuries derailed his 2016 season. Tyreek Hill’s emergence made him expendable in KC and Baltimore had a glaring need for receiving talent, so here we are. Maclin is a strong candidate to lead this team in targets, catches and receiving TDs. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if he delivered a 75-900-6 fantasy line in a healthy year. Maclin, like most Ravens, is available outside the top 120 picks in standard drafts (128.5).

Story continues