JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Baltimore’s Steve Smith doesn’t look like he’s the oldest wide receiver in the NFL, and he certainly doesn’t play like it.

He’s still a very good player – he’s 10th on the NFL’s all-time list with 14,015 receiving yards and has caught a pass in 131 consecutive games – but playing at a high level is more difficult than it used to be, especially when he looks across the line of scrimmage and sees guys like Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

"It’s a tough game and as you get older, it doesn’t get easier," Smith said. "I think sometimes people downplay people that get up there in age of how much it really takes to maintain the play with some of the young, sensational players that are coming out of college and playing in the league right now."

The 21-year-old Ramsey is one of those players. The fifth overall pick in April’s draft is the youngest starting cornerback in the NFL. On Sunday he’ll be tasked at times with covering the 37-year-old Smith, a player he remembers watching when he was younger.

The young whippersnapper has a lot of respect for the grizzled veteran.

"Age doesn’t matter," Ramsey said. "Very good player, though. Definitely still has juice in him [and] can make some big plays for them. Has had a pretty good year so far. I look forward to it."

Steve Smith catches a second-half pass in Cleveland last week. Smith, 37, broke into the NFL in 2001, when the Jaguars' Jalen Ramsey was 6. Jason Miller/Getty Images

Smith has caught eight passes for 83 yards in the Ravens’ two games, working mainly short and intermediate routes while Mike Wallace (seven catches, 132 yards, three TDs) has been the Ravens' deep threat. Smith had two huge catches on the Ravens’ first drive of the second half against Cleveland last Sunday, catching a 19-yard pass on third-and-5 and a 31-yard pass on the next snap to put the Ravens in the red zone.

Baltimore scored on the next play to cut the Browns’ lead to 20-19 and the Ravens went on to win 25-20.

"Steve is a major first-class competitor," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "There’s nobody that I’ve been around that’s a bigger competitor than he is. He wants to be great all the time. It’s how he trains, how he studies, how he practices, how he plays. He’s been a great addition to us. Plus he’s a heck of a football player."

And a heck of a trash-talker, too. It’s a big part of his game -- and it hasn’t gotten worse as he ages.

"I’m still a dirtbag so no, that has not changed one bit," Smith said.

Ramsey said he’s ready.

"Everybody knows he’s a trash-talker and he’s gotten into DB's heads in his past, but you can’t get in my head," Ramsey said. "It is what it is. I’m just going to play football."

Smith vs. Ramsey will be an intriguing matchup. They won’t be matched up exclusively because the Jaguars don’t move their cornerbacks. Free safety Tashaun Gipson, who played against Smith as a member of the Cleveland Browns, said he believes Ramsey will give Smith a good battle when he does get him. Ramsey does have a distinct size advantage. He's 6-foot-2 and 209 pounds. Smith is 5-9 and 195 pounds.

"I think that Jalen will match up with him well," Gipson said. "The cornerbacks that we have, it’s going to be an exciting time to see them go out there Sunday because I know the guys we’ve got back down from no challenge and they’re excited about the opportunity."