It is really hard to know what a “Raven” looks like as a wide receiver. Is it a fast, tall guy who can’t catch? We’ve had a lot of those over the years. Is it a fast, smaller guy that we draft in the first round but who doesn’t quite pan out as the number one receiver you would want them to be? I’ve been tempted over my years of doing this to place my “red stars” on many a wide receiver prospect but always struggled to make the final decision to do it. It has certainly taken me longer to hone what I’m looking for at the wide receiver position myself, like the Ravens, I’ve had some glaring misses.

The Ravens are still obsessed with speed at the position, especially in the earlier rounds. The clearest tendency that they have in all of their receiver selections is their need for speed on day one and two of the NFL Draft. A 4.4 40 or faster highlights the profile of all of these selections. They also like to find wide receivers who are big, and fast for their size – in the case of Aaron Mellette or Jaleel Scott, or receivers who are simply big, and fast for anyone’s size – in the case of Tommy Streeter or Miles Boykin.

What I’m saying is that, if I were the Ravens, and acting as they do hoping for significant value to fall to them at the bottom of the first round, Bateman would fit the bill for me as someone who will likely be head and shoulders above the other options staring them in the face at 27. I would even consider giving up our precious draft capital to go up slightly in the 20s to make sure I get him.