The Baltimore Ravens watched Torrey Smith walk out the door in free agency, but the team's owner isn't worried about what's left at the position.
"We absolutely need a tight end. We do not absolutely need a wide receiver," Steve Bisciotti said this week during a conference call, per ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley.
It's an intriguing take on the position considering how thin the Ravens are behind veteran Steve Smith. The other pass-catchers under contract -- Kamar Aiken, Michael Campanaro and Marlon Brown -- are complementary types who lack Torrey Smith's ability to beat a secondary deep. Aldrick Robinson is a journeyman.
"I've got my guys very high on our wide receivers," Bisciotti insisted. "So, I'm not desperate for a wideout."
NFL Media's Lance Zierlein and Charles Davis both have the Ravensusing the 26th overall pick in the draft on 6-foot-2 wideout Jaelen Strong out of Arizona State.
Drafting a receiver makes plenty of sense, but Bisciotti showed far more urgency on the topic of Dennis Pitta's rehab, saying he was "praying" for the tight end to make his return come September. The owner went on to talk about the receiver position as something that could come later in the draft.
"You look at Pittsburgh that has had some wonderful success in the last five, six years in the third round," Bisciotti said. "They might not be perfectly well-rounded wide receivers, but you can get some fliers in the third round, guys that can take the top off a defense."
The Ravens benefit from a draft class of wideouts that might be even deeper than last year's. Still, we'd be surprised to see Baltimore ignore the position beyond the second day of the draft.
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