Even if the Ravens can't complete a trade for the Arizona Cardinals' Anquan Boldin, team officials don't feel the pressure to select a wide receiver in the first round in next weekend's NFL draft.
"I would challenge you to go to those receivers that we have working right now in the offseason program and tell them we need a receiver and see their reaction," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said at the team's pre-draft news conference. "I like the attitude of those guys. We're looking forward to some of those young guys taking some big leaps in their second year.
"So, is wide receiver a great need? Anybody that's special can come and make this football team better."
The problem for the Ravens is that - outside of Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree and Missouri's Jeremy Maclin - it's tough to decipher which wide receivers are special and which ones are suspect.
Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey clocked the fastest time at the NFL scouting combine, but he was not a consistent pass catcher in college. Florida's Percy Harvin is elusive, but he has durability issues. North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks is physically and mentally tough, but he doesn't have prototypical speed. And Rutgers' Kenny Britt has great size and strength, but he hasn't shown great instincts at times.
"If you look at their history, they have found great players at the bottom of the first round, but I am not convinced it will be a receiver," said Nolan Nawrocki, the draft analyst for Pro Football Weekly.
Teams have become more cautious when it comes to drafting receivers in the first round. In fact, none were selected in the opening round last year.
Recently, there has been increasing talk that Harvin, Nicks and Britt could all fall into the second round. So, the Ravens could have a shot at one of them or Ohio State's Brian Robiskie with the 57th overall pick.
"They could slide. I'm not going to say they couldn't," said Joe Hortiz, the Ravens' director of college scouting. "But I couldn't tell you which one could."
The Ravens have taken a close look at all of the receivers who could be available at the bottom of the first round. The team held private workouts with Heyward-Bey, Harvin, Nicks and Britt.
"I think we know what to look for," director of player personnel Eric DeCosta said, "and hopefully we can get one of the guys that we like."
When it comes to receivers, the Ravens stress intelligence. They want someone who has that "gym rat" work ethic.
