Ravens are likely to grab receiver

Past won’t deter team from going after top playmaker

In the three-day draft that begins April 27, the Ravens have seven total picks, including the 16th overall selection in the first round, two in the third round and four of the first 78 selections. Their needs include a play-making wide receiver, one or two ready-to-play offensive linemen, an explosive edge rusher and depth along the defensive front and in the secondary.

Through next Wednesday, The Baltimore Sun will look at the Ravens’ depth chart at each position, the likelihood that they will add to it and who they possibly could target. Today we’ll examine wide receivers: Current wide receivers under contract: Mike Wallace, Breshad Perriman, Michael Campanaro, Chris Moore, Chris Matthews, Keenan Reynolds, Vince Mayle, Kenny Bell Chances that the Ravens will draft a wide receiver in first three rounds: High. Ravens officials have spoken a lot about adding playmakers, but aside from running back Danny Woodhead, they’ve yet to get quarterback Joe Flacco any help. That has to change. General manager Ozzie Newsome says the Ravens won’t hesitate to draft a first-round receiver even though that hasn’t been a good formula. If they don’t use the 16th pick on a pass catcher, they almost certainly have to come out of Day 2 of the draft with one. Possibly on Ravens’ radar: Corey Davis (Western Michigan), Isaiah Ford (Virginia Tech), John Ross (Washington), JuJu Smith- Schuster (Southern California), Mike Williams (Clemson), DeAngelo Yancey (Purdue) Outlook: The wide receiver position remains an elusive fix for Newsome. He has never drafted a wide receiver who went to the Pro Bowl, and the three first-round receivers he’s taken — Travis Taylor in 2000, Mark Clayton in 2005 and Perriman in 2015 — have been disappointments. Perriman, at least, still has an opportunity to change that narrative. The Ravens will almost certainly have the opportunity to select one of the top three receivers available: Davis, Ross or Williams. They’ve done their due diligence on all of them, bringing them in for visits.