Baltimore Ravens: An argument for bringing in Dez Bryant

When it comes to Dez Bryant and his possible landing spot with the Baltimore Ravens, decline in production is for reasons outside of his control.

Reports saying the Baltimore Ravens are the front-runners to land Dez Bryant have Ravens fans grumbling. Understandably so too, Bryant is just not a prototypical Raven. He is a bit of a diva who demands the football. These are facts.

The fiction comes when we believe that he can no longer play football at a high level and when we think his age is a factor, as if 29 years old marks the beginning of the dying years of a receiver. There is a long list of receivers who have produced at 29 and well into their early 30s. So why not give Bryant a one-or-two-year contract if the Ravens front office still believes he can play?

Maybe it is the statistics or decline in production making the media and fans think Bryant can no longer help the Purple and Black. Well, let’s look at why his production dropped in the first place. 

A huge reason we all believe Bryant cannot get it done anymore is because of the quarterback change from 2016. Simply put, Dak Prescott does not measure up against the passing skill set that Tony Romo possessed. 

During his time with Romo, Bryant was snatching right around 60 percent of the balls thrown his way. Bryant has only seen three seasons under 58 percent, and two of those seasons had Prescott playing quarterback. Since the change, Bryant is hanging right around 50 percent. A Dak-to-Dez pass completion is right around a coin flip per pass attempt.

In 2017, Prescott threw for 207.8 passing yards per game during the regular season. The mark ranked him 24th in the league among quarterbacks with at least 150 pass attempts. Prescott also gets significantly worse when Ezekiel Elliott is out of the lineup, dropping his mark to 191 yards per game. This mark places him 31st in the league.

Largely, Prescott’s stats are inflated when Zeke is in the lineup because of his dependence upon defenses loading the box with eight or nine defenders to stop the run game. Prescott has had this luxury since he took the role from Romo. 

Romo had one season under 200 yards per game, and that was his first season as a starter for the Cowboys. He usually hovered right around 260 yards per game. Romo never got to play with Elliott, but imagine if he did. Bryant may still have a job, and the Cowboys might have won another Super Bowl. 

Physically Dez Bryant is still Dez Bryant. The question for the Ravens is not, “Can Dez Bryant still play at the same caliber from a physical standpoint?” The question is, can the Baltimore Ravens throw enough balls Bryant’s way to keep him happy?