The Baltimore Ravens have seen the wide receiver position once again be one of the more controversial areas of their roster. The team opted against bringing in any veteran option outside of Demarcus Robinson and didn’t add anyone at the trade deadline at the position, doubling down on trusting their young players.
While wideouts Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay have had their moments, but outside of those two, the team hasn’t seen much out of their other wide receivers. When discussing James Proche II, Baltimore wide receivers coach Tee Martin shared what the former SMU star must to do get more involved in the offense, praising Proche’s ability and discussing his role behind Duvernay.
“He’s maximizing his opportunities. The way that we’ve been playing personnel wise, it kind of limits that time of him being on the field. We have certain personnels where he’s in the game 100 percent of the time. He’s also Devin Duvernay’s backup in certain personnels, and Devin doesn’t like to come out of the game, and Devin is playing great. So, it’s hard to substitute a player who’s playing at a high level and playing really well. It’s not a knock on James at all; he’s playing great, route running, catching the ball and making some big catches. He’s also blocking his tail off which is an area where I challenged him during the offseason to improve in. So, it’s just a matter of us in game-planning getting him out there and playing, but it’s not a knock on him. He’s playing at a high level; he’s doing everything we’re asking him to do and beyond, and you’ll continue to see him play more as we finish the season.”
Proche hasn’t done much on the 2022 season so far, only catching six of eight targets for 53 yards. He still has the potential to be a contributor for the Baltimore offense, but needs to show more in his opportunities, which have been somewhat limited over the course of his career so far.
