The Baltimore Ravens have some decisions to make at wide receiver and it could leave a popular breakout candidate on the outside looking in.
As the Ravens prepare to make their final 53-man roster, several players are battling for what appears to be two open spots.
The Ravens seemingly have four receivers penciled in for the final roster: Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, and rookie Devontez Walker.
There may be two open spots beyond that, and The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec predicts they'll go to Deontay Harty and Tylan Wallace.
Furthermore, Zrebiec labels breakout candidate Dayton Wade a "long shot" to make the final roster.
Wade, an undrafted receiver out of Ole Miss, was first mentioned by fullback Patrick Ricard as a potential breakout candidate. Ricard said he had been impressed by Wade's route-running, hands, and business-like demeanor during OTAs.
Wade has also some impressive moments during training camp and preseason. Wade reportedly had "the play of the day" early in training camp when he hauled in a deep pass from rookie QB Devin Leary.
And though the Ravens' first preseason game hardly had any noteworthy offensive action, Wade still led the team in receiving with four catches for 27 yards. However, Wade also had a bad drop that cost the team 14 yards.
However, Zrebiec writes that Harty is the "favorite" for the returner job, while Wallace has come on recently (including two catches for 26 yards against the Eagles) and is a strong special teams player.
Of course, the race for those final spots could get interesting. Over the past week, the Ravens have signed veteran receivers such as Russell Gage, Anthony Miller, and Keith Kirkwood. Bringing in three veterans at this stage and not keeping any on the roster would be surprising, especially since the Ravens would be thin at receiver if any of their top three got injured during the year.
Also on the "long shot" list is Malik Cunningham, a quarterback-turned-receiver under the Ravens who had been impressing coaches.
As for Wade, if he doesn't make the final roster, he could be a candidate to make the practice squad. However, it's worth wondering if another team might scoop him off waivers.