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Finding a wide receiver without breaking the bank is going to be key for the Baltimore Ravens this offseason. General manager Eric DeCosta’s priority remains re-signing Lamar Jackson, but the best way to convince the All-Pro quarterback to stick around will be surrounding him with some new targets on the outside.
DJ Chark is an intriguing option as a free agent who “won’t break the bank,” according to Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports. Dajani identified the Detroit Lions’ wideout as somebody capable of answering the Ravens need for an “outside receiving threat.”
Chark is an intriguing option because of physical tools the Ravens simply don’t possess within their current receiving corps. Yet, those tools haven’t translated into consistent, high-level production for Chark, who needs an elite quarterback to unlock his full potential.
Lamar Jackson Can Unlock Physical Specimen at WR
As Dajani pointed out, Chark caught “just 30 passes for 502 yards and three touchdowns while missing six games, but he did string together a few impressive performances.”
One of those performances came against Chark’s former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, in Week 13. He averaged 19.6 yards across five catches, including this 41-yard grab, highlighted by Matt Waldman of Football Guys:
Chark continued his big-play streak in the next game against the Minnesota Vikings. This time, the 26-year-old reeled in this 48-yard touchdown catch:
Big plays like these have been common throughout Chark’s career from the moment he entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick in 2018. He’s averaged over 12 yards per catch every season since.
Chark made nine catches of 20-plus yards for the Lions this season, including three of 40 or more yards. The Ravens could use somebody able to stretch the field so often after their pedestrian passing game produced just 33 completions of over 20 yards, the second-fewest in the league, just five ahead of the New York Giants.
Just as important, Chark has developed a knack for making clutch catches. Of his 30 receptions this season, 24 went for first downs, according to Pro Football Reference.
A big reason Chark is successful is his 6’4″ frame. He can snag a jump ball on the outside, as well as win a scrap to grab a short-range pass in the red zone, the way he did against the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving Day:
Jackson doesn’t have a similar type of physical specimen to aim for among his wide receivers. The Ravens’ tallest starting wideout is 6’2″, oft-injured Rashod Bateman.
Putting Chark into this offense would give Jackson another big-bodied target to go with tight ends Isaiah Likely and All-Pro Mark Andrews. Jackson would become a more consistent deep passer with somebody like Chark to go to when defenses clamp down on the inside throwing lanes.
For Chark, it would mean finally getting to play with a top-tier quarterback.
Bargain Free Agent Needs a Top-Tier QB
Chark’s career has been a long and so far fruitless search for a top-tier quarterback. He never had one of those in Jacksonville, where he caught passes from Blake Bortles, Gardner Minshew and a rookie Trevor Lawrence.
It’s a similar story in Detroit, where Jared Goff has been better than advertised and is coming off a career year. Even so, he’s never going to be an elite player at his position.
Jackson can reach that status, provided he stays healthy and is given more of a helping hand from the Ravens. There’ll be little point to signing Jackson to a long-term contract, or even using the franchise tag, if the Ravens don’t equip the face of the franchise with better receivers and a more expansive scheme.
Signing Chark can be the first step toward reaching that goal. He had a base salary of just $1.035 million in 2022, per Spotrac.com, so the Ravens could swoop with a solid, but far from mega-bucks offer and still have enough cash in reserve to focus on resolving Jackson’s future.
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