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Analyzing the potential fit of Terrance Marshall Jr. in Baltimore - Baltimore Beatdown

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In the SB Nation 2021 Mock Draft, the Baltimore Beatdown staff came to the decision to select Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, LSU with the 27th overall pick. This would mark the second straight year the Ravens used a first round pick to dip into the talent pool that took the world by storm in 2019 when LSU went one of the more memorable collegiate championship runs in recent history.

Joining his Patrick Queen in Baltimore, Marshall brings height, speed and spice. Marshall racked up 23 touchdowns in his final 19 games for LSU. His final 10, which came across seven games in 2020, might be the most impressive.

Considering that LSU had 13 players drafted following their 2019-20 National Championship, the cupboard was left barren. That doesn’t include Ja’Marr Chase, who opted out ahead of the 2020 season and seems primed to be one of the first players selected in this year’s draft. Marshall rose to the occasion and averaged 100 yards and a touchdown per game while playing an all SEC schedule

Marshall’s production was also impressive considering the drop-off in quarterback play from Joe Burrow to a platoon of inconsistent and erratic passers. LSU also lost whiz-kid offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who orchestrated one of the most efficient offenses in college football history before joining the Carolina Panthers in the same position this past year.

Marshall played primarily on the boundary (73.9% of 2019 snaps) during LSU’s championship run. Aligning in a variety of splits, he demonstrated explosive downfield speed in his release paired with strong deep ball tracking and a considerable catch radius. He wins in contested situations with his height, 40-inch vertical and by adjusting to the ball at the catch point over defenders.

That was the majority of Marshall’s workload in 2019. In 2020, Marshall kicked inside to replace Justin Jefferson. 76% of Marshall’s 2020 snaps came from the slot, where he demonstrated pace variation and burst to separate over the middle of the field. Marshall also showed his dynamic speed after the catch, where he was rarely tackled once he found a seam and stepped on the accelerator.

Reflecting on Marshall’s past two seasons, he’s shown that he can function inside or outside at a high level. This should allow him to be relatively scheme versatile, and a chess piece who can be moved around the find the best matchup. In 2020, the former Tiger also showed a knack for reading and finding throwing windows against zone coverage, which the Ravens see more of than any team in the NFL due to Lamar Jackson’s lethal mobility.

Marshall’s game isn’t all rainbows and sunshine, however. While “stiff” may be too strong of a word to describe Marshall’s lateral breaks, his speed cuts require rounding. He doesn’t quite sink his hips in and out of breaks the way elite route runners like Elijah Moore can, unable to flatten and work back to the ball without wasting motion.

Marshall relies more on pace variation to mask his shortcoming, where he approaches his stem under control, then accelerates out of his break to create separation. More technically sound defensive backs in the NFL will be able to disrupt Marshall’s stems as he can’t threaten sharp angles at full speed consistently.

Additionally, reports of medical concerns at the NFL Combine have surfaced.

Marshall missed three games in 2019, but returned to form and played well in 2020 to follow. Baltimore was unbothered by injury risk in 2019 when they made Marquise Brown the first receiver off the board despite having two screws inserted into his foot ahead of the draft.

Another area of concern is that simply put, Marshall drops passes. All receivers drop passes, but Marshall drops more than you’d like to see out of a first-round receiver. Pro Football Focus tagged Marshall with seven drops on 55 catchable passes in 2020. The drops seem to be of the classic “running before the catch” variety.

Finally, receivers aren’t drafted to block, but in Baltimore’s offense, they will have to. Marshall, on his best days, is an average blocker. In space he consistently stops moving his feet, allows his man a runway to gain momentum and gives up his chest. His effort and technique seemed miles better in 2019, when LSU was a more competitive team overall.

Unsurprisingly, the former five-star recruit lit up LSU’s pro day, earning the third highest Relative Athletic Score in the 2021 receiver class behind only Ja’Marr Chase and Jacob Harris.

Terrace Marshall Jr. RAS

Marshall stamped his height, explosiveness and speed. His RAS does come with an asterisk, as he didn’t test for agility, which leads me to believe that his inability to sink his hips would’ve shown up in the 3-cone or short shuttle. Marshall’s athletic testing profile is remarkably similar to Jaguars receiver and another former LSU Tiger, D.J. Chark.

DJ Chark RAS

If Marshall can become remotely as successful as Chark, the Ravens would hit a home run with this pick. Baltimore has lacked a dynamic receiver with a large catch radius since the Anquan Boldin days of old. While Marshall isn’t overly physical, he possesses a large catch radius and consistently creates late separation by subtly pushing off. He would become perhaps Baltimore’s best contested catch target, as he brought down 25 contested catches on 41 such targets over the past two years according to Pro Football Focus.

Drops and a lack of run blocking effort/ability might grow frustrating for the young receiver, who is still only 20-years-old. As the Ravens have seen with Miles Boykin, when receivers are given a small target share and struggle to be effective in the passing game, problems can compound.

Marshall would bring a more diverse skill set than Boykin, as he’s able to work in the slot and possesses substantially more speed after the catch. Boykin also only has two more years on his contract, which could make him dispensable of Marshall were to come in and provide an upgrade.

Drafting Marshall would give the Ravens a full, diverse receiver room for the first time in years. Marquise Brown, Sammy Watkins, Miles Boykin, Devin Duvernay and James Proche would allow for depth at both boundary positions as well as the slot, while bringing very different body types and skill sets. Marshall also steps his game up in the red zone, which could provide a lethal pairing alongside Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown, who have both done considerable damage in that area to this point in their respective careers.

Baltimore’s new wide receivers coach and pass-game specialist, Tee Martin and Keith Williams, would certainly be ecstatic to see a specimen like Terrace Marshall Jr. in Baltimore. While he does need sharpening in certain areas, Marshall possesses size, explosive movement skills and a strong production resume.

If Marshall is able to manage his drops while continuing to develop strength in his 6-foot-3 205-pound frame, he provides Lamar Jackson with a rare combination of explosive speed and juice after the catch. With almost 33-inch arms, Marshall can reel in deep balls and continue to hone in on his contested catch prowess. Yet another red zone weapon, Marshall has potential to be more of the “true No. 1” that Ravens fans have clamored for with just a smidge of development over the next two years.

With only two years remaining on Miles Boykin and Marquise Brown’s contracts, Marshall could become the featured piece in year three, allowing the Ravens flexibility in free agency/roster construction down the road.

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