Buy or Sell: Steve Smith

Steve Smith hasn’t been much of a fantasy factor for awhile now. His red zone opportunities have been swallowed up by guys like Greg Olsen and he’s clearly been slowed by age.

But he’s moved on now to Baltimore where he no longer has to be the main cog in a passing game. Can he pick up the pace under the rocket arm of Joe Flacco and become fantasy relevant once again? Or is he hanging on too long, delaying the inevitable retirement in lieu of squeezing out one or two more years of paychecks?

Steve Smith
ADP: 126.4
WR: 46

Buy: Tony

Baltimore fans should get used to the name Smith being called this year—although that may have just as much to do with Torrey as it does with Steve, who joins the team in his 14th season. There’s no doubt that Steve Smith is not likely to be a WR1 candidate for the season, especially since his last truly relevant fantasy season was 2011, when he put up nearly 1,400 yards and 7 touchdowns. However, as a guy currently averaging 126 in overall draft position, there is some positivity—when was the last time Smith was on a team with more than one viable WR passing threat? Or a QB whose play calls seemed to read “Look for target receiver, then pull it down and run?”

With Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens, Smith moves into a role that is much more fitting for this stage of his career, and one where a role as a WR3 or possibly even WR2 makes a lot of sense. Especially with news out of Ravens camp that Smith is actually getting back to his younger playing days—he’s already fought with Lardarius Webb during a minicamp, and now has thrown punches at Chykie Brown.

Sell: Anthony

Steve Smith is a shell of his former All-Pro self. Everyone knows this. Yet there’s apparently at least a subset of people out there who think a move to Baltimore—because nothing screams passing offense like the Ravens—will keep him on the cusp of fantasy relevancy. Smith is the No. 46 wide receiver off the board right now, which is ludicrous because of his utter lack of upside.

Sure, Marlon Brown caught seven touchdowns passes last season, but he was completely touchdown dependent for fantasy value. And this was without Dennis Pitta there to steal red zone looks. The top two receivers for Baltimore have combined for no more than 12 touchdowns in each of the last three seasons, and Torrey Smith is bound to improve on his four from a year ago after combining for 15 his previous two seasons. Oh, and the aforementioned Brown is still there. Smith’s CEILING is in the 700 yards, 4 touchdowns neighborhood. In other words, a guy you could never feel good about starting. Meanwhile, such upside plays are going after him: Mike Evans, Josh Gordon, Kelvin Benjamin and Justin Hunter. When you’re picking your fourth or fifth wide receiver, you’re trying to hit on a guy whose floor is in that territory with a chance to outperform it. Not a guy who will perform as a fourth or fifth receiver if everything falls into place.

As the 46th WR and at 126 ADP, Steve Smith is:

About right - I'd take him there. (50%, 4 Votes)
A waste. He'll score fewer TDs than he throws punches at teammates in practice. (38%, 3 Votes)
A steal - he's going to be reborn in Baltimore. (13%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 8