The Baltimore Ravens enter training camp with most of their roster and starting 22 intact, but there's still plenty of intrigue to be had when it comes to in-camp competitions at a handful of positions. Here's our list of the 3 Crucial Position Battles In The Ravens' 2015 Training Camp.
3. Free Safety
Darian Stewart jumped ship to the Denver Broncos in free agency, taking his 53 tackles and one interception in 2014 with him. The Ravens signed Kendrick Lewis (84 tackles, six passes defensed, two INT last season), and his 66 career starts make him a comfortable favorite to land a starting spot going forward. However, keep an eye on third-year player Matt Elam. His skill set and tangibles slot him to be a better fit at strong safety, but he spent most of his rookie season as the team's starting free safety and the Ravens coaching staff will want to get him lined up somewhere near the front of the depth chart.
2. Tight End
This is all about Dennis Pitta's health. When he's on the field, Pitta is a top-five level tight end who functions as both a high-quality safety valve receiver and a solid-to-great lead blocker on end plays. The problem is that Pitta hasn't been healthy since 2012 which is AGES in football years. Enter Minnesota's Maxx Williams. The Ravens moved up to grab Williams in Round 2 of this year's draft and that's not the type of investment a team makes if they intend to sit a kid behind a veteran -- at least not in the long term.
1. Wide Receiver
Steve Smith Sr. is the clear #1 with Torrey Smith out of the picture. From there it's anyone's guess. The three top returning receivers behind Smith (Michael Campanaro, Marlon Brown, Kamar Aiken) combined for a less-than-jaw dropping 55 catches, 624 yards and four touchdowns. Of those three, Aiken has the most upside and will likely be the primary challenger to first-round home-run threat Breshad Perriman for the right to line up across from Smith Sr.
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