Deonte Thompson

Once again the Baltimore Ravens seem to have struck gold with some of their undrafted free agent signings. In fact More so this season than in past years. The Ravens have several young standouts in camp that, for some reason or another, went undrafted.

The first name that seems to be on every ones lips is wide receiver Deonte Thompson. He has wowed onlookers and coaches alike with his blazing speed and circus catches in OTA's and training camp. Thompson was limited at Florida in college due to an early injury and frequent coaching changes that always left him behind. Coming into the 2009 season he was slated as the teams number one receiver but a hamstring injury sidelined him giving way for Riley cooper to shine as the teams number one target. He is now showing the Ravens why he was once so highly touted.

acruisebum wrote:Stone hands caught something besides a cold.

When Jacoby Jones was signed this offseason, the Ravens felt like they finally had a bona fide returner.

But the wide receiver/return specialist did more receiving than returning Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jones returned just one punt and no kickoffs.

He did play a prominent role in the passing game as the third receiver, catching three passes for 46 yards. But the workload at wide out was not the reason he was limited on special teams, Head Coach John Harbaugh said.

“That was his role on special teams what he played in those particular reps,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve got a plan with the other guys. We feel like we have some guys that can do some things. So, that was the plan special teams wise for Jacoby.”

Cornerback Lardarius Webb, who signed a six-year contract extension in the offseason, returned one punt. Rookie free agent Deonte Thompson handled all the kickoff return duties.

Jones didn’t return any kickoffs last year for the Houston Texans. He has a career average of 23.3 yards. Meanwhile, Thompson returned five in the preseason for 199 yards, giving him a whopping 39.8-yard average. He had a long of 63 yards that he nearly broke for a touchdown.

Thompson had four kickoff returns for 88 yards (a 22-yard average) Monday night.

Jones did handle the punt return duties for the Texans last year, however. With explosive lateral movement and flat-out speed, Jones averaged 10.6 yards per return last year.

The Ravens have said that they will still use Webb on a case-to-case basis. They inserted him in the second quarter, before using Jones, with the Ravens leading 17-3.

acruisebum wrote:He didn't catch the ball like he is now while at UF!

g8tr72 wrote:

acruisebum wrote:He didn't catch the ball like he is now while at UF!

Maybe because JB was throwing it.

Jim Caldwell upbeat about Deonte Thompson, a 4.23 speedster


Ravens wide receiver Deonte Thompson is obviously a gifted athlete, a true speedster who's arguably the fastest player on the Super Bowl champions' roster.

Although he went undrafted out of the University of Florida, Thompson ran the 40-yard dash between 4.23 seconds and 4.33 seconds at his campus Pro Day workout for a composite time of 4.31 seconds.

The 6-foot, 203-pounder also bench pressed 225 pounds 20 times and registered a 36 1/2 inch vertical leap and a 10-5 broad jump.

Along with kicker Justin Tucker, he was one of two undrafted rookies to make the 53-man opening game roster. In limited action, Thompson caught five passes for 51 yards.

With his athleticism and developing routes and hands, Thompson is an interesting prospect that the Ravens' coaching staff is giving a long look this spring.

Thompson, who caught 101 passes for 1,446 yards and nine touchdowns for the Gators, figures into the mix of the Ravens' competition for the second and third receiver spots, which includes Pro Bowl kick returner Jacoby Jones, former fourth-round draft pick Tandon Doss, David Reed, LaQuan Williams and Aaron Mellette.

"He’s a gifted route-runner, and he is getting better," offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell said. "He’s young, and he’s developing. [Wide receivers] coach Jim Hostler is working with him, and certainly, getting him refined in all aspects of the game. He understands how to sink his hips. He can do a great job of changing direction.He has speed, can catch the ball, and he’s tough. I think that’s a pretty good
blend. He’s a young guy, so we will see. If he keeps improving the way he’s going, I think he will be a fine player.”

With the Ravens trading former Pro Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers following a contract dispute this offseason, they have a void of experience outside.

Caldwell expressed confidence in the talent at the receiver position, especially the speed.

“I’m not real sure how defenses will look at us," Caldwell said. "I know one thing: They will look at us and see that we have some guys that can still get down the field and go. That can certainly give you some problems in a number of different ways. I think they look at every guy according to his strengths. Our guys with their strengths, they do have speed.

"They can get across the field. They can get down the field. They can catch and run. They are also very, very good blockers on the perimeter. I’m not quite certain how they will look at us. But, what I do know is the fact that we do have quite a few threats and quite a few people that they will probably be concerned with.”