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Mike Wallace was the Ravens' only 1,000-yard receiver last season, and the dearth of playmakers had everything to do with their 26th-ranked passing offense, according to Football Outsiders' metrics. These issues have plagued the Ravens in recent years, and it's why the front office and coaching staff targeted wide receiver Breshad Perriman in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, Perriman ran a blistering 4.24-second 40-yard dash at his pro day. On paper, he was exactly what Joe Flacco and the Ravens' offense needed to open things up. Unfortunately, he missed his rookie season with a knee injury, another knee injury kept him out of training camp last August, and in 16 games he managed just 33 catches for 499 yards and three touchdowns.

But Wallace, who burst onto the scene with the Steelers in 2009 because of his ability to outrun any defense a coach could dream up, thinks 2017 will be the year Perriman puts it all together.

"He's going to surprise a lot of people," Wallace said this week, via ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley. "He's going to be one of the top receivers in the league this year. ... You can tell it's night and day with the confidence level. I know exactly how he's going to play. I'm the most confident person in him in the whole world."

That seems ... ambitious, but Perriman will need to have breakout year for the Ravens to bounce back from their disappointing 8-8 finish. Steve Smith has retired, the team didn't sign or draft a wide receiver to replace him, and the Ravens depth chart currently includes Chris Moore and Chris Matthews. The former had seven catches for 46 yards and the latter didn't see the field at all last season.

There are also tight ends Dennis Pitta, Benjamin Watson, Crockett Gillmore, Nick Boyle and 2015 second-rounder Maxx Williams. Historically, Flacco has leaned heavily on his tight ends in the passing game, but without a legit deep threat there's no reason to think that this offense will suddenly score points.

Which brings us back to Perriman.

"Nobody I think is having a better camp than him so far," Pitta said. "He is making big plays everywhere, catching everything thrown his way."

"He eats up a lot of ground," coach John Harbaugh added, "and he is running routes very well, and he is catching the ball very well. But we have to keep building."

In related news: Since Flacco arrived in Baltimore in 2008, the Ravens have never had two 1,000-yard receivers in a season. To hear Wallace tell it, maybe this is the year that changes.