Something quietly changed on the Baltimore Ravens' depth chart during the bye: Chris Givens is now listed as a starting wide receiver alongside Kamar Aiken.
While the depth chart in the team's weekly release is considered unofficial, this is an indication that Givens should be considered the frontrunner over Marlon Brown and Jeremy Ross in taking over Steve Smith's starting spot.
Givens' speed complements Joe Flacco's strong arm. He is coming off his best game of the year, catching three passes for 57 yards, including a 39-yarder against the Chargers.
"Every time he has gotten in the game, he has made plays," Flacco said. "I think guys see that, guys react well to that. I think he’s becoming one of us."
It's evident Flacco already has more chemistry with Givens. In the last game, Flacco's 18-yard pass to Givens on a back-shoulder throw jumpstarted the winning drive.
“He’s starting to feel it a little bit,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He and Joe [Flacco] are starting to develop something, an understanding for one another.”
Givens showed a lot of promise as a rookie for the Rams in 2012, gaining at least 50 yards in seven of eight games during a midseason stretch. St. Louis had major issues at quarterback in 2013 and 2014, and Givens fell behind Kenny Britt, Brian Quick and Tavon Austin on the team's depth chart over the past two seasons. Now the 4.41 speedster is going to see major snaps for Ravens with a quarterback who throws a nice deep ball. In his career, Givens has seen five-plus targets in 16 games and has averaged 3.5 catches for 54 yards and 0.12 TD in those games. He's not likely to set the world on fire, but it's feasible that he posts WR4 numbers the rest of the way.
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