From day one, Deonte Thompson has been making plays.  The un-drafted free agent from Florida has serious speed and good hands.  Thompson is fighting for a roster spot among group of receivers filled with youth and talent.  Most predict that the Ravens will keep six wide receivers on the final 53-man roster.  Anquan Boldin,  Torrey Smith, and Jacoby Jones are locks to make the roster.  After those three players, the picture is not so clear.

The players competing for the final three wide receiver spots are LaQuan Williams, Tandon Doss, Tommy Streeter, and Deonte Thompson.  Williams and Doss will most likely make the roster because of their production on special teams and their potential at wide receiver.  Although coaches have praised Doss, he has struggled to stay on the field due to injuries.  If Doss can’t stay healthy, the Ravens could surprise everyone and let him go.  While this is unlikely, it is still a possibility.

Every team in the league values players who can make an impact on special teams.  The Ravens are no different.  Therefore, the competition for the final three roster spots could come down to special teams.  Williams and Doss have been good on special teams and are somewhat established players in the Ravens organization.  Therefore, you can really narrow down the competition to be between Tommy Streeter and Deonte Thompson for the final roster spot at wide receiver.

While Tommy Streeter was a sixth round draft pick and Thompson was un-drafted, Thompson seems to be making more of an impact on offense and special teams.  Streeter is more of a project player and Thompson could produce for the Ravens right away.  Therefore, I think Thompson should make the team.

In addition to his potential role on special teams, I think Thompson could make an impact on the offense.  The Ravens are looking for a fourth receiver and neither LaQuan Williams or Dandon Doss have made significant strides to win that job.  Thompson’s presence in the offense would make the Ravens receiving core one of the fastest in the NFL.

If the Ravens do pick Thompson over Streeter, they can still keep Streeter seeing as they love his potential and raw ability.  Streeter could spend one year on the scout team and come back next year to make the team.  After all, Anquan Boldin will be a free agent and the Ravens might decide not to resign him.  Streeter could, one day, become the number two receiver for the Ravens.  He just needs time to develop.

(Updated: 6:35 p.m.)

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Returning to the practice field for the first time since their public workout at M&T Bank Stadium over the weekend, the Ravens were without safety Ed Reed during the opening portion of practice Monday afternoon.

Midway through Saturday’s practice, the veteran appeared to bang his left leg but finished the workout without any apparent concerns. Reed walked out to the field to watch the latter portion of practice while sporting a sleeve on his left leg. Reed received the day off last Monday along with linebacker Ray Lewis but has practiced every other day since reporting to training camp on July 25.

In addition to the laundry list of players missing at the start of practice, right guard Marshal Yanda, wide receiver Jacoby Jones, defensive end Pernell McPhee, and running back Anthony Allen did not finish Monday’s practice. Yanda left the field at the conclusion of the opening special teams period and showed no visible discomfort, but he never returned over the course of a practice that lasted over two hours.

“Jacoby, I pulled him out about midway through,” Harbaugh said. “I just felt like he’d done enough. Marshal, I pulled him out early in the practice and just felt like he’d had enough. And Pernell, I’m not sure about. That wasn’t me, so we’ll have to find out about that one.”

Wide receiver Tandon Doss (hamstring), cornerback Cary Williams, and tight end Ed Dickson returned to the practice field on Monday. Doss had been sidelined since the first week of camp while Williams missed workouts on Friday and Saturday but told reporters the absence wasn’t related to his surgically-repaired hip and he was simply resting. Dickson was poked in the eye during the stadium practice, but the third-year tight end told reporters he would be fine.

In addition to Reed, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and defensive tackle Ma’ake Kemoeatu were new absences on Monday. However, each player missed one practice last week.

Others absent included cornerback Jimmy Smith (back), offensive linemen Matt Birk (back) and Jah Reid (calf), linebackers Courtney Upshaw (shoulder), Josh Bynes, and Darryl Blackstock (groin), defensive lineman Arthur Jones (hip), running back Bernard Pierce (hamstring), wide receiver Patrick Williams (leg), and tight end Dennis Pitta (hand).

Upshaw has now missed seven straight practices and hasn’t worked since July 28 after suffering a sprained shoulder in a collision with Pierce. While the Ravens are eager to see him return to the practice field, Harbaugh reminded everyone there are plenty of reps remaining in the preseason and the team is not deviating from its plan to replace linebacker Terrell Suggs.

“He got lots of reps in the offseason program earlier,” Harbaugh said. “We just need to get him out there participating. Obviously, Sergio’s a big part of that. Albert’s gotten a lot of reps. Paul Kruger’s been out there the whole time. Courtney’s a piece that we need to evaluate and develop, and he’ll be in there soon enough.”

Suggs remains on the non-football injury list while wide receiver David Reed is on the physically unabe to perform list, and both are expected to miss the entire preseason.

The Ravens will practice again on Tuesday before traveling to Atlanta for their preseason opener on Thursday night.

Most talk surrounding the Ravens need to improve their 19th-ranked passing game from a season ago has centered around the development of a talented but raw group of young wide receivers.

While many wonder if Torrey Smith will build upon his record-setting rookie season and some combination of Tandon Doss, LaQuan Williams, and Tommy Streeter can etch out roles in the offense, Anquan Boldin keeps working to remind everyone he’s still the Ravens’ most dependable receiver.

Despite recording only 57 catches — one shy of his career low — and 887 receiving yards in 14 regular-season games, Boldin hopes his postseason performance upon returning from knee surgery is a sign of better things to come in his third season in Baltimore. The 31-year-old registered 10 catches for 174 yards and a touchdown in two postseason games, looking more comfortable than he did at any point in the regular season.

“Last year was tough just because I came into camp with the injury,” Boldin said. “I had a partial tear of my meniscus the entire year. There were times where it swelled up, and it was tough to get in and out of my cuts. But after the surgery, it felt great, and I’ve had the entire offseason to rehab and get a lot stronger. I’m moving around a lot better, a lot quicker.”

It’s no secret that Boldin’s production has been underwhelming in two seasons after the Ravens traded a third and a fourth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals prior to the 2010 draft. Boldin struggled to find a rapport in his first season with Joe Flacco since the young quarterback still had familiar targets in Derrick Mason and Todd Heap on which he could rely. Last season, the lockout eliminated the entire offseason, a period of time in which quarterbacks and wide receivers can grow together exponentially.

Boldin averaged a career-high 15.6 yards per catch despite modest numbers last season, but he’s feeling as comfortable as ever  as he begins his third season with Flacco and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

“Understanding what the coaches are expecting, what Joe is expecting, [being] on the same page as Joe, seeing what he sees,” Boldin said. “For me and him, we talk after every play. ‘What are you seeing on this? This coverage, what are you thinking?’ I think as we go on, the relationship just grows.”

Entering his 10th season, Boldin is eligible to receive periodic days off as part of coach John Harbaugh’s famed “30-and-over club” to keep veterans fresh, but the wide receiver prefers staying on the practice field, explaining his need to improve and how one player’s absence can upset the rotation at the receiver position.

It’s an attitude that not only sets a shining example for his younger teammates but is also noticed by the coaching staff.

“He still comes in with a mindset he’s going to work every day to get better,” wide receivers coach Jim Hostler said. “It might be a little bit different than the young guys. It might be a little bit more precision. It might be a little bit more detail, but he still approaches it that way. It’s still, ‘I’m going to do whatever I can to make this the best year I have ever had.’”

Camp highlights

The offense shined during Monday’s practice as Flacco threw touchdown passes to Boldin and backup tight end Davon Drew during 11-on-11 red zone drills. Drew will now see an increased role as the No. 2 tight end behind Ed Dickson with Dennis Pitta breaking his hand during the workout.

Flacco also completed a beautiful deep ball to Jacoby Jones, who beat cornerback Jimmy Smith down the right sideline.

The quarterback continued his fine start to training camp, picking apart a Baltimore defense that was without defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, linebackers Ray Lewis and Courtney Upshaw, and safety Ed Reed.

At one point during practice, an angry Harbaugh challenged his defense by asking sarcastically if they felt like covering anybody.

The kicking competition between veteran Billy Cundiff and rookie Justin Tucker continued on a similar path to what we saw last week. Cundiff connected on field goals from 20, 36, and 52 yards before missing a 55-yarder wide left. Tucker produced the same results, only the former Texas kicker missed his 55-yard attempt wide right.

Fighting words

We’re still waiting for our first fight of training camp, but cornerback Cary Williams and wide receiver Tandon Doss engaged in a verbal altercation that became quite heated during the afternoon practice.

Williams was matched up against Torrey Smith in passing drills, and the wide receiver took exception with the amount of contact on the play. Doss then began jawing with Williams, and the cornerback took exception with a player sidelined with an injury deciding to critique what was happening on the practice field.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed as the horn sounded and the players moved to the next period of the afternoon practice.

With the Ravens beginning their first full week of training camp after Sunday’s day off, here are five early observations from the first few practices of the summer in Owings Mills.

1. Even if the Ravens are satisfied with Bryant McKinnie’s weight and conditioning, this story isn’t going to go away as quickly as the tackle would like.

His claim that he hurt his back in a fall may explain why his chiropractor contacted the team to let them know he wouldn’t be reporting to training camp on time, but coach John Harbaugh’s comments earlier this week suggest the Ravens are having a difficult time believing the explanation. While McKinnie may have felt embarrassed — especially knowing how closely his conditioning is being scrutinized — failing to talk to the organization himself makes it look like he’s hiding more than a minor back injury.

Plenty of speculation exists regarding McKinnie’s financial problems and how he mysteriously went silent on Twitter a week ago, but you have to wonder how much the Ravens are willing to put up with considering they were already uneasy about his conditioning earlier this offseason. Harbaugh’s hardline stance about Michael Oher being the left tackle until further notice is a loud message that McKinnie is on shaky footing with the organization.

Unlike the way in which Ed Reed’s arrival at camp immediately squashed the discussion that buzzed around the All-Pro safety for weeks, McKinnie won’t just waltz back into camp with all essentially being forgotten. What will help the 32-year-old, however, is the lack of a known commodity at the right tackle position when Oher is on the left side.

Even so, McKinnie has plenty to prove before the Ravens can entrust him with the left tackle job for the second year in a row.

2. It’s remarkable how much better the cornerback situation is from a year ago at this time.

More attention has been paid to outside linebacker and the battles at defensive end and on the offensive line, but the most entertaining competition of the preseason will be between Cary Williams and Jimmy Smith for the starting cornerback job opposite Lardarius Webb. Unlike most competitions where you’re typically desperate to see one player emerge as a viable starter, this is a win-win situation where both players are capable of holding down starting jobs in the NFL.

Smith may have gained a slight upper hand during organized team activities as Williams continued to recovery from offseason hip surgery, but the 2011 first-round pick was dinged up during Saturday’s practice to potentially even the playing field once again. It’s also important to remember Williams played with a torn labrum last season, which is remarkable to think about when you consider how critical hip movement is to the back pedal and changing directions.

While the Ravens certainly envisioned Smith as a starter when they made him their top selection two Aprils ago, they really cannot go wrong with either player as the starter, and the other will still receive plenty of playing time. Williams and Smith will again line up at the cornerback spots with Webb sliding inside to the nickel position to match up with slot receivers in passing situations.

Special teams ace Corey Graham has also been very impressive in coverage and looks like a solid bet to be the team’s dime back, which would push Danny Gorrer down the depth chart after he looked solid in limited opportunities last season. It’s quite a difference from a year ago when the Ravens were depending on banged-up veterans such as Domonique Foxworth and Chris Carr to play significant roles before Webb and Williams emerged as starters out of training camp.

3. Don’t sleep on Albert McClellan as the Ravens sort out their outside linebacker situation.

While it’s assumed that Paul Kruger and Courtney Upshaw will line up as the starting outside backers against the Cincinnati Bengals to open the regular season, McClellan has received plenty of reps with the defense over the first few days of practice. His versatility to line up as a defensive end as well as play multiple linebacker positions makes him a valuable asset, and that’s not even taking into account that the 26-year-old led the team in special teams tackles last season.

The start to McClellan’s career hasn’t been dramatically different from that of inside linebacker Jameel McClain, though the former spent his first professional season on the practice squad. McClain also went undrafted and shined on special teams before eventually carving out a bigger defensive role for himself.

Upshaw clearly possesses more upside, but the rookie’s inexperience and need to get leaner may open the door for more opportunities for McClellan, who surprised everyone with his strong play filling in at inside linebacker when Ray Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe were sidelined against the San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving night.

4. There isn’t a wide receiver with better hands on the team than Tandon Doss.

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