2012 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver Torrey Smith

He may have only recorded 50 catches during his rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens in 2011, but Torrey Smith managed to record 841 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in the process–which is why the wide receiver should be considered one of the top 2012 fantasy football sleepers for the upcoming season.

With a year of experience under his belt, Smith has the potential to emerge as one of the league’s top breakout stars for the 2012 season thanks to his blazing speed and ability to beat defenders deep in the passing game. Smith looked a bit shaky at times as a rookie, but that experience should benefit him heading into the upcoming season as the Ravens look to reach the playoffs for the fifth-straight year.

If he does manage to live up to the hype in 2012, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Smith overtook Anquan Boldin‘s spot in Baltimore’s passing game as the No. 1 wideout. After recording 1,000-yard seasons in five of his first seven years in the NFL, Boldin has failed to break the 900-yard mark in each of the last two seasons and has only caught 10 total touchdowns.

The fact that Smith nearly matched Boldin’s numbers in the receiving game and found the end zone more is the perfect reason why many believe he has what it takes to emerge into Joe Flacco‘s favorite target this season. If that does end up happening, there will be plenty of pleased fantasy owners that decide to take Smith in the later rounds of their fantasy draft.