OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- A Baltimore Ravens official was asked during free agency whether the team was going to pursue any of the available wide receivers, such as Emmanuel Sanders or Robby Anderson.

"Have you seen the receivers in this year's draft?" the team official responded.

The Ravens showed their confidence in the depth of this year's class by selecting Texas' Devin Duvernay in the third round and SMU's James Proche in the sixth to give NFL MVP Lamar Jackson two of the most prolific wide receivers in college football last season. Duvernay and Proche combined for 217 receptions, which are more than what 85 FBS schools totaled as a team in 2019.

What drew Baltimore to Duvernay and Proche was more than just the high amount of catches. It was about the low number of passes that hit the ground.

"As receivers, first and foremost, the one thing they both do is catch the ball, and I mean catch it," Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz said. "Between the two of them, there are very few drops in the state of Texas."

The drop rate for Baltimore's wide receivers was 3.4%, tied for 18th in the NFL. One of the most frustrating memories from the Ravens' playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans was when Seth Roberts let a potential touchdown pass slip through his hands.

Baltimore responded by grabbing two of the most sure-handed wide receivers in this year's draft. By the Ravens' count, Duvernay had 176 career catches and one drop. Proche dropped nine passes on 437 targets, a remarkable average of one per 49 passes thrown his direction, according to Pro Football Focus data.

As defenses clamp down on the run and Jackson evolves as a passer, the Ravens are going to need to complete more passes to the outside. With the added consistency of Duvernay and Proche, Jackson should feel more security to throw downfield to his wide receivers.

"They both can make plays on the ball, and I think that’s the main thing," coach John Harbaugh said. "We have one guy [in Duvernay] who can really run like crazy and make all kinds of catches. We have another guy [in Proche] who can really run routes and has a feel for getting open and catch the ball like crazy. So, Lamar is going to love both those guys."

Even though wide receiver was among the team's top needs, Baltimore didn't select one until its fourth pick of the NFL draft. The Ravens passed on wide receivers in the first round (Tee Higgins), second round (Denzel Mims) and early in the third round (Lynn Bowden).

When the Ravens landed Duvernay with the No. 92 overall pick, Harbaugh didn't hide his excitement, giving an enthusiastic fist pump. General manager Eric DeCosta raved about Duvernay's competitive streak, which reminded him of former Baltimore receivers Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason and Steve Smith.

"I don't think Devin is the biggest guy by any stretch, but he's very tough, very physical, catches the ball really well and he's really tough with the football," DeCosta said. "So, I like those competitive guys who don't go down, and he kind of has that style to him. He's almost like a running back with the football."

Duvernay makes a fast Ravens offense even more explosive with his ability to turn short passes into big plays. His 44 receptions on screens or quick passes ranked as the fourth most in the FBS.

DeCosta said Duvernay could be "one of the fastest guys we have in Baltimore when it's all said and done." His 40 time (4.39 seconds) compares favorably to last year's first-round pick Marquise "Hollywood" Brown (4.33).

So, who would win in race between Brown and Duvernay? "I'm all-in on myself," Duvernay said.

Baltimore saw just as much value in Proche late in the draft. The Ravens wanted him so badly that they traded a fifth-round pick in next year's draft to get Proche in the sixth round this year.

Proche has had an eye on Duvernay, especially in his final college game. Duvernay needed nine receptions to pass Proche for most catches in the FBS last season.

"I was tracking every catch he had, every catch, just to make sure I had my receptions record for the year," Proche said.

Duvernay caught three passes against Utah in the Alamo Bowl, and Proche finished tied with Justin Jefferson atop the FBS with 111 receptions. Proche's 204 catches over his final two seasons are 27 more than any other FBS player in that span.

Proche credits his consistency in catching the ball to natural ability and work ethic.

"A pianist only gets great at the piano by playing the piano, and that's kind of how I see me catching the ball," Proche said. "You have to keep catching the ball in all types of ways, in any situation, so that you're prepared."

Drafting wide receivers hasn't been the Ravens' strong suit. Only one drafted receiver has produced more than 1,000 yards in a season (Torrey Smith in 2013).

Before the 2019 draft, DeCosta said the biggest way to improve their success is to take more swings. Over the past two drafts, Baltimore has picked four wide receivers (Brown, Duvernay, Proche and Miles Boykin). This year, the Ravens came away with two of Mel Kiper Jr.'s top-20-rated receivers with Duvernay (No. 12) and Proche (No. 17).

In watching film of Duvernay and Proche, Hortiz repeatedly pointed out how impressed he was by their feel for the game. On one play, Duvernay didn't slow up to make a catch when a defender was closing on him because he was looking to run after the reception. In another instance, Proche read the dropping linebacker and bent the route inside to give the best throwing window against the zone coverage.

"One thing for wide receivers that is probably the biggest challenge is the mental aspect of the game, because you're getting a lot more coverages thrown at you, a lot more defensive concepts, and it's happening much faster," Hortiz said. "So, they've got to be able to process that fast. We feel like those two guys can do that."