Brian Wacker·
Finding a dependable option was among coach John Harbaugh’s draft wishes after the Ravens last season ranked 26th in total punt return
yards, 16th in yards per return and struggled to find someone who could consistently catch the ball as they uneasily bounced between Tylan Wallace, Deonte Harty and Steven Sims. So general manager Eric DeCosta used the 203rd overall pick on Wester, a player who of course Taggart, now the Ravens’ running backs coach, was intimately familiar with. “What stands out about him is really his returnability,” DeCosta said following the draft. “If you watch him, we think he’s a twitchy, explosive punt returner.” Through the first two-plus weeks of training camp, Wester has gotten only scant chances to show his stuff. He’s caught most but not every ball during kick and punt return drills but at least has looked comfortable fielding them. “What I’m seeing from LaJohntay every day is the consistency in the ball catching,” special teams coordinator Chris Horton said. “He has great technique. He has great fundamentals in really how we want to field the ball.” This week, he’ll finally get more opportunities to do so at full speed in a joint practice against the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday followed by the Ravens’ first preseason game on Thursday night against the Colts at M&T Bank Stadium.