Marlon Brown

Ravens wide receiver Kamar Aiken made a sound adjustment to the football Saturday afternoon, twisting his body underneath coverage to position himself for a difficult catch in traffic over the middle.

Aiken later duplicated that feat during the Ravens' first day of contact drills of training camp.

Competing for a starting job with rookie first-round draft pick Breshad Perriman and Marlon Brown, Aiken reinforced why the coaching staff is confident in his ability to handle a pivotal role in the offense.

"He had a strong day," Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman said. "He made an adjusted catch in tough coverage. Then, we had to run it again and he made the same catch. We all saw the same things, right?"

Aiken hadn't caught a pass in an NFL regular-season game prior to last year when he finished with 24 receptions for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Aiken emerged last season as a valuable reserve wide receiver and special-teams contributor and has continued to put distance between his new status and his old journeyman days in which he became a fixture on the NFL waiver wire as he was cut six times during his first three seasons. Perriman remains the favorite to win the job opposite Steve L Smith.