Peter Aiken/Getty Images Wide receiver Jonathan Adams Jr. of the Arkansas State Red Wolves catches a touchdown pass against defensive back A.J. Parker of the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on September 12, 2020.
The Baltimore Ravens neglected to select a wide receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft, despite having little in the way of established talent at the position. That helps explain why Alex Ballantine of Bleacher Report views the Ravens as one of three NFL teams that are a potential fit for New Orleans Breakers wide receiver Jonathan Adams Jr., who played his college football for the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
Adams has 30 receptions for 398 yards and three touchdowns in nine USFL games, helping the Breakers to a 6-3 record and second-place in the league’s South division. Those numbers might not sound all that impressive, but they make him the fifth-leading receiver in the league, which has one wideout with more than 500 receiving yards, that being KaVontae Turpin of the New Jersey Generals.
Adams is also the leading receiver on his team, which employs former NFL receiver Taywan Taylor and former Ohio State wideout Johnnie Dixon. You may recall that Taylor spent four years in the NFL — two each with the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns — recording 53 receptions and two touchdown catches in 35 career games after the Titans made him a third-round pick in the 2017 draft.
Jonathan Adams Signed With the Detroit Lions in 2021
That said, Adams “deserves a shot” with the Ravens, says Ballentine — or if not the Ravens, the Cleveland Browns or Chicago Bears — despite the fact that he failed to stick with the Detroit Lions after getting signed as a rookie undrafted free agent in 2021. In fact, he lasted just six weeks with the Lions, getting waived in favor of wide receiver Chad Hansen, a former fourth-round pick of the New York Jets who has also played for the Houston Texans.
After that, Adams’ chance of catching on with another team took a big hit when he was suspended by the NFL for six games in September 2021.
Yet he was highly productive at Arkansas State, where he started his college career playing both football and basketball.
By the end of his college career, he had accumulated 166 receptions in 47 games, good for a total of 2,306 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns. That includes 79 receptions for 1,111 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior, when he averaged eight catches and 111 yards per game.
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Rookie Center Tyler Linderbaum Has the Attention of Lamar Jackson
On an unrelated note, when Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson spoke to the media after practice on Thursday June 16, he noted that he’s already been impressed with the athleticism on display from first-round pick Tyler Linderbaum, who showcased his speed chasing down a ball carrier after Jackson threw an interception during practice.
“He’s fast. He’s fast as heck for a center man. I’ve never seen a center run like that,” said Jackson, before affectionately describing Linderbaum as a “football player.”
“@TLinderbaum fast as heck for a center! Never seen a center run like that!” @Lj_era8
Linderbaum was a somewhat polarizing prospect prior to the most recent draft, with one analyst strongly urging the Ravens to choose Linderbaum, calling him a “game-changer in the middle.” But another writer warned the Ravens away from drafting the “can’t miss” center prospect, calling his game is “a square peg in a round hole of the Ravens’ scheme.”
The Ravens got Linderbaum at No. 25 overall, despite the fact that Pro Football Focus projected him as a Top 10 pick, referring to him as “the best center prospect in years.” Others question whether his relatively short arms and lack of size may limit his ability to reach his potential in the NFL
The Ravens have Linderbaum listed at 6-foot-2 and 305 pounds.
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