Getty Rookie WR Zay Flowers could be the key to the Ravens reclaiming the division crown.
There’s no questioning that quarterback is the most important position in football and can be arguably the biggest key to becoming a ligament championship contender at the NFL level. However, it isn’t the only catalyst that can propel a team to success and fuel a deep playoff run.
In a recent article, Heavy NFL insider Matt Lombardo listed a non-quarterback that could play a major factor in deciding the winner for all four divisions in the AFC conference.
When it came to naming an X-factor in the AFC North race which is expected to be one of the most competitive in the league, he chose one of the new weapons at wide receiver that the Baltimore Ravens got to hopefully “will bring out the best” in two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“If Odell Beckham Jr.’s arrival was a sea-change in philosophy at wide receiver, drafting Zay Flowers in Round 1 was a move that didn’t just reaffirm a new strategy but gave Jackson a potential game-altering weapon with staying power,” Lombardo wrote. “Flowers has the versatility to line up from the slot, or out wide, and is equally productive from both alignments.”
An AFC East Personnel Executive told him that Flowers can provide the Ravens with a passing catching option that can work underneath and be dangerous after the catch.
“Putting Zay with Mark Andrews, it gives Lamar Jackson some easy first-read and late-down outlets,” the anonymous executive said.
Flowers averaged 6.4 yards after the catch per reception in his final season at Boston College and recorded career-highs in receptions (78), receiving yards (1,077), and receiving touchdowns (12) per Sports Reference.
“If that production translates, Jackson and the Ravens’ offense may get really vertical for the first time,” Lombardo wrote.
Watching @Lj_era8 ➡️ @ZayFlowers on repeat until Training Camp 🔥
Former 1st-Round WR Tabbed Ravens ‘Surprise Offseason Standout’
Before drafting Flowers and signing Beckham Jr, the first outside addition that the team made this offseason was signing veteran wide receiver Nelson Agholor to a one-year deal worth $3.25 million with another $3 million available through incentives on March 24, 2023.
In a recent article on ESPN.com in which a beat reporter for all 32 teams named a surprise standout, the former 2015 first-rounder who is on his fourth team in five years was the pick for Baltimore.
“He has made a strong impression in his first offseason with the Ravens,” Jamison Hensley wrote. ” Nelly — as Lamar Jackson calls him — has repeatedly stood out, whether it’s a long touchdown grab or a nifty grab on a back-shoulder throw.”
Dialed in.
@Lj_Era8 to Nelson Agholor for the long TD❗️
He believes that Agholor is the “clear-cut No. 4 wide receiver in Baltimore” heading into training camp next month and he is “making a case for having a bigger role in the passing game.”
“He has been on point,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s a talented guy. [He’s a] former first-round pick; he looks it — rangy, big catch radius.”
Agholor Will Need to Keep it Up When Pads Come On
The 30-year-old was the beneficiary of being one of the few projected locks to make the roster at the position that were healthy, a full participant, and present throughout the Ravens’ offseason program.
We’ll see if he can keep up that momentum once training camp gets underway when Flowers is more acclimated to the pro level and all three of Beckham Jr, 2021 first-rounder Rashod Bateman, and two-time Pro Bowler Devin Duvernay are expected to be full-go.
He is coming off a could of down years following the best season in 2020 when recorded career-highs in receiving yards (896), yards per reception (18.7), and receiving touchdowns (eight) according to Pro Football Reference.
NELSON AGHOLOR. 85 YARDS. #RaiderNation
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Expecting him to replicate or even come close to those numbers barring any injuries to one or more of the other wideouts is a little lofty. He could carve out a nice consistent role for himself and put up modest numbers as a key contributor who provides quality depth as well as another explosive deep threat to go along with Flowers.