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There is a lot of widespread optimism about the new direction that the Baltimore Ravens are headed on offense under first-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken both within the organization as well as around the league and among the national media.
This excitement for the evolution of their playbook and schematic approach is a welcomed relief compared to the constant complaints about a lack of a sophisticated and more modern passing attack the past two seasons when Greg Roman was their play caller and designer on that side of the ball.
In a recent appearance on ESPN’s NFL Live, former Ravens offensive tackle and four-time Pro Bowler, Orlando Brown Jr. shared that he believes the best is yet to come from his former quarterback Lamar Jackson as a passer because Roman’s scheme was holding him back and limiting how impactful he could be as a passer.
“It’s kind of unspoken about because he was hindered in the system he was in,” he said. “He has an incredible feel for the pass game. And you look at his numbers and what he’s able to do, especially in between the numbers. On this level in tight windows, it’s very very difficult.”
While Jackson has been praised for his ability to throw over the middle between the numbers on the field, he still gets critiqued for his ability to consistently throw outside the hashes. Brown Jr. admitted that it is difficult for most quarterbacks to throw outside the numbers with as high of a rate of success as his 2018 draftmate has been questioned about not being capable of accomplishing.
Brown Jr. Believes ‘Sky is the Limit’ For New-Look Ravens Offense
Even though he now plays for his old team’s biggest threat in the AFC North after signing a lucrative deal with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency, the former third-rounder could help but gush in excitement about the prospects of the revamped unit that his defense will face twice a year for the foreseeable future.
“I think the sky is the limit for what their offense can be,” Brown Jr. said. “I’ll be interested to see how they put it together (and) how everything will work but I do feel like it will be positive in the run game just with the way that things will be spread out.”
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes mentioned that the key cogs and “unsung heroes” in Roman’s run-heavy offense were the likes of four-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard and blocking tight end Nick Boyle. They completely revamped their wide receiver depth chart by adding four more first-round talents including three-time Pro Bowler Odell Beckham Jr., veteran Nelson Agholor, and rookie Zay Flowers to pair with Rashod Bateman.
Now that the strength of their offensive personnel has shifted from the heavy deployment of punishing blockers in the run game to explosive pass catchers in the passing game, the expectation is that the Ravens will run a more “college style” spread offense where they can stretch opposing defenses vertically and horizontally at will.
“I think it’s clear. They’re going to be in a lot of 11-personnel,” Brown Jr. said. “They’re going to spread guys out, they’re going to create nickel fronts, four-man fronts, and light boxes and they’re going to force people to play a college style offense with space and things that Lamar is going to be able to do with his feet.”
Zay Flowers Projected to Make 2023 NFL Offensive All-Rookie Team
The Ravens used their first-round pick on a wide receiver for the third time in the last five years since general manager Eric DeCosta officially succeeded his longtime friend and mentor, Ozzie Newsome.
Flowers has been generating a lot of buzz and hype since landing in Baltimore because he is in a situation where there are several veteran players at his position as well as at tight end that will draw enough attention away from him to make some big plays down the field and after the catch.
In a recent article projecting the 2023 NFL Offensive All-Rookie Team, NFL.com’s Chad Reuter had Flowers on his list as one of only two wide receivers on the team with the other being Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks who was the first receiver off the board. He made the cut over fellow first-rounders Jordan Addison of the Minnesota Vikings and Quentin Johnston of the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Flowers can be the big-play threat after the catch that the Ravens’ offense has needed for some time,” he wrote. “He could have 80 catches as a rookie, spreading out defenses horizontally and vertically, which will make the team’s running attack even more dangerous.”
There’s no doubt that the Ravens will be trying to find a plethora of ways to get the ball in Flowers’ hands in space with room to make even bigger plays after the catch. However, given that they have so many mouths to feed, 80 catches seems a bit high for a rookie in year one barring an injury to a projected starter.
What Flowers doesn’t get in receptions, he can make up for in total touches by the end of the year on handoffs and jet sweeps. He could also make an impact on special teams in the return game as the eventual successor to two-time Pro Bowl returner Devin Duvernay who is entering the final year of his rookie deal.
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