![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="520" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
There’s no refuting that Baltimore Ravens veteran tight end Mark Andrews is one of the best players at his position in the entire league. The three-time Pro Bowler is only one year removed from a First-Team All-Pro season and is widely viewed among the elite pass catchers regardless of position.
In an article published on July 22, 2023, Heavy.com NFL insider Matt Lombardo featured Andrews in his list of the top five tight ends for the 2023 season but had him ranked outside of the top three at No. 4. He came in behind Dallas Goedert of the Philadephia Eagles, George Kittle of the San Fransisco 49ers, and Travis Kelce of Kansas Chiefs in ascending order.
Lombardo praised Andrews for his “consistency” even though the team lacked stability at quarterback to close out each of the last two seasons.
“Andrews has caught at least five touchdowns each of the past four seasons and surpassed 700 receiving yards every year over that span,” Lombardo wrote. “In 2022, despite Lamar Jackson missing five games due to injury, Andrews still pulled down 73 passes for 847 yards and 5 touchdowns.”
If Jackson can put his recent injury woes behind him, Lombardo believes “there’s little reason to think Andrews won’t continue to be among the dynamic quarterback’s favorite targets, especially in the red zone, and a key figure in the Ravens’ offensive trajectory.”
While Kelce and Kittle have been jockeying for the top spot on almost every sports media outlet’s positional rankings for several years, Andrews is widely viewed as on par with those two multi-time All-Pro selections in the eyes of many pundits. So to have Goedert, who has yet to get his first Pro Bowl nod let alone a First or even Second-Team All-Pro selection, ranked ahead of him was a little perplexing, to say the least.
“Watching Goedert thrive over the middle of the field, in a lot of ways as (Jalen) Hurts’ security blanket with (A.J.) Brown and DeVonta Smith stretching the field on the perimeter, it’s easy to see why Hurts had a nearly-perfect 125.2 passer rating when targeting Goedert,” Lombardo wrote.
The factor that makes Andrews’ consistent production over the past five years more impressive than what Geodert and arguably even the two top players on the list is the fact that he hasn’t had a wealth of comparable or even complementary weapons around him and healthy during that span.
Goedert had Brown and Smith last year, Kittle has had First-Team All-Pro Deebo Samuels and Brandon Aiyuk for multiple years, and up until last year, Kelce was paired with four-time First-Team All-Pro wideout Tyreek Hill from 2016 to 2021.
Andrews on the other hand, has been the primary and most reliable and durable pass catcher for the Ravens since he broke out in his second season. He regularly saw drew double and sometimes even triple coverage from opposing defenses and still managed to come down with impressive clutch plays in the passing game.
Andrews Excited for New Offense Even if it Means Reduced Targets
The sixth-year veteran has led the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in back-to-back years and in three of the past four seasons. With the new additions that they’ve made at wide receiver this offseason and behind him at tight end last year, he will likely see a significant reduction in the volume of passes thrown his way in 2023 and beyond.
“It’s important to spread the ball out,” Andrews said in a press conference on July 25, 2023. “I know that the guys that we have on this roster are able to get open, make big-time catches and do all those different things. Being a team guy, I just want to win games. That’s all that matters to me.”
The arrival of first-round rookie Zay Flowers, former first-rounder Nelson Agholor, and three-time Pro Bowler Odell Beckham Jr. will make life much easier for him and open up a lot more space across and down the middle of the field.
While Andrews has “a lot of respect” for the work of former Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman which helped him excel in the best years of his career thus far, he is excited for himself and the fan base when it comes to differences of the offense under new play-caller Todd Monken.
“It’s hard to pick out one little thing, but I think I’ll be able to do some different things, different routes, different combinations of routes that we can feed off of,” he said. “I feel like I can run any route in the tree. I think I’m going to be able to do that and be utilized that way.”
Ravens Have ‘Unfinished Business’ to Take Care of Come January
Ever since the team burst on the scene with a record-shattering rushing offense in 2019, they’ve been trying to get back to a position to make a deep playoff run but have failed in that attempt in each of the last three seasons for one main reason or several.
Not having Jackson for the final stretch the past two years because of injuries and in the fourth quarter of their 2020 divisional round playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills due to a concussion has definitely been the biggest deciding factor by far in those shortcomings. However, in each of those instances, the team had a chance to either still make or advance further into the playoffs.
“I think we’ve gotten close, and that’s a part of it,” Andrews said. “I think that’s something (that) drives you. (It) drives each and every one of us that’s been here and played here during those years, just letting those guys know that we do have unfinished business, and it’s time to roll.”
Heading into his sixth training camp, Andrews has reflected and taken to heart the advice he received from franchise legend and fellow tight end Todd Heap to “practice and play smart”. While he is still all about embracing the grind, he will also be more receptive and open to taking the occasional veteran off day.
“I’ve got a big picture in mind where I want to be playing late in the playoffs and feel incredible. That’s my goal,” Andrews said.
0 Comments