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The first day of Baltimore Ravens training camp on Wednesday, July 26, was a good day for the offense, according to Ryan Mink of Ravens.com, and one player who stood out was rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers.
The first-rounder was so impressive that quarterback Lamar Jackson has already given him a nickname.
“His new name is Joystick because how he be moving out there so swift and making stuff happen,” Jackson told reporters. “We’re going to call him Joystick, not Zay.”
Zay (real name: Xavien) showed off an impressive change of direction skills, speed and elusiveness in individual and team drills. Flowers can threaten vertically, stop on a dime and accelerate to full speed in whatever direction he wants. He specializes in making multiple defenders miss at the line of scrimmage and in open space.
One clip from practice showed Flowers cooking a cornerback; his ability to create separation was on full display.
On another play, “he put a juke on linebacker Roquan Smith that drew some shouts from fans,” according to Mink.
Flowers made a name for himself at Boston College by displaying electrifying playmaking ability. In his final season for the Eagles, he recorded career highs in receptions (78), receiving yards (1,077), and receiving touchdowns (12) in 12 games.
Zay Flowers Already Possesses Veteran Mentality & Refinement
Jackson isn’t the only one impressed with how Flowers has conducted himself thus far.
Head coach John Harbaugh, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and right tackle Morgan Moses have all praised him for his maturity, professionalism and performance.
“Just [been] nothing but impressed with everything he’s done,” Harbaugh told reporters on July 26. “You get the feel like he’s not a rookie. You get the feel he’s a veteran. He just seems really mature. I think what he’s been through in his life as a player and as a person.”
Humphrey, a three-time Pro Bowler, praised Flowers for being more refined in his technique than the average rookie.
“He pretty polished,” Humphrey said. “He definitely has that South Florida route running, breaking, cutting that Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Jerry Juedy (have). He has that X-factor that a lot of those South Florida guys have. … I think the sky is the limit for our receiver corps.”
Moses went so far as to call Flowers “unbelievable” on Tuesday, before he even had his first training camp practice.
“Just to be able to have him come into minicamp and OTAs [organized team activities] – and he already has that mindset of . . . If you’ve ever had a chance to sit down and talk to him, he has a mindset that he’s been in the league already for three years,” Moses said. “He’s a sponge, he’s willing to ask questions, (and) he’s willing to soak it up and learn.”
Flowers Listed as Top 10 Candidate to Win Offensive Rookie of the Year
The 22-year-old has garnered a lot of hype this offseason. NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein listed him as one of his top 10 Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates in a story published July 24.
“We keep hearing that Lamar Jackson will throw more and run less, but with Rashod Bateman, Odell Beckham Jr. and Mark Andrews also vying for targets, there may not be enough touches and production for Flowers to turn heads as a rookie of the year candidate unless Jackson falls in love with him as a primary target early on,” he wrote.
Flowers said he can’t wait to be unleashed in whatever role he is needed since he spent lining up at X, Z, and F during the offseason program.
“That’s exactly what I want,” Flowers said during “The Lounge” Podcast on July 24. “As long as I’m touching the ball, I feel like I can make a play from anywhere, no matter where it is.”
He said that offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s scheme “allows everyone to be able to get the ball” by spreading “everybody out, move pieces around, and get everybody open.”
“I just want to touch the ball,” Flowers said. “I don’t care how – screens, deeps balls, intermediate routes, shallow crosses – it doesn’t matter. As long as I’m touching the ball, I feel confident that I can help the team.”
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