The Baltimore Ravens need a big-play wide receiver whether quarterback Lamar Jackson stays or goes. Fortunately, the Ravens can add a “big play waiting to happen” in the 2023 NFL draft, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.
Zrebiec has the Ravens selecting Zay Flowers with the 22nd-overall pick because the Boston College standout: “caught 200 balls in college and averaged more than 15 yards per reception. He makes contested catches, runs good routes, tracks deep balls well and is a game breaker with the ball in his hands. More than anything, the Ravens need offensive playmakers, and Flowers fits that bill.”
Taking Flowers off the board would answer the Ravens’ long-standing need for a dynamic field-stretcher who can gash defenses on the outside and between the numbers.
Putting a playmaker with those credentials into the offense might induce Jackson to finally sign a new, long-term contract. Or else stay put for one more season and play on the non-exclusive franchise tag.
Even if Jackson does find a new team this offseason, the Ravens shouldn’t remove acquiring a standout receiver as the main focus of their draft plans.
Draft Star Compares to Ex-Ravens 1,000-yd Receiver
Flowers matured into a star for the Eagles, with the culmination of his development leading to 78 catches for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022, per Sports Reference. Many of those numbers owed to Flowers’ talent as a varied route-runner, a quality highlighted by NFL Rookie Watch:
This ROUTE by Zay Flowers 😳
The Boston College WR is one of the best route runners in this year’s NFL Draft.
Escapability on this level helps Flowers compensate for a lack of elite size. The 5’10”, 177-pounder can win across the middle, along with being able to stretch defenses vertically on the perimeter.
Flowers’ dual-threat skill earned him comparison to a notable former Ravens pass-catcher. None other than Steve Smith Sr., who called Flowers “a bigger, stronger version of me” during the Scouting Combine:
He’s a bigger dog than me.”
The similarities between @ZayFlowers and @SteveSmithSr89 are uncanny
📱: Players Only Combine streaming on NFL+ t.co/fK7vaWiHIa
That’s quite an endorsement considering Smith posted eight 1,000-yard seasons during a remarkable 16-year NFL career. The last of those banner campaigns occurred in Baltimore in 2014, and the Ravens have had just two wide receivers go over 1,000 yards in a single season since.
One of those wideouts, Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown, is a 5’9″, 180-pounder with a similar physical profile and playing style to Flowers. Jackson wasn’t happy when the Ravens traded Brown to the Arizona Cardinals during last year’s draft, so selecting Flowers could be a timely peace offering between the Ravens and their QB1.
Lamar Jackson’s Future Depends on Ravens Finding New Targets
Dealing Brown might have been the start of the fracturing of Jackson’s relationship with the Ravens. Things have become more strained since, as Jackson has grown impatient waiting on a fully guaranteed contract, while the Ravens have been content only to use the tag.
The latter decision means general manager Eric DeCosta will receive two first-round picks if Jackson accepts an offer the Ravens don’t want to match. Those extra picks would come in handy if the Ravens find themselves needing to build around a new signal-caller.
Perhaps DeCosta would use the new picks to select a quarterback and his go-to receiver in one draft. That would make sense, but the ideal scenario remains keeping Jackson in the fold and equipping him with a dynamic playmaker or two.
Convincing Jackson to stick around looks more complicated amid Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reporting the player could be “ready to move on from the Ravens.”
Jackson would surely have to think twice if the Ravens called Flowers’ name on draft day and added him to a scheme that promises to be more expansive under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
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Ravens Can Add ‘Big Play Waiting to Happen’ via 2023 NFL Draft