Ravens' Lamar Jackson-Zay Flowers Connection Won't Work, NFL Executive Says
Even without a second-round pick, which the Baltimore Ravens traded for inside linebacker Roquan Smith, they still managed to put together a strong NFL Draft class. They addressed needs at wide receiver and linebacker within their first picks to cap off a week where they also agreed to a contract extension with quarterback Lamar Jackson.
So how did folks around the league react to the Ravens' draft haul? Were the reviews as positive as the ones around the media? A recent article from The Athletic shed light on how league executives viewed the Ravens' draft class, particularly the selection of Zay Flowers with the No. 22 overall pick.
“[Todd] Monken is a receiver coach by trade,” one evaluator told The Athletic. “OBJ will be the big wild card. Is he going to still have big-game potential? Flowers’ upside is Stefon Diggs. He has that from a route-running capacity. I like their core. It has gotten better. That said, none of those guys are true No. 1s, which the Ravens can actually get away with. It is scheme, play-action, and their No. 1 guy is Mark Andrews, basically.”
Flowers and Odell Beckham's additions have certainly given Jackson more weapons to use. But both come with questions, as Beckham hasn't played in a game since Super Bowl LVI, where he went down with his ACL injury. At the same time, questions of Flowers' height at 5-foot-9 will work within the Ravens offense was asked about by an evaluator.
“If we learned anything at Baltimore with Lamar Jackson, it’s that small, short receivers don’t do well,” someone else said to The Athletic. “The guy he throws it to is the 6-6 tight end.”
While an executive told them that they don't see the height of Flowers being an issue due to his playmaker ability with the ball in his hands, the executive even went as far to say that Flowers gives the Ravens "more than Hollywood Brown did."
It will be up to offensive coordinator Todd Monken to put an offense together that can still work to the strengths of Jackson as a runner, along with incorporating a strong passing attack that can threaten defenses through the air.
Since signing his new contract, Jackson has already said he has the weapons to throw for "like 6,000 yards." It is a lofty and maybe unattainable goal, but it shows Jackson's confidence in what the Ravens have put around him this offseason.
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