Ravens GM De Costa Encouraged By Receiving Corps
Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric De Costa talked about the depth and talent of the receiving core that he helped to build.
"It's encouraging to have so much depth," De Costa said. "This is the first year that other teams called us looking for receivers and I asked if that was a joke at first."
In years past, Baltimore has struggled to put a consistently good and healthy receiving group around its star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Now, he's surrounded with talents such as Mark Andrews, Odell Beckham Jr., Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor.
"I think our coaches have done a great job with those guys," De Costa said. "Just the leadership of the veteran players, Nelson and Odell, has really been superb. The younger guys have really brought their game every single day."
The Ravens signed Beckham Jr. to a one-year, $15 million contract this offseason as part of an offensive retool to make Baltimore a more enticing place for Jackson to play. It seemed to have paid off because later that month on, Jackson signed a five-year contract worth up to $260 million.
On the same night that Jackson signed the new contract, Baltimore drafted Flowers out of Boston College with the No. 22 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Ravens had an entirely revamped offense and just a month before, it seemed as though Baltimore might lose its MVP quarterback to another team.
Andrews has been the top option for the Ravens since he and Jackson were drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. Over five seasons, he has recorded 336 receptions for 4,313 yards and 34 touchdowns. Among tight ends since Andrews joined the NFL, he ranks third in yards, fourth in receptions and second in receiving touchdowns.
