Ravens 'Spectacular Flowers' Favorite For NFL Rookie of the Year?
Talking season is finally over in the NFL, as game week is officially underway for the Baltimore Ravens. After a busy offseason for the Ravens, where they brought in new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, re-signed franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson, and gave him a host of new playmakers, expectations are rising.
One of those new weapons for Monken and Jackson to utilize is rookie receiver Zay Flowers. The first-round pick out of Boston College seems to be flying under the radar from a mainstream media perspective.
Not many are talking about how good Flowers could be as a rookie in Baltimore. ... At least not until NBC Sports' Peter King included him in his 2023 season predictions piece.
Not only does King have the Ravens finishing the season with a 10-7, which put them second in the AFC North with the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, but he also has Flowers in the race for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Yet, ultimately, King does not see the Ravens rookie winning the award. Instead, he picked Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs to win the award.
"Flowers will be more spectacular," King said about putting Flowers at No. 2. "Gibbs will produce more yards."
After years of a lack of playmakers being seen as why the Ravens haven't made a push into the latter stages of the postseason, Flowers has a real opportunity to succeed in Year 1.
While there are other mouths to feed with tight end Mark Andrews, receivers Odell Beckham and Rashod Bateman, also expected to command plenty of targets, playing alongside those guys could benefit Flowers. Andrews has quickly become one of the best receiving tight ends in the NFL and is statistically the best receiver the Ravens return from last season.
At the same time, if Beckham can overcome his year-long stint on the sidelines after tearing his ACL and get back to playing like he once did, that will force defenses to pay more attention to him, potentially allowing Flowers more opportunities in one-on-one coverage.
If Jackson makes good on his lofty goal of throwing for 6,000 yards, then it is hard to imagine that wouldn't translate into a big rookie year for Flowers.
