Tight End Evolution 'Big Part' of What Ravens Offense is Doing, Says John Harbaugh

The Baltimore Ravens have a stacked tight end room, and head coach John Harbaugh says that the development of the unit will be crucial this offseason.

The Baltimore Ravens offense under Todd Monken last season was one of the best in the league, thanks in part to the improvement of tight end Isaiah Likely.

After Mark Andrews went down injured against the Cincinnati Bengals, it was upto Likely to step up, and he did. Likely would play all 17 games (starting eight with Andrews' injury) and finished with 411 yards and five touchdowns from his 30 receptions.

While Andrews is still the undisputed No. 1, having Likely and young Charlie Kolar (7 rec, 87 yards, 1 TD) continuing to improve is going to hold the offense in good stead in 2024.

For Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, having the improvement out of Likely and Kolar to complement what Andrews already does is a big emphasis this offseason.

“The young tight ends evolving and growing is going to be a big part of what we're doing," Harbaugh said at the NFL owners meeting. "There's no doubt, I think Charlie's [Kolar] going to take a big step, Isaiah's going to take even another big step, he's a talented guy. We still got Pat Ricard kind of doing what he does in that kind of hybrid role and then Mark [Andrews], Mark is a star, he's one of the superstars in the National Football League so they're all receiving tight ends they're all willing blockers, so I think we're in good really good place at tight end.”

Isaiah Likely, Derek Stingley Jr.

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Having a fully healthy Andrews couple with Likely is a tantalizing prospect for Monken's offense, especially when you factor in that the Ravens' rushing attack also got a significant upgrade with Derrick Henry joining in free agency.

For Likely, he will get more chances this offseason thanks to his power of work due to Andrews' absence last season as in the last five regular season games he hauled in five touchdowns. In that span, Likely also averaged at least 14 yards per reception as his YAC (yards-after-catch) were a big feature of his game.

Kolar, while he didn't have the same impact as Likely, took his chances when they came as he caught seven of his nine targets as he was a solid contributor when given the chance.

Now, as the Ravens enter an offseason where the pain of losing to the Kansas City Chiefs will be the fuel that propels them forward, the young tight end room could be the ace up Monken's sleeve.

And it appears that Harbaugh knows it, too.