Ravens DBs Explain What Makes Zay Flowers Dangerous and Deserving of Big Payday

As if the vibes coming out of the first week of the Baltimore Ravens' 2026 training camp weren't high enough, the second week has already seen big plays and now a big payday from their wide receivers.

The player at the position who cashed in with a new deal on Tuesday while practice was going on was homegrown two-time Pro Bowler Zay Flowers.

After weeks and months of positive discussions, his representatives and general manager Eric DeCosta agreed to terms to make the second-highest-paid player in franchise history on a four-year extension worth $140 million, with $108 million fully guaranteed.

Flowers has done nothing but exponentially exceed expectations since entering the league as a first-round pick back in 2023, increasing his production and impact on the Ravens' offense each year, and is coming off back-to-back 1,000-plus receiving-yard seasons.

Two of his teammates, who play on the opposite side of the ball and have gone up against him in practice and as opponents with different teams, were asked about what makes Flowers such a lethal weapon worthy of being so handsomely compensated.

"He can do it all," safety Jaylinn Hawkins said. "He can score from the one [yard line] and take it all the way to the top. He can hit the home run. He has incredible YAC [ability], incredible change of direction, good route technique, good route craft [and] good hands. He is a playmaker. [He is] one of those guys you always have to keep an eye out for when you are on the field."

Hawkins was one of the Ravens' key additions from this past offseason, and prior to joining the team, he got a first-hand experience of just how difficult Flowers can make life for opposing defenders last season as a member of the New England Patriots. When the eventual AFC champions came to Baltimore for a late-December showdown in primetime, Flowers went off for 102 yards from scrimmage on eight combined touchdowns, which included an 18-yard rushing touchdown.

Ravens third-year cornerback Nate Wiggins has been going up against Flowers in practice since he entered the league and even faced off with him once in college when he was a sophomore at Clemson and his future teammate racked up 89 all-purpose yards on the Tigers on nine total touches. Despite his lack of prototypical size, he believes that Flowers has every other trait a wideout needs to continue to ascend and succeed at the NFL level.

"[Flowers] is just elusive. He's got the speed. He's got the quickness, the [ability to get] in-and-out of breaks," Wiggins said. "[It's] really everything a receiver needs. He's not a little receiver — he plays big. He's got all the traits. We are glad to have him on the team."

Top brass chimes in with more high praise

Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter and GM Eric DeCosta at a press conference at Under Armour Performance Center. — Jan 29, 2026; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Jesse Minter and Eric DeCosta at press conference at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In his first five years on the job as the Ravens' head executive after taking over for his long-time friend, mentor, and predecessor Ozzie Newsome, it only took DeCosta three tries to finally hit on a highly drafted wide receiver with Flowers following nearly three decades of narrow misses and complete whiffs.

"Zay is the type of player we always seek to retain," DeCosta said in a statement about the extension. "Tough, competitive, durable, a premier talent and a foundational football player. He's earned this extension and we are thrilled for Zay and his family. Also thanks to Nick, Joel, and Geoff for their determination in getting this deal done. This is a great day for Zay, the Ravens and our fans."

Some uneducated and uninformed pundits and skeptics of this deal view it as an egregious overpay, mocking Flowers' average annual salary being on par with the likes of Justin Jefferson at $35 million. In actuality, since it is an extension and there were still two years remaining on his rookie deal, according to renowned salary cap expert Brian McFarland, it's essentially a six-year contract with an annual salary of $28.327 million.

"When your best players are just the right type of people, and they bring the right mentality and everything marries together, those are the type of guys – it's such a great thing when stuff like that happens for them," head coach Jesse Minter said. "[There's] nothing better as a coach than to see those guys get what they deserve."

Before becoming John Harbaugh's replacement in Baltimore, Minter served the past two seasons as the Los Angeles Chargers' defensive coordinator under his young brother Jim. During his first year on the job, he had to gameplan against Flowers in Week 13 of his breakout 2024 season and recalled how difficult it is to try to limit his impact in a given game.

"[Zay Flowers] is really, really hard to prepare for because he has the capabilities and the skill set to play all over the offense," Minter said. "There are some guys that are slot receivers, and you kind of know where they're going to be, and you can do things to maybe take them away.

"He's really good from set alignment [to] playing outside. He's really good in the slot. He's really good on the move whenever he has the ability to motion. He can beat press; he can beat off coverage. He has a really good feel when people are double-teaming him of how to attack leverage. So, he's tough to prepare for, and [I'm] certainly glad he's on our side."

Add us as a preferred source on Google