Ravens Must Try These 3 Things To Unlock Zay Flowers With A Back-Up QB Sunday Night

Few wide receivers have carried a heavier load in the first month of the NFL season than Ravens’s sparkplug Zay Flowers.

He has been something of a one-man army once again in their downfield passing game, he is as connected with two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson as anyone has ever been and the “Zay And Pray” passing game is alive and well. But it’s time for a calibration. It’s time for a rethink. At least for a few weeks, as Jackson is out this week and he could very well be out next week too, and Snoop Huntley, when it comes to pushing the ball downfield, has almost nothing in common with Jackson’s intent and acumen.

Rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is going to have to experiment even more to get Flowers unlocked on Sunday night against a Falcons defense that is stuffing the run without devoting extra man power to doing it, at the same time generating the NFL’s highest pressure rate (and, you guessed it, without blitzing to devote extra manpower to that endeavor, either).

Here is what Doyle is up against, whether he wants to admit it or not. He can try to amp Huntley up by opining about, “I do not think the mentality of how you want to run the offense changes at all,” but that’s baloney. We have an established body of work with Flowers and these two quarterbacks and the differences are stark:

Zay with Lamar: 14.4 yds/reception 7.5 YAC/rec 10.12 air yds/target

Zay with Snoop: 6.5 yds/reception 2.4 YAC/rec 6.39 air yds/target

Here’s a snippet of what needs to happen to try to keep Flowers vested in the game plan and an elite weapon:

More Motion

Flowers has been in motion 27% of the time this season. It was around 24% last season with Todd Monken. Even with some serious OL issues (prompting a fairly desperate trade) and the need to avoid pre-snap penalties, some simple motions for Flowers make all the sense in the world.

He won’t be latching on to deep balls. Putting him in motion before he catches a bubble screen seems to be something they should lean into. Making the defense at least wonder about a jet sweep or end around can’t hurt. At some point the Ravens are going to need a complimentary winner downfield - seems unlikely that will be Marvin Harrison Jr. though they have at least checked in on that situation - and maybe it's rookie Ja'Kobi Lane at some point when he is healthy, but they need to keep scheming it up in the interim .

Less Slot; Keep It Wide

I fully understand that Huntley is better off delivering the ball on a shorter distance and that his throws to the far reaches on the boundary tend to be a little late and turnover-worthy. And I know Flowers has been particularly devastating in the slot this season, where he’s been for 60% of his reps, nearly doubling his career average. But, well, Atlanta is without its best cover corner in AJ Terrell (on IR) and teams have thrown on in them in the slot 46 times (second-most in the NFL) and those targets are going nowhere, while outside throws are eating them up.

We still need Flowers on a fair share of crossers, but Doyle should be cognizant of these splits with his best receiver.

Opposing QBs throwing to slot vs ATL: 72.9 rating, 52% completions

Opposing QBs throwing to outside vs ATL: 114.7 rating, 70% completions

Backfield Battle

Oct 4, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Tennessee Titans at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Flowers has been lined up in the backfield four times this season. That’s already twice as much as all of last season. Might need four times Sunday night alone.

We don’t want him doing anything running inside, but designed sprints behind the tackles and running wheel routes out of a pony package in a gun look with either Derrick Henry or Justice Hill on the field and maybe, maybe a Wild Cat look or two might be in order.

The Falcons’ run defense is ridiculous thus far, allowing just 2.7 yards/carry and this is another game where Henry might be running into a wall 25 times, bleeding clock and keeping things close but not generating much explosion. They need creativity and multiplicity in the run game more than ever with Huntley taking over at a time the run game is in a deep funk and the offensive line has major issues.

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