Zay Flowers Is Ravens One-Man Army In Passing Attack

Last year’s Ravens passing game could rightfully be dubbed “Zay and pray,” and apparently this team would have it no other way.

Because despite the recently-extended playmaker barely seeing the field this season – he’s appeared in just six of the 12 quarters of football Baltimore has played due to a hamstring issue – the impact Zay Flowers is making is astronomical. At a time when the offensive line is undermining anything sustainable on offense and rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is learning how to do the job on the fly and the Ravens can’t even run the ball, their offense has amounted to two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson doing unrivaled things of individual brilliance and being able to connect with Flowers on explosive plays.

Doyle clearly understands that Flowers is it when it come to showing up downfield with an consistency, he is moving him around adroitly and letting him impact games on the ground an through the air out of the backfield, but even that has been in fits and starts given the complications of a hamstring problem early in the season and the extreme travel and off field conditions the Ravens dealt with last week going to Brazil.

It’s hard to fathom a receiver doing more with just 25 total routes run this season – nine receptions of 12 yards or more (and 10 catches on 12 total targets), four receptions of 20 yards or more, and 234 receiving yards in basically 1 ½ games (he left Week 1 midway through). Plus a key 20-yard rush Sunday. Flowers has 109 more receiving yards than anyone else on the team despite the highly-reduced role this far, and it should come to the surprise of no one that he was the target with the Ravens starting a drive from their 35 with seven seconds left in regulation of a tie game, or that he would come through from the slot going across the middle of the field as he is apt to do.

What was shocking was Dallas not paying more attention to him and giving him single-coverage with a two-way go.

“The last play, honestly, everybody just did their job,” Flowers said after the game.” The O-line, everybody ran their routes the correct way. It was a one-on-one matchup with me and a nickel, and I won. Lamar [hit me. He did a great job taking his time and calling the timeout, too."

Monster Start

The Ravens don’t win that game without Flowers, and with their top “move’ tight end Mark Andrews on the same path he’s been on (7.3 air yards/target), and Rashod Bateman generally more of a blocker and decoy than trusted outlet for Jackson (15 career TD passes and a whopping 10 INTs when he throws to him), it looks like Zay And Pray it is at least until rookie receiver Ja’Kobi Lane returns from injury in a few weeks and as the young tight ends in this offense develop.

The offensive line is a massive issue, giving up constant pressure in the interior and also perhaps having to operate without left tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe) for a while and now also marred by injuries at center. Cultivating a deep game with targets who are already deeply in sync with Jackson and who also do not possess the combination of twitch, talent, speed and inherent connection with this quarterback is going to be challenging.

Flowers caught five of six balls thrown his way in Brazil, with gains of 22, 7, 14, 14, 27, and then the run. He has two plays of 49 yards or more against the Colts in Week 1. Perhaps his impact can best be distilled this way, by examining Baltimore’s Total Offensive Expected Points Added with him on the field, and not:

EPA with Zay: +25.59. EPA w/o Flowers on the field: -3.08

Every reception he has this season is for a first down. Imagine that.

And with the ground game going backwards and not much help in sight at the line of scrimmage, keeping Flowers on the move and getting him connected with Jackson on scramble drills and busted plays is everything for this pass game.

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