Ravens TE is Top Breakout Candidate

Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely could be a household name after this season.

Dec 31, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely (80) greeted by center Tyler Linderbaum (64) following his second quarter touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports / Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

For years, the Baltimore Ravens have had one of the best tight ends in the league in Mark Andrews, a 2021 All-Pro and consistently Lamar Jackson's favorite target. Now, Andrews has a top-tier running mate to work with.

Isaiah Likely, a 2022 fourth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina, showed flashes of brilliance early on, but it wasn't until late last season that he finally had a chance to shine. The 24-year-old took over the starting tight end job with Andrews sidelined, and took full advantage of the opportunity with six touchdowns in as many games.

It was an outstanding performance for the young tight end, but the best may be yet to come. In fact, he may the biggest breakout candidate on the entire roster.

One may assume that Andrews being healthy would take away from Likely's snap counts, but that's not necessarily the case. The two players occupy different enough niches, with Likely predominnatnly lining up along the offensive line and Andrews proedominantly in the slot or even out wide. That leaves the door open for offensive coordinator Todd Monken to swap them out as he sees fit, but that's not the full story.

Both Andrews and Likely have mentioned incorporating more two tight end sets into the offense, and if Monken is on board, he has two matchup nightmares at his disposal to torment opposing defenses with.

"It's going to be special. When you have two guys that are dynamic, [there will be] mismatches all over the field – it doesn't matter where you put us. That's tough to game-plan for," Andrews said on May 28. "[We're] both guys that love to play ball, love to compete, and it's going to be fun. Really, our whole tight end room is special right now, and I'm excited about that. We're just trying to grow and get better each and every day. [I'm] very thankful to have the tight end group that we have and just continue to get better. So, it'll be fun to see how we're used."

If Likely were on most other teams, he'd be the starting tight end or at least have a strong argument for the role. In Baltimore, though, he forms one half of the best tight end duo in the league, and in time, he could be just as much of a household name as his counterpart.

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