Ravens Draft WR Zay Flowers? NFL Draft Expert Reveals Best 'Match'
The Baltimore Ravens entered this offseason with two new - and big - questions surrounding the offense: who'd be the offensive coordinator and who will they be relaying the calls to?
Baltimore answered the first by hiring Todd Monken from the University of Georgia, where he held the same role, but the latter remains unanswered as quarterback Lamar Jackson's contract situation is still being sorted out.
However, there's another question that needs answering, and largely has for the last several years - who's going to be catching passes from Jackson or whoever else is under center?
In a pre-scouting combine conference call with RavenCountry and other media outlets, NFL Network draft expert Daniel Jeremiah gave his thoughts.
"Zay Flowers is an overall player I love," Jeremiah said. "The suddenness there I think would be a fun player to match up in that offense."
The 5-9, 182-pound Flowers had an electric career at Boston College, finishing as the program's all-time leader in receptions (200), receiving yards (3,056), and receiving touchdowns (29).
Tight end Mark Andrews is one of the best at his position, and the Ravens have spent first-round draft picks on receivers Hollywood Brown and Rashod Bateman. But Brown was traded last offseason and Bateman is coming off an injury-riddled second season.
As such, beyond Andrews, there's a lot of uncertainty - and Baltimore may be forced to use another first-round pick to address it.
Out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Flowers was a multi-sport athlete in high school, actually spending more time on the basketball court than the football field.
However, he improved year-over-year at Boston College and twice earned first-team All-ACC honors, capping off his career by breaking the single-season program record in touchdown receptions (12), tying the mark in receptions (78) and finishing third in receiving yards (1,077).
The tricky part about identifying whether or not Flowers fits Baltimore is the addition of Monken - as Jeremiah later said, there's uncertainty surrounding "how they want to set (the offense) up and incorporate it."
Another factor is how the quarterback situation unfolds - per Jeremiah, Jackson's "mere presence will mean that (the Ravens) will have a good run game," and running back J.K. Dobbins only adds to that.
Considering the ground game, there's a vision Jeremiah, a former Ravens scout, would prefer Baltimore follow - especially if Jackson returns.
"I think complementing that with speed is always the way to go," said Jeremiah. "Where you can hit a slant and somebody can go; you just have to break one tackle where you can get on top of coverage because you have flat safeties because they have to come down and play the run. So, I'm always going to lean towards guys that can really go."
And Flowers certainly fits that bill, as he's expected to run the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. Jeremiah previously compared Flowers to current Dallas Cowboys receiver T.Y. Hilton, who ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at the 2012 NFL Combine.
Now, Flowers has a chance to replicate that performance and elevate his stock, which currently sits in the late-first to early-second round, per Jeremiah.
And if the 22-year-old Flowers does that, he could just be the "match" the Ravens are looking for.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter at @DFlickDraft
Follow the Baltimore Ravens Daily Blitz Podcast
Follow Raven Country on Twitter and Facebook
Ravens Alert! Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Baltimore Ravens?
