The Baltimore Ravens lack a reliable playmaker, which is one of the main arguments in favor of Lamar Jackson taking home the MVP award.
Between Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, and George Kittle, Brock Purdy has a lot. Patrick Mahomes has Travis Kelce, Josh Allen has Stefon Diggs, and Dak Prescott has CeeDee Lamb. We could go on forever, Tyreek Hill for Tua Tagovailoa.
In the postseason, does Lamar Jackson’s top target for the Baltimore Ravens need to exist?
You used to associate Mark Andrews with Lamar Jackson, but Jackson has performed exactly as well as Andrews did after suffering an injury. This is noteworthy since none of the other quarterbacks have stepped up to assume the position of top pass catcher, which they all crave and depend on.
Although this will support Lamar Jackson’s cause, some doubts arise as to whether the Ravens will require that dependable player come postseason time. They don’t seem to have a standout player, but they do have a variety of players that are performing well.
The players that have stepped up for the Ravens have varied depending on the week. Weeks eleven and fourteen saw Odell Beckham play at his best. Isaiah Likely had the best weeks 12 and 15, and Zay Flowers was the obvious favorite the following week.
Odell Beckham has the most yards (274), but Zay Flowers has the most targets (35), since Andrews was injured in week 11. Isaiah Likely currently has 248; that’s more than Flowers’ current total of 207.
Given that Flowers has an average target depth of 7.9 compared to Odell Beckham’s 19 on screens, Flowers is receiving a lot of targets. Flowers averages 5.4 yards after the catch per reception, compared to Likely’s 8.5.
Flowers does, however, have the most receptions and touchdowns. He poses a rushing threat as well. Even yet, as we’ve demonstrated, he’s not quite prepared to ride the wave of being the most reliable choice.
Beckham plays roughly 60% of the snaps but is reliable at times. Probably making progress, but will he be reliable enough come playoff time?
Since week 11, the Ravens have also seen over 100 receiving yards recorded by Nelson Agholor and Rashod Bateman. Now that he is searching for the open receiver rather than relying solely on Mark Andrews as his go-to weapon, Jackson might be playing at his peak. For the Baltimore Ravens offensive, this might be the best development.
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