Reports have been overwhelmingly positive about Baltimore Ravens rookie WR Zay Flowers during his first training camp. Can he make an instant fantasy football impact in a crowded WR room in 2023? Let’s take a closer look.
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Zay Flowers’ Fantasy Outlook for the 2023 NFL Season
Flowers has been the talk of Ravens training camp since they opened their doors in late July.
Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the plethora of camp clips of Flowers beating DBs over the past month…
Again…
.@ZayFlowers really makes it look easy 😅 pic.twitter.com/4fH1ajHxDb
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 16, 2023
And again…
.@ZayFlowers shook another one 🔥@Hyundai pic.twitter.com/UFzpwdJh85
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 16, 2023
And AGAIN…
This ROUTE by Zay Flowers 😳
Flowers’ “shiftiness” has reportedly been on full display since Ravens camp started.
Flower’s has reportedly been used “all over” the field including the X, Y, and Z WR positions.
Todd Monken (Ravens OC) reportedly plans to use him that way in the… pic.twitter.com/4N7cm5QvcA
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) July 28, 2023
If that wasn’t enough to convince you Flowers has had a great preseason, look at this bit of work in the second preseason game against the Washington Commanders.
That's Zay Flowers for ya 🔥 @ZayFlowers
📺: #BALvsWAS on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/L9mPiySUki pic.twitter.com/7xV6hBcrY2— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2023
The Ravens’ offense received a significant makeover this offseason. Baltimore started by making the change from the run-heavy scheme of Greg Roman to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Todd Monken as the team’s new OC.
Some may be skeptical about the reports of the Ravens airing it out more in 2023, but if you look at Monken’s track record in the NFL, it feels more like a certainty that Baltimore will throw the ball more this season.
Monken’s aforementioned two previous OC stints saw him go to the air quite often. In 2019, with the Browns, Cleveland averaged 33.6 passes per game. But the bigger selling point was his 2018 season with the Bucs, where they averaged 39 passing attempts per game and led the league in passing yards.
Which brings me to how Flowers fits into this offense.
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For those of you who are unfamiliar with Flowers during his days at Boston College, he’s a vertical threat who ran every route from every position in the formation and won on all three levels of the field with his route-running savvy and playmaking ability after the catch.
Flowers’ versatility and explosiveness instantly give Baltimore’s passing offense the juice to capitalize on the multitude of deep-shot opportunities they’ll have when defenses load up to slow down the rushing attack.
I know Rashod Bateman and Odell Beckham Jr. are on the roster, but I believe there is a very strong case to be made that Flowers is the best WR on the roster.
Is Flowers a Good Fantasy Pick?
Why Flowers is still being drafted after Beckham Jr. is confusing to me.
OBJ hasn’t stepped foot on an NFL field for a live game since Super Bowl LVI back on Feb. 13, 2022, which in some part caused him to miss the entire 2022 NFL season. In addition, Beckham has played every game of an NFL regular season twice in his entire nine-year career.
Do you know how many games Flowers missed due to injury during his time at Boston College? Zero.
Flowers’ versatility and explosiveness instantly give Baltimore’s passing offense the juice to capitalize on the multitude of deep-shot opportunities they’ll have when defenses load up to slow down the rushing attack. But Flowers also provides the short-area quickness to be a yards-after-catch machine when winning on underneath routes.
If you want to keep waiting on the impending Bateman breakout season that is entering its third year while he battles a lingering foot issue … or hold onto the fantasy glory days of OBJ while ignoring both of their durability concerns … then be my guest.
MORE: 2023 WR Fantasy Football Rankings
I’ll gladly take the durable, versatile, and explosive Flowers at his current ADP in the 10th round and reap the benefits all season long.
- PFN Consensus: 88th overall
- ADP: 116th overall