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Ravens 2019 Retrospection: The season of tight ends

By Chris Schisler

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 08: Nick Boyle #86 of the Baltimore Ravens drops a pass as Jordan Poyer #21 of the Buffalo Bills attempts to defend him during the third quarter of an NFL game at New Era Field on December 08, 2019 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 08: Nick Boyle #86 of the Baltimore Ravens drops a pass as Jordan Poyer #21 of the Buffalo Bills attempts to defend him during the third quarter of an NFL game at New Era Field on December 08, 2019 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OHIO – DECEMBER 22: Mark Andrews #89 of the Baltimore Ravens catches a pass for a touchdown against Damarious Randall #23 of the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter in the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO – DECEMBER 22: Mark Andrews #89 of the Baltimore Ravens catches a pass for a touchdown against Damarious Randall #23 of the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter in the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

The Baltimore Ravens have three quality tight ends. It was a huge part of one of the most productive offensive attacks in football. Here is a 2019 review of what happened with the three tight ends of the purple and black.

Mark Andrews 2019 in review:

Mark Andrews led the Baltimore Ravens in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown grabs. He became one of the best tight ends in the league. There is no doubt that this was a great season for Andrews as he had 18 receptions more than any player on the offense. Andrews accounted for 64 of the 124 catches from the tight end group in Baltimore.

Andrews got off to an incredibly fast start this year. He had eight catches, over 100 yards and a touchdown for the first two weeks of the year. He caught at least five passes in six games and fell just short of the 100 yard mark twice on the year. There was a legitimate discussion in the beginning of the year around Andrews being the best tight end in football.

While George Kittle and Travis Kelce are widely considered the best two tight ends in football, Andrews is probably the next player on that list. If Kittle and Kelce are elite, Andrews isn’t far off their level. There are some good tight ends in the NFL right now. Darren Waller has thrived in his second chance with the Raiders and Kyle Rudolph is a great weapon for the Minnesota Vikings. It would be hard to take those players over Andrews. When Andrews is good, he’s incredible.

There were a handful of moments (pun intended) when Andrews had a problem catching the football. The most painful occurrence of that came in the postseason. Bad throw or not, Andrews had the ball hit both hands and he popped it up to a Tennessee Titan. Drops were a problem for Andrews. He also lost a fumble in a game against the Bengals on an unwise decision to hurdle over two Cincinnati Bengals, who converged on him.

Andrews was a big bodied target that went up and got the football. He built a fantastic chemistry with Jackson and has the ability to almost always be open. Andrews is a big play-maker in this offense. If Andrews can be more consistent and the offense grows around him, he may surpass Kittle and Kelce in the next season or two. Andrews had an incredible season and is one of the best players the Ravens have. He just needs to work on having more consistent hands.

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