Ebony Bird
FanSided

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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ORCHARD PARK, NY – DECEMBER 8: Nick Boyle #86 of the Baltimore Ravens dives to make a catch in the end zone for a touchdown during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on December 8, 2019 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY – DECEMBER 8: Nick Boyle #86 of the Baltimore Ravens dives to make a catch in the end zone for a touchdown during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on December 8, 2019 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) /

Nick Boyle and Hayden Hurst:

This was the best year Nick Boyle ever had. Before this season he was a hard working blocking tight end who hadn’t scored a touchdown in his career. This year Boyle found the end zone twice. He had 31 receptions for over 300 yards and was very involved in the offense. He was one of the best blockers on the field in an offense that set records with their running game. The Ravens offense literally couldn’t do what it wanted to do if it wasn’t for Boyle. He’ll never be the biggest play-maker on the field, but he had career highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns. The fact that Boyle was able to contribute in the passing game meant that the defense had to take all three of the Ravens tight ends seriously.

Related Story. 2019 regular season: The good, bad and the ugly. light

Hayden Hurst had about the same production as Boyle. It almost feels like if Hurst was the featured tight end of the offense he could put up numbers comparable to Andrews. He catches almost every pass that is targeted to him and he’s a surprisingly quick athlete. One of the biggest plays of the season was when Hurst cranked it into another gear and scored a long touchdown pass against the Bills. The frustrating thing about Hurst is how well he performs when the Ravens actually call his number. He’s the most under utilized player on the field and he’s almost as good of a blocker as Boyle.

The Ravens need more than one star at the tight end position. Andrews gets most of the attention, but Boyle and Hurst do a lot of the dirty work that stirs the pot for the offense. Between the two of them they have 61 receptions for over 600 yards and four touchdowns. That’s huge when the best wide receiver on the team only caught 46 passes.

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