Okay, there’s been a lot of talk about Hayden Hurst potentially being traded. Let’s say that none of that happens. How can the Ravens maximize what they have in their first round pick of a tight end?
Hayden Hurst was the first player the Baltimore Ravens took in the 2018 NFL Draft. Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews have been awarded for their development with a trip to the 2019 Pro Bowl. Hurst is looking to be more integral to the offense. How do the Ravens get first round value out of what is essentially their third string tight end?
The first thing the Ravens need to do is give Hurst more opportunities in the slot. Hurst is every bit the athlete that Mark Andrews is. If you looked at their performances in the NFL combine, Hurst and Andrews had almost the same exact results. The Ravens need to think of Hurst more like they see Andrews, a really big and tough receiver.
Andrews is a better at getting open and feeling his way to the perfect spot to be available for Jackson. The reason Andrews has flourished is that he is a natural at the position, whose big body has made him a big play threat. Hurst came into the NFL as a 25-year-old tight end, who used to be a pitcher on the baseball mound. Hurst is a good athlete, who has strong and reliable hands. Being just a little behind Andrews is what probably turned him into “The other guy.”
The Ravens adding a legitimate answer at the wide receiver position would actually help Hurst more than any other player. If the Ravens paired a player like Emmanuel Sanders with Marquise Brown and had Andrews and Hurst on opposite sides, it would lead to a lot of good opportunities. With Hurst being just as much of a match up nightmare as Andrews, and two speedsters on the outside, it would really become a game of winning one on one match ups.
In this scenario, Hurst has a chance flourish as a receiving threat. The Ravens need to have a more balanced passing attack that lives in 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends) and vacations into other personnel packages. As valuable as Nick Boyle is as a blocker, the Ravens need to actually lean into the fact that Hurst and Andrews are capable of being the best tight end duo of all-time.
The 2011 New England Patriots offer the perfect model to follow at the tight end position (from a purely football standpoint). Rob Gronkowski had 90 receptions and over 1,000 yards that season. They still got Aaron Hernandez 79 receptions and 900 yards.
The Ravens need to make Andrews and Hurst this kind of tandem at the tight end position. It will steer into the strengths of Jackson, who loves big targets in the middle of the field and it will act as the backbone of the passing game. Mark Andrews will always be the Batman of the dynamic duo, yet Hurst doesn’t need to be a Robin. He can be a much more self-assured and developed Nightwing.
Nick Boyle will always have his place with the purple and black. Boyle played a ton of snaps in 2019. He’s a huge part of the running game as a blocker. He’s also a secret weapon of a receiving threat because nobody thinks of him the way they think about Andrews and Hurst. The Ravens need to utilize all three tight ends, yet Hurst needs to get more chances to shine.
If the Ravens are going to keep Hurst, they have to get the full value out of him. That means they have to give him more chances to be a go to weapon for Jackson. If the Ravens can get it right, Hurst and Andrews could be the perfect combination.