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Baltimore Ravens: 3 things that made no sense about 2020 season

By Chris Schisler

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay (13) breaks a tackle by Cincinnati Bengals free safety Jessie Bates (30) in the first quarter during a Week 17 NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.Baltimore Ravens At Cincinnati Bengals Week 17 Jan 3
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay (13) breaks a tackle by Cincinnati Bengals free safety Jessie Bates (30) in the first quarter during a Week 17 NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.Baltimore Ravens At Cincinnati Bengals Week 17 Jan 3 /
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Baltimore Ravens
Nov 22, 2020; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay (13) returns a first-quarter kickoff against the Tennessee Titans at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

What didn’t make sense about the 2020 Baltimore Ravens season? For starters, how the team used their receivers:

The 2020 Baltimore Ravens were equipped with plenty of speed on the offense. Just look at their offense on paper. The Ravens had Marquise Brown, Devin Duvernay, and Miles Boykin at receiver. In the backfield, they had J.K. Dobbins and the most talented runner ever to be a quarterback, Lamar Jackson.

This should have been the fastest offense alive, instead, it was just razor-focused on running the ball. Duvernay was used almost as a gadget player. He had 20 receptions, many of them coming on quick tosses out to the flat, screens, or quick pitches that barely count as a passing attempt. He also had four runs for 70 yards.

The Ravens could have made the combination of Duvernay’s speed with Brown’s speed more of a threat down the field. If the Ravens would have let Duvernay stretch the field more, it would have taken away the defense’s ability to crowd the tackle box.

Single-high safety looks could have been picked on by the Ravens. There were stretches of this season where the Ravens seemed to forget they could throw the ball down the field. There were so many creative things that Baltimore could have done in the passing game that were just ignored.

If you put Boykin and Brown to the outside and had Duvernay in the slot, you could make the defense really have to protect themselves from deep shots.

James Proche isn’t a speedster, yet he’s very quick. He didn’t even get an opportunity. While Duvernay’s rookie season wasn’t a complete waste, Proche’s rookie season was dumped down the drain. When he was at receiver he looked the part. He ran good routes, especially for a rookie.

Willie Snead had 33 receptions in this offense. You almost have to wonder if the reliability of Snead prevented the Ravens from developing their young receivers. In this offense, there weren’t a ton of receptions to go around. While the Ravens knew what they had in Snead, they could have gotten more from players they need to develop for the future.

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