The Baltimore Ravens were one of the teams significantly affected by the biggest extension of the NFL offseason thus far. The Seattle Seahawks signed their superstar wide receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, to a massive four-year, $168.6 million contract on Monday. That deal will certainly have an impact on how Baltimore approaches their future with Zay Flowers.
The Ravens should definitely look to keep Flowers around. He’s the best wideout the franchise has ever drafted, having gone to two straight Pro Bowls and totaling a career-best 86 receptions and 1,211 yards in 2025. Still, with Flowers due so much money when the time comes, nothing is certain.
With that in mind, Baltimore’s draft plans could change as a result of Smith-Njigba’s market-setting contract. They already needed someone to complement Flowers, but with the cap pressure rising, drafting a weapon with WR1 potential looks like an even stronger possibility.
Baltimore Ravens could focus on wide receiver in first round after Jaxon Smith-Njigba contract
Wide receiver was always expected to be one of the top needs in this year’s draft, especially after the Ravens signed Trey Hendrickson to fill their pass-rush needs. However, guard and cornerback have also appeared as top needs. The front office needs to protect Lamar Jackson and fix that horrendous secondary. Given the way the offseason has gone, though, everything seems to be pointing in the direction of a wide receiver at pick 14.
Baltimore signed John Simpson to help protect Jackson, and they re-signed Chidobe Awuzie to bring some stability back to the corner room. To improve the depth at wide receiver? They haven’t done anything yet. In fact, they also lost both their backup tight ends in Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. Jackson doesn’t have nearly enough weapons at his disposal for 2026, and with Smith-Njigba potentially throwing a big wrench into their future plans with Flowers, adding a player like Jordyn Tyson or Carnell Tate in this year's draft makes complete sense.
Flowers was already on track a massive payday when he becomes a free agent. And yes, the Ravens can wait it out by picking up his $27.298 million fifth-year option and maybe even franchise tagging him in 2028 if a deal is still not agreed upon, but his eventual extension is quickly trending toward something around $35 million per year.
Even though Flowers isn’t of Smith-Njigba’s caliber, his market is still going to inflate, especially if other wideouts continue to follow suit with lucrative extensions. That could quickly make finances tight in Charm City. If the front office sees Flowers’ eventual price as a bit overwhelming, it would make even more sense to draft a top wide receiver.
There really shouldn’t be a realm where Baltimore doesn’t retain Flowers for the foreseeable future. He’s simply too valuable. Even then, pairing Flowers with someone like Tyson or Tate would create a dynamic duo, matching Flowers' electrifying play in the open field with physicality. And in case Flowers leaves on an expensive deal, the Ravens would still likely have an alpha wide receiver if they made such a selection at 14th overall. Whatever they choose to do, it could change the course of their franchise for the near future.