While OTAs take place long before the regular season, they offer a chance for players desperate to make a name for themselves to start on the right foot. For the Baltimore Ravens, these weeks couldn’t be more crucial as they start anew under head coach Jesse Minter.
After a 2025 season that everyone would like to forget, and a new era kicking off, many players in Baltimore are watching their slates be wiped clean. Sure, there are roster spots that already have reliable starters penciled in, but others could be an open battle. The wide receiver position is certainly one of those.
After Zay Flowers, the Ravens don’t have any sure-things at wideout. That could change in 2026. It appears one starting spot is uncertain, and if fans get their way, it’ll be Devontez Walker locking it down. OTAs are giving him the chance to get it done.
Baltimore Ravens could have a breakout player starting to emerge at OTAs
Luckily for Devontez Walker, he has started out hot at OTAs. We’re talking sizzling hot.
Through the first two weeks of the workouts, Walker has made himself impossible to ignore. Seriously. On BaltimoreRavens.com, Ryan Mink has constructed a piece for the top 10 standouts at OTAs for each of the first two weeks. Walker made the list both times. Here’s what Mink had to say about Walker’s performance in Week 2.
“Walker was one of [Lamar] Jackson’s favorite targets during Wednesday’s practice, and he converted first downs on third-and-long. With Rashod Bateman not practicing early this week, Walker is getting his chance to show he’s ready for a bigger role. In addition to his speed, Walker is showing he can stretch the field horizontally.”
That’s exactly what Walker needed to do. He started cracking the rotation a little bit more last year, and now, under a new head coach and offensive coordinator, the 24-year-old is demanding attention early on. Could this finally be the year that Walker breaks out?
It really feels like since his first catch, which went for a touchdown against the New York Giants in Week 15 in 2024, fans have been eager for Walker to take the strides into becoming a starting-caliber wideout. He’s flashed moments of that. Just look at his career stat line: seven receptions, 157 yards, and six touchdowns. He’s a bona fide playmaker, but his role has been limited from the get-go.
Sure, Walker has had some inconsistencies, and his job isn’t secure, but he's a sparkplug and big-play waiting to happen whenever he’s been on the field. I’m not saying that he’d be an immediate game-changer if Declan Doyle let him loose in 2026. However, he could have a higher ceiling than anything Baltimore has outside Flowers.
And outside of Flowers and Walker, it’s the definition of inconsistency in Rashod Bateman and rookies Ja’Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt. I guess you could throw La’Johntay Wester in there, too, who’s gotten praise this offseason. Looking at that, if we’re being honest with ourselves, Walker needs to have his fingerprints all over the offense this year. He just has to.
Just imagine utilizing Walker more and more under the new offensive leadership of Declan Doyle. The 30-year-old OC has said his goal is to hunt explosive plays, and it doesn’t get more explosive than Walker. Hopefully, he gets his shot, and he can keep putting a good word in for himself with continued success at OTAs.
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