The Baltimore Ravens need someone to push their wide receiver room to new heights. With the injuries to Zay Flowers and Ja’Kobi Lane, the lack of depth became a slight problem in Week 2. Looking forward, they may have just the right guy to fix that: Devontez Walker.
Walker needs more snaps. He’s proven he can be the explosive playmaker Declan Doyle’s offense needs. In Baltimore’s loss to the New Orleans Saints, Walker had 1 catch for 47 yards.
Simply put, when Walker gets opportunities, he’s good for at least one big play. The issue is: he’s rarely gotten consistent reps. Last Sunday, he only had 17 snaps. In comparison, Chris Moore saw 32—he finished the day with 1 catch for 6 yards.
Other roles, like blocking, obviously get wideouts on the field, but if the point is to move the football and score points (it is), then Walker can provide what this offense needs.
Baltimore Ravens need to unleash Devontez Walker in a higher capacity in Week 3
When the Ravens’ WR1 is out there, Lamar Jackson has found a way to get them the ball and produce. Zay Flowers popped off in Week 1 for 5 receptions, 150 yards, and a touchdown. Last week, Rashod Bateman had a very strong showing with 7 receptions, 88 yards, and a touchdown.
Between Flowers, Bateman, and Mark Andrews, Baltimore is set up decently. That WR3, and maybe even WR2 if Flowers is out again, needs to step up this coming weekend. Walker has done everything he can in limited snaps in his third season to prove he should be that guy.
Up to this point, Walker has amassed 8 receptions for 204 yards and 4 touchdowns. If you look up the term “explosive” in the dictionary, you’d probably find a picture of Walker’s face. He’s the exact guy to turn to not just for a drive-changing play, but for one that can flip the entire game on its head.
It’s a shame he hasn’t gotten more chances with the offense.
Part of that is on him, to be fair. As a receiving threat, he needs to expand his route tree. His role in the offense has been quite clearly a one-dimensional vertical specialist. And while that’s important, it gets predictable.
More importantly, though, he needs to improve as a run blocker. When you have Derrick Henry in your backfield, the offense is going to be partially centered around him. If you can’t maintain blocks, it’ll hurt your chances of being on the field. Of Walker’s 17 snaps thus far, he hasn’t logged a single one in the run game, per Pro Football Focus.
But let’s be honest. Henry can do damage on his own—he doesn’t need blocking help from wide receivers THAT much. Add in Walker’s numbers, including a stupidly good 25.5 yards per reception, and it’s at the point where he’s demanding an uptick in snaps.
You have to give him that in Week 3 versus the Dallas Cowboys.
Once Baltimore takes the field against Dallas in Brazil, it could quickly become a shootout. The Cowboys have Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens; the Ravens have Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and hopefully Zay Flowers. The Ravens could use one more piece to help them outpace the Cowboys, though, and it should be Walker.
Dallas also had the worst passing defense in the NFL last year. Sure, they’ve looked better this year (at least in terms of numbers), but Cobie Durant is out, and Malik Hooker is trending toward being out as well. Looking at that matchup, it’s time to unleash Walker.
For an offense that leans as much on explosive plays as Doyle’s, too, Walker seems like an easy option to put on the field while Lane recovers from a fractured wrist and Flowers nurses a hamstring injury. You know Jackson has the arm talent, and Walker has the speed and ball-tracking ability to go run under it. It could be the match made in heaven fans have been waiting to see.
Add us as a preferred source on Google