Do the Baltimore Ravens need a 'go-to' pass catcher in the playoffs?
One of the big reasons why Lamar Jackson should win the MVP is that the Baltimore Ravens do not have a go-to playmaker. Brock Purdy has many between Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, and George Kittle. Josh Allen has Stefon Diggs, Dak Prescott has CeeDee Lamb, and Patrick Mahomes has Travis Kelce. Tyreek Hill for Tua Tagovailoa, we could go on.
Do the Baltimore Ravens need a #1 target for Lamar Jackson in the playoffs?
You used to think of Mark Andrews with Lamar Jackson in the same light, but Jackson has been just as good, if not better, since Andrews has gone down with an injury. This is impressive because no one has stepped up and taken that number one pass catcher status that all of these other quarterbacks covet and rely on.
While this will help the case of Lamar Jackson, some questions that emerge are whether or not the Ravens will need that reliable asset when the playoffs come. While they do not have a number one guy, they seem to have a host of players who are getting the job done.
Depending on the week, the Ravens have had multiple players step up. Odell Beckham had his best games in weeks 11 and 14. Weeks 12 and 15 belonged to Isaiah Likely, and then last week, Zay Flowers was the clear top choice.
Since Andrews went down in week 11, Zay Flowers has the most targets with 35, but Odell Beckham has the most yards with 274. Even Isaiah Likely has 248, which is more than the 207 that Flowers has right now.
Flowers is getting a lot of targets on screens, as Odell Beckham has a 19 average depth of target, whereas Flowers is at 7.9. Still, Likely has 8.5 yards after the catch per reception, while Flowers has 5.4.
Nonetheless, Flowers has the most catches and touchdowns. He also is a rushing threat. Still, as we have shown, he is not quite ready to step into that wave of being the most trusted option.
Beckham is trustworthy at times but also plays about 60% of the snaps. Likely is emerging, but can he be consistent enough when the playoffs come?
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The Ravens have also had Nelson Agholor and Rashod Bateman record over 100 receiving yards since week 11. Perhaps Jackson will be at his best because now he is looking for the open receiver and not just trusting Mark Andrews as his go-to weapon. Perhaps, this is the best thing for the Baltimore Ravens offense.