Baltimore Ravens: 3 reasons to worry about Zay Flowers

Reasons to worry about Baltimore Ravens rookie Zay Flowers: Route-running is rushed, lacks detail

At the NFL level, defensive backs are as smart as they come, especially the veterans who have been around a little while. Flowers comes into the league as someone who has a tendency to rush his routes, which can get him in trouble.

First off, rushed routes can lead to defensive backs getting a head start on where the receiver is going. That leaves some of the guess work, or even high-level anticipation, out of it completely for an opposing defensive back. Flowers is letting his man off the hook by rushing his routes, rather than sticking each and every move with purpose.

Not only can rushed routes lead to defensive backs getting a jump, but it can also interrupt the chemistry between wide receiver and quarterback. If Flowers isn't where Lamar Jackson expects him to be, right at the time he's supposed to be there, then the entire play can be thrown off.

Throughout the summer, I'm sure coaches are going to work on this with him. The lack of detailed route running appears in just about every scouting report you can find on Flowers, so the coaching staff knows what they're getting into.