3 Baltimore Ravens who will be tested most against Cleveland Browns week 10
The Baltimore Ravens wide receivers will have a hard time
While the Baltimore Ravens are Super Bowl contenders, we definitely need to see more from their wide receiver corps. Zay Flowers has done fine, but the Ravens use him as a gadget player more than a wideout. Rashod Bateman has slowly come on but has played rotationally, and Odell Beckham has had some ups but just as many downs.
They get a Cleveland Browns cornerback group that is playing well. Greg Newsome is expected to return from injury, and Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson have been strong. The duo ranks 4th and 8th among qualified cornerbacks in passer rating against in man coverage, per PFF.
That is notable because the Browns are fourth in the NFL in man coverage snaps rate. That is still only around 40% of the time as the league is zone-heavy, but they lean man, which is where Lamar Jackson and these wide receivers struggle.
So far this year, Lamar Jackson is 26-52 for 293 yards when targeting his wideouts against man coverage and 67-85 for 759 yards against zone. That is 5.6 yards per attempt and a 50% completion rate against man, and 8.9 yards per attempt with a 79% completion against zone.
Zay Flowers goes from averaging 2.03 yards per route run against zone to 0.86 yards per route run against man. It is clear that the Ravens struggle here, and the Browns play well here. Who can step up?