The difference for the Baltimore Ravens with Isaiah Likely through three games
The Baltimore Ravens have been without Mark Andrews for three weeks now. While the team has missed his impact, it has been huge having Isaiah Likely in the lineup. With five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he has completed three strong games without him.
Has Isaiah Likely been an upgrade for the Baltimore Ravens?
Likely has averaged 4.7 catches for 64.3 yards and 0.7 touchdowns in the three games since Mark Andrews went down. Meanwhile, the Ravens had Andrew receiving just 4.5 catches for 54.4 yards and 0.6 touchdowns per game. He has been as good, or even slightly better, in terms of production compared to Andrews. If Likley kept this up through the end of the season he would be third amongst tight ends behind Travis Kelce and T.J. Hockenson.
Likely is averaging 2.01 yards per route run, while Andrews was at 1.96. What is even more impressive is the Ravens are playing Likely in-line 40.3% of the time. Meanwhile, Andrews was in line just 19.5% of the time. A lot of it comes down to Likely averaging 8.6 yards per after the catch per reception while Andrews was just under five. Still, the production is similar despite the usage being a bit different.
Some of this has to do with Lamar Jackson. At this point, it looks like Jackson can gel with any player who is willing to make catches for him. He can adjust to your skill set and find you where you are best. This also has to do with Todd Monken. Likely was not performing because the offense was calling for as much from the second tight end as the Greg Roman offense.
Still, we do see that you can insert some differing pieces into the Monken offense and get similar results. Still, the main respect has to go to Isaiah Likely. Likely, he is the man who made the contested catches; he is running the routes and making plays after the catch. The Baltimore Ravens losing their best weapon and getting similar or better offensive production from his backup is game-changing.