Despite going to a relatively smaller football program, wide receiver Zay Flowers is bound to interest a lot of NFL teams during the NFL Draft. The Senior is one of the best route runners in this class and excels at creating separation, which is a wildly important trait in today’s pass-happy NFL. While he might not be the first receiver off the board, several organizations should look to draft him near the back of the first or start of the second round.
7 Teams That Should Draft Zay Flowers, Ranked
Kansas City Chiefs
Zay Flowers was made to play football for the Kansas City Chiefs. Andy Reid’s offense is all about getting open quickly and beating defenses after the catch, and Flowers excels at both of those things. As mentioned earlier, he’s one of the best route runners in the class, and his 4.42 40-yard dash gives him the necessary speed to thrive in this offense. The Chiefs already have the best offense in football, but adding someone like Flowers into the mix to shore up an otherwise-weak depth chart would make this unit unstoppable.
New York Giants
Brian Daboll and Daniel Jones managed to field a functional offense last year despite having absolutely no talent at the wide receiver position. While the team didn’t make any big splashes in free agency, they could get a nice infusion of talent via the NFL Draft. With no real target competition on the roster, Flowers could immediately become the top option in the offense and help Daniel Jones show the world that last year’s performance was no fluke.
Boston College WR Zay Flowers wins consistently down the field. #NotaSlot pic.twitter.com/RCpJsuMVor
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) April 3, 2023
Baltimore Ravens
Whether or not Lamar Jackson is back in 2023, the Ravens need to add some talent to the wide receiver room. The jury is still out on whether or not Rashod Bateman can play at an NFL level, but we know that the rest of the depth chart leaves a lot to be desired. Mark Andrews is a great tight end, and combining him with Flowers and Bateman could give Baltimore an adequate receiving group for whoever is throwing the ball next year.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have a superstar receiver in Justin Jefferson and not much else. With Adam Thielen gone and Dalvin Cook likely not far behind him, Minnesota desperately needs to add some pass-catching talent to this offense. Zay Flowers would provide this team with another reliable option, and with Justin Jefferson on the other side, he’d never need to worry about facing double teams.
Los Angeles Chargers
This is probably the earliest point in the draft that Zay Flowers could reasonably go. The Los Angeles Chargers have two great receivers in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but they don’t have anyone behind those two. What’s worse is that Allen is getting up there in age, and Williams’ physical style of play naturally leads to injury. When you play in the same division as the Chiefs, you need as much firepower as you can get, and Flowers would help Los Angeles keep up in the inevitable shootouts when these two teams meet.
New Orleans Saints
Chris Olave is a stud in the making, and Michael Thomas will be back for the 2023 season. If those two stayed healthy, the Saints would have a reliable wide receiver duo. However, Thomas essentially hasn’t played since the 2019 season, so New Orleans shouldn’t count on him magically returning to form in the upcoming season. Even if he does stay healthy, Thomas is entering his age-30 season and can’t have too much left in his tank.
Carolina Panthers
Zay Flowers will probably go off the board at some point in the first round, but this Panthers mock draft has the Boston College product falling out of the first round. Crazier things have happened, and if Zay Flowers is still on the board when Carolina is on the clock, the team needs to pull the trigger. The Panthers added a few solid veterans to help their franchise quarterback, but they need to add a young player that can learn the ins and outs of NFL life alongside his franchise quarterback. Flowers would be a perfect fit for this role, and if everything pans out, could be catching passes from the rookie quarterback for the next decade.
