The Baltimore Ravens pass attack hasn’t been kind to wide receivers in the past. Between Marquise Brown, Nelson Agholor and the other rag tag receivers, Baltimore hasn’t had an option the caliber of Zay Flowers. With another year under his belt and some built in rapport with Lamar Jackson, could Zay Flowers finally take the step forward in fantasy football in 2024?
Zay Flowers – Ravens Wide Receiver 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook
2024 Projections
After combing through historical data, target rates and Flowers projected role in the offense, these 2024 Baltimore Ravens projections have a median outcome for what the season could look like. Mark Andrews is still going to be the lead receiver on the team. However, if Flowers takes a small step forward as one would expect with a second-year player, he’s a wide receiver two for fantasy purposes. Most of his underlying metrics were cause for optimism, but his ADOT was 81st among qualifying wide receivers. Now that the offense has Derrick Henry next to Jackson, touchdowns are going to be few and far between. Passing volume is unlikely to increase after such a splash signing, but the number two receiver on this team is either Rashod Bateman (injured again), Devontez Walker (deep ball threat at best) or Nelson Agholor (hasn’t had over 500 yards since before COVID).
If he continues to be used in a gadget type role it will provide a safe floor in PPR leagues, but standard or even half-PPR managers could find themselves frustrated outside of touchdown spike weeks. Another year of Todd Monken as the offensive coordinator could see this team execute more smoothly, which presents more redzone opportunities. The redzone was a place where Flowers was targeted often with 14 targets (28th among qualifying wide receivers). Admittedly, he still has room to grow there. The important caveat to this is the majority of those targets came with Andrews injured. As a hobbled Andrews had the same amount, either Flowers role grows there, or Andrews remains the top option and we’re disappointed in the touchdown output for Flowers this season.
Zay Flowers 2024 ADP
According to FantasyPros Zay Flowers is the 25th WR off the board and the 53rd player overall. With the low passing volume Jackson normally has and Andrews back, he could struggle to substantially outperform ADP. He was the WR30 in 2023, but that was with injuries to a lot of the expected top 24 receivers. Flowers finished slightly ahead of Justin Jefferson, Jaylen Waddle, Cooper Kupp and Tank Dell who all played less games and have higher ceilings in 2024. Healthy receivers around the league could push his year end finish down this season. His target earning percentage and efficiency should improve. Still, expecting a leap into WR1 category or even high end WR2 is unlikely. In PPR leagues, he’s a designed touch receiver that provides a relatively safe floor but no league-breaking ceiling. For players looking for a ceiling option, target George Pickens, Tee Higgins or Amari Cooper instead.
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