Baltimore Ravens Need Wide Receiver Help

At 3-1, the Baltimore Ravens sit atop the AFC North, but there is one area of their roster that they must address sooner rather than later—wide receiver.

Baltimore was down two of their five receivers in last Sunday’s win over Cleveland, as Odell Beckham Jr. and Rashod Bateman were ruled out the day before. While this did result in a familiar face leading the Ravens in receiving, Mark Andrews, this is not a sustainable way for this team to continue to win games. At some point, the Ravens are going to need some actual contributions from the wide receiver position outside of rookie Zay Flowers. This turns the focus back to Beckham Jr. and Bateman.

Beckham’s injury history is very well documented, having missed all of 2022 after tearing his ACL in the Rams’ Super Bowl win. But Beckham Jr.’s lengthy injury history predates his short stint in Los Angeles. Excluding his time with two teams in 2021, Beckham has played a full 16 games just once since 2017. Expecting his availability frequency to change at this point in his career is not a bet worth making. Beckham Jr. has missed two of four games to start the 2023 season. While Bateman has only missed one game so far, his hamstring injury could be a lingering issue.

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Lack of quality receivers may impact a different part of Baltimore’s offense

Beyond Beckham Jr., Bateman, and Flowers, Baltimore does not have a receiving group that inspires much hope. Nelson Agholor and Devin Duvernay are not going to strike fear into any NFL secondary. If they do not find a way to actually supplement this group of pass catchers, it could have a domino effect on the rest of the Ravens’ offense. Specifically the running game.

Without a reliable pass catcher, opposing defenses will key in on stopping the Ravens’ rushing attack. This is precisely the problem that Baltimore has been trying to get away from. There is a reason why they changed offensive coordinators and added other targets for Lamar Jackson. Without them, they are right back to where they started, and that is a massive problem.

This is not to say that they need to make a blockbuster deal for a wide receiver. Improving the bottom end of the receiving group is not too much to ask. However, the Ravens should explore any and all options if they are a team that truly believes they are capable of achieving their ultimate goal.