WR Zay Flowers: NFL Draft scouting report

Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers was taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the No. 22 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was the third straight wide receiver to be taken in the first round, coming right after Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TCU’s Quentin Johnston. Flowers gets selected just hours after the bombshell news of Lamar Jackson agreeing to a five-year contract extension with the organization and poses to be a Tyreek Hill-like weapon for the former MVP.

Zay Flowers just wrapped up a productive four-year career at Boston College and now he’s headed to the NFL Draft.

Flowers, a native of Broward County, Florida, got better each year he played in college. He saw his yardage totals per season go from 341 to 892 to 746 to 1077 to cap off his time with the Eagles. He scored a total of 31 touchdowns in his career, 29 of them were receiving. He hauled in 12 TD passes in his final season in 2022.

Zay Flowers: Scouting Report

Flowers is a bit on the smaller side, standing at 5-foot-9, but that makes him a good candidate to be a stellar slot receiver. He’s quick too, with a 4.42 40 at the Combine and he plays even faster than that. His biggest asset is his ability to make people miss once he has the ball in his hands. He’ll drop the ball from time to time, mainly because of his smaller frame making fighting through contact tough, but once he has it in his hands he’ll slip a defender or two and turn nothing into something on a consistent basis. He’s also able to catch deep balls at a very consistent rate and has the ability to make some pretty insanely acrobatic catches as well when coverage is tight.

Mock Draft landing spots

NFL.com has Flowers being selected in the second round by the Carolina Panthers. That’s the 39th overall pick after a projected trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, according to the mock.

Fantasy football implications

Depending on the situation, Flowers could be a good late-round draft pick in fantasy this season. He won’t walk into any of the 32 teams and become a WR1 right off the bat like several other playmakers in this draft class. But his slippery running ability and deep ball prowess make him a real threat to see the field a good amount and score some serious fantasy points for managers in his rookie season.

If he joins the Panthers, he would join Bryce Young or CJ Stroud in the rookie class there and would work into a rotation alongside Adam Thielen, DJ Chark, and Terrace Marshall Jr. If he is one of the first receivers to go, he could make a fast impact with the Panthers as a first-year WR. If he stays healthy, his speed and ability to separate will quickly make up for his lack of length.

If it’s a keeper league, it might be a good idea to grab him early since he could turn into a monster after a couple of years in the pros.