After a couple of years in the low-end WR2 range, Baltimore Ravens standout Zay Flowers showed signs of a legitimate third-year breakout to begin his 2025 campaign. With a couple of huge outings in fantasy football, players who rostered the young talent were rewarded with difference-making production to begin the season. Now heading into Week 5, Flowers has slowed down a little bit and his quarterback, Lamar Jackson, now nurses a hamstring issue that knocked him out of the Ravens’ previous game.
With the slight downtick in production and his MVP-level signal-caller hurt, should fantasy football managers worry about Zay Flowers moving forward?
Analysis
Well, a nightmare 1-3 start to the season for Baltimore hasn’t yet prevented Zay Flowers’ name from popping up on the fantasy radar. The third-year wide receiver averages a career-best 15.2 FPPG in PPR formats, over two more points than his previous career-high of 12.9 FPPG. He exploded for 28.1 PPR points in Week 1 with a career-best 143 yards and a touchdown, then produced 14.9 and 14.4 PPR points in Week 2 and Week 4. While Week 3’s line of 3.3 PPR points certainly disappointed managers with Flowers in their lineups, the other results have looked very encouraging to say the least.
With nearly 1/4 of the fantasy regular season under his belt, the 25-year-old slots in as the PPR WR14, borderline WR1 production. The Ravens clearly value Flowers as the top target in the passing game — he’s seen 30 targets on the campaign, 10th-most of any wideout. He also has seven targets in three of four contests. His 23 receptions also rank fourth, while his 305 receiving yards fall fifth thus far. The raw stats are encouraging, as is a 76.1 PFF receiving grade which comes in at eighth among 66 qualifying players at the position. All of these signs point toward real growth for Flowers as he takes him game up a notch here from an already productive 2024 which saw him beat zone coverage at an 89th-percentile grade. Now, he’s playing well against man coverage and emerging as a real first option for Jackson.
A lack of touchdowns remain the one limiting factor in Flowers’ game over the last couple of fantasy football seasons. Through four weeks, that hasn’t yet changed — he only accessed the end zone one time back in the opening game. Real elite ceiling games come with house calls, so with that in mind, it’s a bit of a tough break to see him still lacking that touchdown threat. However, the elite target share of 29.52% actually ranks fifth among all wide receivers and 144 yards after the catch come in at third among the position group. With the volume of opportunities he receives and ability to create for himself with the ball in his hands, there’s a ton to like about Flowers’ profile. That rings especially true with an MVP-level quarterback and a defense which ranks among the league’s worst units, increasing the potential for high-scoring games with pass-happy scripts.
The presence of Jackson at quarterback certainly elevates the weapons around him, and losing him for the immediate future would hurt the fantasy outlook for Ravens pass catchers. The hamstring issue does raise some concern, but it doesn’t sound like a long-term problem, and Flowers should see plenty of looks even with Cooper Rush under center. There’s reason to raise an eyebrow, but very little cause to legitimately worry about the young wideout in fantasy football. Until proven otherwise, Flowers is in the midst of a breakout campaign and remains a must-start WR2 in all fantasy football formats.
