All of us who watched Zay Flowers fight through a taped ankle on Monday Night Football—all the while watching Lamar Jackson float gorgeous rainbows to Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman—wondered. Of course we did. How could we not? Just how badly is that ankle going to swell up once Zay sits down in the locker room and isn’t constantly moving it?
We may not have a clear answer, but what we have is clear enough: reports are in from Thursday’s practice, and Zay Flowers still has yet to practice. Obviously, a limited session tomorrow would suggest his likely-Questionable game designation is backed by a bit more optimism.
In the meanwhile, however, Flowers managers (like myself; I roster him in literally 100% of my leagues) are likely curious if Rashod Bateman is worth a start. Another fine question: just how much might Mark Andrews’s breakout game affect Flowers’s potential Week 8 production, should he play?
Analysis
Let’s begin here: it feels supremely unwise, even if the Ravens do designate Zay Flowers as active for Sunday’s game against the Browns, for fantasy managers to roll him out there. We saw just how much he was bothered by it (the “Lamar Jackson fumble”) as he tried to gut the ailment out Monday night against the Bucs. We saw, too, just how much the Ravens offense didn’t need him to operate at a high level.
What you lose in Flowers’s ability to create separation and be efficient at the catchpoint as the X receiver is, strangely…nothing. At least, it’s not a net loss when you replace him with Rashod Bateman.
Check out the below graph that visualizes how well WRs have separated on all routes run and their grade at the catchpoint, created by X user @throwthedamball. Notice how close Rashod Bateman is to Terry McLaurin and the rest of the elite route-runners like Chris Olave, Mike Evans, and Nico Collins.
Zay Flowers is right in there as well, but one wonders if his raw separation grades are inflated by the bubble screens and backfield looks Flowers gets.
Bateman has, no doubt, been an under-the-radar-impressive deep threat for the Ravens this season. He will fill in for Flowers just fine on Sunday.
As for Andrews, I have a feeling defenses are going to start keying in on him again. Andrews still ranks among the league-average in speed at point-of-target for the tight end position (11.26 mph), so it’s not as if he’s relegated to Travis Kelce zone-finding. He’s out there running legitimate routes. So dispel any notion—like I had earlier this season—that he might have lost a step. He is gaining it back.
Bottom Line
I have a feeling that the tight end that might see the most value bump with Flowers out is Isaiah Likely, however, what with Lamar Jackson’s growing rapport with him in the short-to-intermediate game. I’d also expect Justice Hill to see five-plus targets.
Unless you found a better option than Andrews during his desolate weeks, roll him out there in season-long and DFS this week. Bateman is an intriguing DFS play at his current price tag, but don’t be surprised if the Ravens are all-too-happy to play a slow, methodical, low-scoring game in which the only people who post serviceable fantasy days are Lamar and King Henry.
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