National media outlet says one of Bengals' top rivals drafted a bust in the first round
The Cincinnati Bengals are the kings of the AFC North until someone proves otherwise. Cincinnati has won two straight division titles and there's no reason to think that 2023 will be any different. If anything, it feels like the gap is widening between the Bengals and the rest of the division. Not only do the […]
The Cincinnati Bengals are the kings of the AFC North until someone proves otherwise.
Cincinnati has won two straight division titles and there's no reason to think that 2023 will be any different.
If anything, it feels like the gap is widening between the Bengals and the rest of the division.
Not only do the Bengals continue to improve their roster — signing Orlando Brown Jr to play left tackle was a big move by Cincy this offseason — but the other teams in the division seem to be doing the opposite.
The Cleveland Browns' Deshaun Watson experiment has yet to pay off. The Pittsburgh Steelers look improved, but they're not scaring anyone. And the Baltimore Ravens may have just wasted their first-round draft pick in 2023.
Sports Illustrated recently named five AFC draft picks that they think will be busts. And they included the Ravens' selection of Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers (No. 22 overall pick) as one of their choices.
From SI.com: Flowers was the third receiver taken off the board in April's draft, but there are reasons to wonder how this plays out. The Ravens hadn't taken a pair of first-round receivers since 2019 before Flowers, including Rashod Bateman and Hollywood Brown. Brown didn't get through his rookie deal before being dealt to the Cardinals, while Bateman has played in a grand total of 18 games in two seasons, notching 800 yards. In this year's offense, Flowers could well be the third option with veteran Odell Beckham Jr. opposite him and tight end Mark Andrews working the middle. While Baltimore changed offensive coordinators from Greg Roman to Todd Monken and could become more pass-heavy, will it throw the ball enough for Flowers to be seriously involved? Coach John Harbaugh is excellent, but there have been multiple misses on receivers with the Ravens, partially because the usage isn't as much as with other teams.
The Ravens have struggled to find a go-to wide receiver at times in recent years. And it's hard to see them getting past the Bengals — who have a pair of elite wide receivers in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins — without a couple of top options at wide receiver.
If Flowers is a bust, not only will it mean the Ravens still don't have the wide receivers they need to beat Cincinnati, but it'll also mean they completely wasted a first-round pick and missed out on an important impact player.
And with the Ravens trying to chase down the Bengals, they can't afford to be missing on first-round picks.
