The Baltimore Ravens have questions surrounding their offense heading into the 2025 season, and there are more of them than most people want to admit. 

From Derrick Henry’s workload sustainability to the uncertainty at wide receiver beyond the top option, this group has real concerns. But the player who ties it all together might be the one getting the least attention: wide receiver Zay Flowers.

Flowers continues to be the most underrated part of this Baltimore offense. People can look at his 4-year, $140 million contract and question whether the Ravens overpaid. The numbers say otherwise. Flowers was top 10 in receiving yards last season, top 10 in yards after the catch, top 10 in yards per route run, and top 10 in team target share, hovering close to 30%. 

He is a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL, top 10 in a lot of different metrics across the board.

What makes Flowers so dangerous

Flowers is not the type of receiver who wins downfield consistently. 

He operates more in the intermediate range in terms of where he catches the ball on the field. What separates him is what he does with the ball in his hands. His ability after the catch is special, and it showed up throughout 2024 in a run-heavy offense that didn’t prioritize the passing game the way other teams do.

Now Baltimore brings in offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who learned under Ben Johnson in Chicago. Johnson’s offense featured receivers with a similar skill set to Flowers, players like Amon-Ra St. Brown who thrive across the middle of the field. 

If Doyle implements that same philosophy, Flowers could see an even better version of himself this season. If he was putting up top-10 numbers in a run-first offense, what does he do in a scheme that prioritizes a wide receiver of his skill set? 

The ceiling could be higher than what we saw a year ago.

The rest of the Ravens’ weapons carry real uncertainty

Beyond Flowers, there are legitimate questions about who quarterback Lamar Jackson can rely on. 

Rashod Bateman remains up in the air as a consistent contributor. Whether Elijah Sarratt or Ja’Kobi Lane can become reliable secondary options is far from certain. 

And then there is tight end Mark Andrews, who received a new deal last season in one of the stranger moves of the year. Andrews is going to remain a fixture of this team, but his production has trended in the wrong direction.

The bigger question looming over everything is what happens if Derrick Henry takes a step back. What does that even look like? Is it a total fall off the cliff to 500 yards, where he can only grind out 2 yards a carry? Or is it something more moderate, closer to 800 yards? 

Those are two very different conversations for a team that lives and dies with its rushing attack and dual-threat quarterback.

Living and dying with Lamar Jackson

That is the fundamental reality of the 2025 Ravens. You live and die with Lamar Jackson. If Jackson stays healthy, Baltimore has a good chance of making the playoffs and the potential to make a run. That is true even if some of the pieces around him regress. 

But it also means Flowers has to be the go-to target, and Jackson has to lean on him heavily with the supporting cast carrying so many question marks.

Because of all the uncertainty elsewhere, Flowers almost has to have his best season. Baltimore paid him as their guy, and he needs to play like their guy. 

All the pieces line up for it: a new offensive coordinator who values his skill set, a target share that could climb even higher, and a lack of proven alternatives around him. In a PPR fantasy format, he is worth a round three selection without hesitation, but he needs to be even more valuable on the field. 

His impact can go way beyond raw numbers. 

The Ravens offense may have more questions than people realize. But the answer to a lot of them might be Zay Flowers taking the next step.