The Baltimore Ravens are at a do-or-die juncture in their franchise. Their star quarterback who has never achieved anything (won and MVP) is about to reach over-the-hill status (he is 24). It’s really a shame that the window already closed for the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson. That is if you ask twitter. In reality, the Ravens are one of the young and upcoming teams in the NFL, and have a whole world of possibilities ahead of them.
In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens added to their anemic pass-catching weaponry by giving Lamar Jackson two more wide receivers to pass to. While one of these guys is very good, the other is virtually indistinguishable from the flotsam and jetsam they had at the position in the past. What can we expect from the Baltimore Ravens’ 2021 fantasy football-eligible players in their rookie years?
The Baltimore Ravens also took a fullback, who is technically fantasy football-eligible, but I won’t insult your intelligence by implying he has any fantasy football value.
FULL BALTIMORE RAVENS DRAFT RESULTS
| Rd | Pick | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1 | 27 | Rashod Bateman | WR | Minnesota |
| 1 | 31 | Odafe Oweh | DE | Penn State |
| 3 | 94 | Ben Cleveland | OG | Georgia |
| 3 | 104 | Brandon Stephens | CB | SMU |
| 4 | 131 | Tylan Wallace | WR | Oklahoma State |
| 5 | 160 | Shaun Wade | CB | Ohio State |
| 5 | 171 | Daelin Hayes | DE | Notre Dame |
| 5 | 184 | Ben Mason | FB | Michigan |
Round 1, Pick 27: Rashod Bateman, Wide Receiver, Minnesota (6’2” 210 pounds)
Depth Chart:
WR1: Marquise Brown
WR2: Rashod Bateman
WR3: Sammy Watkins
WR4: Miles Boykin
WR5: Devin Duvernay
WR6: Tylan Wallace
TALENT
Rashod Bateman was my fourth-favorite wide receiver in this class, and he was just a smidge under the big-three who went at the top of the draft (Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith). That isn’t to say that Bateman is bad, it’s just that he doesn’t have any significant feature that jumps off the page for me to plant my flag on him. He can get a little sloppy with his routes and has focus drops, but that’s picking nits. Bateman has great hands, finds his spots in zones, and has enough speed to make teams wish they had covered that slant route better.
There’s a big bugaboo with Bateman: COVID-19. He opted out of most of 2020 (played five games) and then contracted the virus. Bateman played listed at 210 pounds, but weighed in at 190. He blames that on COVID, but he also measured in at 6’0” after Minnesota listed him at 6’2”. It’s definitely a problem, but one I won’t beat him up over. After all, 6’0” 190 pounds is a perfectly good NFL wide receiver size, and he played well enough that we believed his 6’2” 210 pounds story during college.
If I had to nitpick another talent, it’s that Bateman isn’t super technical at the catch point and after the catch and mostly relies on his athleticism to get him away from other players on the field. He’s a 50/50 ball master, and his most common NFL comparison is Keenan Allen. Bateman is one of my favorite receivers in this class.
2021 OPPORTUNITY
This is where things get sticky for Rashod Bateman’s 2021 fantasy football outlook with the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens don’t exactly have a robust passing game, and when they do pass, it usually goes to Mark Andrew. The Ravens threw the ball the fewest times to wide receivers in each of the last two seasons, and their 402 combined wide receiver targets are fewer than the Steelers and the Bills… solely in 2020. That’s where things fall apart for me. I can’t figure out a path where I want to have Rashod Bateman on my 2021 fantasy football redraft teams as anything but a dart throw.
We said a lot of the same things about A.J. Brown when he went to Tennessee, and look at him now. According to Pro Football Focus, Bateman ranks third in explosive plays since 2019. That alone gets him a dart throw status, but I don’t see him being a priority add in your standard 12-team, 15-wide receiver redraft league in his rookie year.
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
This one could go one of three ways: 2021 Justin Jefferson (strong all year), 2019 A.J. Brown (starts slow and finishes strong) or 2019 Andy Isabella (never starts). As it stands right now, Bateman is the #3 passing game threat on a team that does not really throw the football. His 50/50 balls are sublime and will likely bail Lamar Jackson out of more than a couple of holes. Unfortunately, the target volume alone finds me scratching my head when determining his value.
TALENT
2021 OPPORTUNITY
2021 OUTLOOK
Round 4, Pick 131: Tylan Wallace, Wide Receiver, Oklahoma State (5’11” 193 pounds)
Depth Chart:
WR1: Marquise Brown
WR2: Rashod Bateman
WR3: Sammy Watkins
WR4: Miles Boykin
WR5: Devin Duvernay
WR6: Tylan Wallace
TALENT
Every once in a while, I get a little confused when I am way off of the consensus on a player. That seems to be Tylan Wallace, but I think I get why. Right now, I am not all that impressed with Tylan Wallace on a play-to-play basis, but he flashes some great traits. Wallace is quick off the line but gets shoved off his routes a lot, and sometimes punted on hand fighting entirely, just trying to push around his defender and upfield. His contested catch and hands lead to some top-notch verticality (and actually catching those passes). He’s a physical dude who is tough, but not very fast. He lacks deep burst and isn’t overwhelmingly strong, but those 50/50 balls are all his. Overall, he reminds me of a more vertical (not downfield, into the air) Michael Gallup.
2021 OPPORTUNITY
Take everything I said about Rashod Bateman, and then run it down, down, down, down the depth chart. Tylan Wallace is in Baltimore to help Lamar Jackson, not to do anything significant for fantasy football. His rookie year likely sees Wallace top out as a 50/50 specialist who will pop with a random three-touchdown game here or there, but never has consistent production. Think about how Mike Williams always tantalizes us with his 50/50 ball prowess, but can’t string together production. Wallace’s rookie year likely ends up as a cheapo version of that archetype.
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
It’s bad; really bad. Unless things go horribly out of control, Wallace tops out as the Ravens’ WR3. The Ravens’ WR3 averaged just over two targets per game the last couple of seasons. So, if the Ravens rearrange their offense, and Tylan Wallace digs his way out of the depth chart, and Lamar Jackson takes a step forward, then I like Tylan Wallace. Otherwise, I’ll make like the Ravens won’t, and pass on this wide receiver.
TALENT
2021 OPPORTUNITY
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
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