Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens finished with the best record in the NFL at 13-4 this past season, but they once again came up short in the playoffs, falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
The defense certainly wasn’t the problem, as the Ravens allowed just 17 points to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense. As a matter of fact, Baltimore didn’t surrender a single point in the second half.
The issue was the Ravens’ offense, as they totaled just 13 points, scoring three over the final two quarters.
While Jackson certainly deserves his fair share of the blame for Baltimore’s consistent playoff failures (let’s stop making excuses for him), it’s also clear as day that he needs another wide receiver.
Since becoming the Ravens’ starting quarterback midway through the 2018 campaign, Jackson has had one 1,000-yard wide out. That was Marquise Brown back in 2021, and that ensuing offseason, Brown requested a trade because he didn’t like the way he was being utilized in Baltimore’s run-heavy scheme.
Now, Zay Flowers registered 858 yards during his rookie year this past season and is a prime candidate to hit the 1,000-yard mark in 2024. But behind him, the Ravens are incredibly thin at the position.
Baltimore tried to implement Odell Beckham Jr. in 2023, but he proved to be a significant disappointment with just 35 catches on the year. He will be playing his football elsewhere next season.
Rashod Bateman? He is rapidly approaching bust territory.
Yes, the Ravens have tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, but Jackson has always had good tight ends throughout his career. He needs legitimate deep threats.
While Baltimore did a good thing in adding running back Derrick Henry in free agency, it still has not addressed its perennial problem at wide receiver, and it’s not like it doesn’t have the money for it.
Currently, the Ravens have over $14 million in cap room. That is surely enough to sign a veteran receiver like Mike Williams or Tyler Boyd, but Baltimore doesn’t seem to be making a serious push for either player.
The question is, what are the Ravens waiting for?
Jackson is in the prime of his career, and given his checkered injury history and his rather dangerous style of play that results in him taking a lot of hits, we don’t know how many great years he has left.
It feels like Baltimore is dragging its feet, and it’s hard to understand why. It has to be frustrating for Jackson, who has yet to have a good group of receivers to throw to.
The Ravens have everything else. They have the quarterback. They have the offensive line. They now have the running back. They have the defense. They’re well-coached.
The only hole you can point to is at wide out, and for some reason, Baltimore refuses to aptly address the problem year after year.
Now, to be fair, the Ravens did try with Beckham last offseason, and they did draft Flowers in the first round. But the Beckham experiment failed, and Flowers has no help behind him heading into 2024 as a result.
Is Baltimore going to continue sitting on its hands? Or will it make a move to rectify the matter?
There is a reason the Ravens keep losing in the playoffs every winter. Maybe Lamar Jackson really is the problem, or maybe it’s just laziness on the part of Baltimore’s front office.
Right now, we will give the reigning MVP the benefit of the doubt and lean toward the latter.
It’s time for the Ravens to finally bite the bullet and add a legitimate wide receiver.
More must-reads: