Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers. Brent Skeen-USA TODAY Sports

NFL futures: The case for Zay Flowers winning Offensive Rookie of the Year

By Griffin Carroll | Last updated 8/16/23

If you search Zay Flowers' name on Twitter, you're going to see the hype train growing and growing. We've been bullish on Flowers and his projected role in the Baltimore offense since he was drafted, and if you want a high-value flyer on the Offensive Rookie of the Year, this is the spot to be.

Zay Flowers: +3000 to win OROY (DraftKings)

Flowers was drafted 22nd overall by the Ravens, is known as a shifty slot receiver who makes people miss when the ball is in his hands. He fills out what is very strong group of pass-catchers with Mark Andrews, Odell Beckham Jr. and Rashod Bateman.

As such, volume might be the challenge here, but he should certainly have plenty of one-on-one matchups to exploit. Flowers also has been used before in a hybrid role, carrying the football, and if that type of workload remains for the Ravens, he should be putting up pretty respectable numbers in 2023.

We'd need a massive year out of Flowers for him to win this award, so a bet here is on the hype we've been seeing out of Baltimore camp.

A sampling:

This ROUTE by Zay Flowers

Flowers has reportedly been “cooking” Commanders DB’s in their first joint practice together.

Marlon Humphrey (Ravens CB) said recently that one of the toughest things about football is “trying to guard” Flowers.

Flowers said in a recent interview… pic.twitter.com/vjsqT7gHq6
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) August 15, 2023

Zay Flowers
"The hype train for the rookie first-round pick has gotten a bit out of control. Still, it’s hard to watch Flowers torch cornerbacks in one-on-ones with his quickness and suddenness and get targeted regularly in full-team sessions and not conclude that he’ll have a… https://t.co/gQSNDCkxLf
— 32BeatWriters (@32BeatWriters) August 8, 2023

Zay Flowers is gonna be special, nothing can convince me otherwise. #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/mP5aHYsXgw
— Nic Mason (@British_Raven19) August 15, 2023

Are we a year or two early on Flowers? Maybe. However, he's clearly going to be an issue for NFL defenses, and I for one am high on Baltimore's outlook this season. It's not inconceivable to suggest that Odell Beckham Jr. may miss some time, and Rashod Bateman has missed 15 games in his first two seasons.

Not that we root for injuries around here, but a path for a larger role is easy to visualize for Flowers. Lamar Jackson is healthy and his contract situation is behind him. He's ready for a big year, and that could be the motor we need to power Flowers cashing a +3000 ticket on OROY.

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