Ravens may have finally found elite WR for Lamar Jackson

Ravens’ swings, misses on wide receivers in NFL draft

It’s not that the Ravens haven’t tried — they’ve used three first-round picks on wide receivers since 2019, adding Hollywood Brown, Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers — but the first two have been pretty disappointing. Brown hasn’t been on the team in four seasons and Bateman has done little to prove he can be a No. 1 receiver.

Although Flowers had a bit of a breakout year in 2025 and just got a big contract extension, it did little to help Baltimore, as the Ravens had their worst season of the Jackson era at 8-9 and missed the playoffs. Now, the Ravens have a new coach and a healthy roster, which includes a rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane, looking to help solve the team’s receiving woes.

Rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane flashing stardom in training camp

Baltimore selected the former USC wideout in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft and he’s already flashing superstar potential in training camp. Reporters have raved about the big-body receiver nearly every day, and things were no different Sunday, as Josh Tolentino of The Baltimore Sun made a note of an impressive catch Lane made on one of the team’s best defensive players in Marlon Humphrey. Immediately after beating the veteran defender, the rookie made a diving snag that caught the attention of the crowd.

Flowers is clearly a great talent, but Lane is a much-needed change of pace for the Ravens as a big target with a wide frame that Jackson can just throw the ball up to. He’s mostly been surrounded by deep threats in his career, so it will be interesting to see what the star quarterback can do with his new receiving target.

Jackson has improved tremendously as a passer over the years and Lane should only add to that development. His quarterback rating has been over 100 for three seasons in a row and he has become one of the best passers in the league in terms of touchdown-to-interception ratio.

The most impressive part about the man who used to be likened to a running back becoming one of the best throwers in the NFL is that he’s done it without premier receivers. Lane will surely have some growing pains during his rookie season, but it seems like he’s poised for stardom right away, which would only take Jackson’s game to another level.