Despite the glaring deficiencies in Lamar Jackson’s passing game, he and second year tight end Mark Andrews have built upon the chemistry they flashed last season. Despite rookie tight ends rarely producing, Andrews flashed big play ability after Jackson took over from Joe Flacco. With Greg Roman’s new run-heavy offensive scheme, target volume might be a little scarce. Still, Roman coached monster years out of Vernon Davis, and Andrews might not need a large target share to flash his talent.
Andrews has shined early and often in Ravens training camp. The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec recently wrote that Andrews, after looking lost as a rookie in camp last year, has been “the Ravens most dangerous and productive offensive player” in 2019. This builds upon Andrews’ strong OTAs, where he looked “bigger, stronger and faster than he did last season” while making “a ton of plays with confidence and swagger.” Based on this strong offseason, Zrebiec now feels Andrews is “well on his way to becoming one of the best young tight ends in the league.”
He’s not alone. The Baltimore Ravens website gushed about Andrews’ offseason, noting “If offseason practices are any indication, he could be a featured receiving target as a big body over the middle or even split out wide.”
Andrews absolutely radiates big play ability. Last season he averaged 16.2 yards per reception, including a 74 yard catch where he just blew by his defender. Given the focus on the running game, the seams and the middle should be wide open for Andrews to feast on opposing linebackers and safeties.
For a position with a clear top three or four and little certainty, snagging a late-round tight end that’s on the upswing offers massive league winning upside. The Wolf has finally hopped aboard the Hype Train, as Andrews is raising Andrews to his TE15 (+1 vs the ECR).
