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The Baltimore Ravens reached a deal to trade tight end Hayden Hurst to the Atlanta Falcons. In exchange for Hurst and a fourth-round pick, Baltimore will get a second- and a fifth-round pick.
The deal makes some sense for both the Ravens and Falcons. Baltimore gets an additional second-round pick in a 2020 NFL Draft that is very deep at some positions of need. Atlanta replaces their top tight end, who looks set to head to the Cleveland Browns this offseason. But what does it ultimately mean for the Ravens’ depth chart at tight end?
That’s a little more complicated, but let’s take a look at where things stand as of when the trade becomes official at the start of the league year.
Baltimore Ravens TE depth chart:
| No. 1 | Mark Andrews |
| No. 2 | Nick Boyle |
| No. 3 | Charles Scarff |
There should be little question Andrews is at the top of this list. He was Baltimore’s best receiving option last season, catching 64 passes for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns — all highs for the Ravens in 2019. As he enters his third season in the NFL, Andrews is expected to continue developing and could be even better next year.
Behind Andrews is Boyle, one of the league’s best blocking tight ends. But don’t be fooled into thinking Boyle is nothing more than a glorified extra tackle. His 31 receptions last season were one more than Hurst had and his 321 receiving yards were 28 yards behind Hurst’s production. When given a chance in the receiving game, Boyle has shown he’s an underrated option.
Behind Boyle is Scarff, who signed a futures contract this offseason after sitting on the practice squad last season.
Hurst played 41% of the offense’s snaps, both as a blocker and receiving option. The Ravens will need to find a way to fill Hurst’s production on both fronts and could do so in a number of ways.
The best option would simply be to increase the playing time for Andrews, who only played in 41% of the offensive snaps last season. He could easily be on track for more playing time next season, especially if he can stay healthy. However, Andrews isn’t exactly a great blocker and with Boyle already at a whopping 70% of the offensive snaps last season, Baltimore would be in a bit of a bind there if the season started right now. They’d either have to ask him to play even more, bring in an offensive lineman on some plays as an extra blocker or hand Scarff a spot on the 53-man roster.
Regardless of what happens, the Ravens are going to need to find some more depth. Tight end is perhaps one of the most important offensive positions on Baltimore’s roster given they affect the rushing and passing attacks so much. If either Boyle or Andrews was to miss extended time, it would seriously hurt the Ravens’ offense in one way or another. Luckily, Baltimore doesn’t have to find a tight end that can do both jobs really well, which would prove tricky this offseason with both free agency and the 2020 NFL Draft being thin at the position.
I’d look for the Ravens to be flexible in both the draft and free agency to find that depth, which would mean not having to drop a lot of money or early-round picks. If they can find a solid blocking tight end, they could use Boyle in more of a dual role. If they find a better receiving tight end, they could push Boyle into being more of a blocker as his primary role.
It’s going to be tough to really replace Hurst considering how valuable a solid blocking and receiving tight end can be. But it’s not the end of the world either considering the varied depth Baltimore has here. Considering what they got in return and what that could mean for the roster overall, losing a little of their depth at tight end seems like a good deal.