There’s no dismissing it . . . The Baltimore Ravens’ offense has struggled mightily through the first six weeks of the 2020 season. While there are a ton of reasons for those struggles, some of the focus has been on Baltimore’s wide receivers not getting the job done. One such player, second-year wide receiver Miles Boykin, was heavily hyped this offseason but has disappointed.
Boykin was seemingly primed for a big year in the Ravens’ offense. Not only was reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson returning for his third season, but Seth Roberts had also left in free agency which was expected to push Boykin into the starting lineup. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds with a 4.42-second 40-yard dash, Boykin had everything going in his favor for a big season. However, after six games, Boykin has failed to produce and seen his playing time steadily decline as a result. Targeted 19 times, Boykin has caught 11 passes for 122 yards and no touchdowns. The end result was Boykin saw below 50% of the offensive snaps in Week 6 for the first time this season.
On the field, Boykin has seemingly been so close to getting it done, yet so far away. Far too often this season, Boykin either isn’t expecting a pass to be thrown quite so early or he seemingly runs the wrong route, seeing the ball fall incomplete despite being open. According to wide receiver coach David Culley, some of Boykin’s failings stem from miscommunication issues with Jackson.
“First of all, when we’re in the huddle a couple of those happened when we were kind of in a two-minute or hurry-up situation, and Miles heard one thing and Lamar said another thing,” Culley said Tuesday. “He didn’t understand exactly what Lamar had said, because he was trying to get out.”
The Ravens have a chance to help clear up that issue during their bye this week. When asked about the miscommunications with Boykin, Jackson said they’ll spend some extra time working on their chemistry.
“It starts in practice. Just get together, work outside of that after practice, see what he likes, see what he doesn’t like – stuff like that – just to make his job a lot easier, and mine as well,” Jackson said Tuesday.
But it hasn’t just been bad hearing and a lack of chemistry with Jackson that has held Boykin back. As tends to happen with young wide receivers that have early struggles, they can get into their own head and become hyper-focused, which only makes their issues worse.
“What you have seen happen right now is that there have been some times when he puts a little bit of pressure on himself to want to really, really always do everything right,” Culley continued. “He’s really working on this. It’s just going out and reacting to what things happen and not worrying about being right or being wrong about things.”
Baltimore desperately needs Boykin and the other wide receivers to step up. Jackson has become far too reliant on wide receiver Marquise Brown and tight end Mark Andrews, to the point that defenses are publicly calling it out and game-planning against it. For the Ravens’ passing offense to reach the level we saw last season, getting Boykin’s confidence up and improving his chemistry with Jackson is imperative.
We’ll see how Baltimore looks in Week 8 against division rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. But if the Ravens’ offense is going to get working again, look for Boykin to be at the forefront.
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