Eagles Zach Ertz lands in the top-3 ahead of Rob Gronkowski in a ranking of TE’s by Execs, players, coaches

Philadelphia Eagles star Zach Ertz is No. 3 in a ranking the NFL’s best tight ends in 2020

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The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the best tight end duos in the NFL, and for a time, they had the guy recognized as the best in Zach Ertz.

Ertz is a supreme talent, but George Kittles and Travis Kelce appear to be on another level when it comes to their run after the catch prowess. Ertz is still a ‘made man’ amongst his peers and the respect was shown during a recent ranking of NFL tight ends by ESPN.com and several league executives, players, and coaches.

Kittles and Kelce landed the top spot, but Ertz got the not over Rob Gronkowski at No. 3.

“There’s a drop-off after Kittle and Kelce, but this guy is a championship-level player,” one AFC exec said. “He smokes us almost every time we play them. He doesn’t beat you deep, but he doesn’t need to because he’s so good with the intermediate stuff. I’d take him above almost everybody.”

Ertz has the most targets in the NFL over the past two seasons and his demise has been greatly exaggerated despite some suggesting the Eagles move on.

Ertz running mate, Dallas Goedert landed on the list as a player to watch, with some suggesting that he’s a better option at times.

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Ravens’ offense succeeding without breaking the bank

With much of their starting lineup still on rookie contracts, the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive success isn’t costing them very much.

The Baltimore Ravens’ offense led the NFL in scoring last season, while also breaking a 41-year old record for single-season rushing yards. Add that to the laundry list of personal achievements and records for MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and it displays just how impressive Baltimore’s offense was in 2019. But what’s even more impressive is the value the Ravens are getting from their offensive playmakers.

Despite all their accomplishments, Baltimore’s starting lineup of skill players is set to earn just $19.28 million against the salary cap this season.

Player 2020 cap hit
QB Lamar Jackson $2.58 million
RB Mark Ingram $5.33 million
WR Marquise Brown $2.68 million
WR Miles Boykin $889,232
TE Mark Andrews $959,165
TE Nick Boyle $6.83 million
Total $19.28 million

Through all their records, the Ravens only spent $12.5 million on the same group last season.

Player 2019 cap hit
QB Lamar Jackson $2.15 million
RB Mark Ingram $3.33 million
WR Marquise Brown $2.14 million
WR Miles Boykin $709,232
TE Mark Andrews $833,665
TE Nick Boyle $3.33 million
Total $12.5 million

Of course, this tends to happen when teams draft successfully. Of the six skill players on this list, four are still on their rookie contracts, having been drafted over the last three years. But Baltimore has done well to find value players through the free-agent process as well. Ingram’s $3.33 million cap hit last season was an absolute steal. Boyle might not be massively productive on the stat sheet but his blocking is paramount to the Ravens’ successes and he barely cost Baltimore much more than their rookies last season. With an offensive line that is also made up of a bunch of players still on their rookie contracts, the Ravens’ starting offense is finding high-level success without breaking the bank.

That value is important because it’s allowing Baltimore to spend nearly double on their defense. The Ravens are spending just $64.54 million of their 2020 salary cap on offense while dropping $120.48 million on defense.

Though Baltimore will have to pay some big-name players in the coming years, starting with left tackle Ronnie Stanley, the salary cap is expected to explode next year thanks to the new CBA. That should allow the Ravens to retain many of their biggest playmakers while potentially having enough money to add some other talent along the way.

Of course, if Baltimore can continue to draft so well, they might not need free agency to keep their offense humming.

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Lamar Jackson considered among best deep-ball throwers in NFL

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson can do it all apparently. Not only can he make plays with his legs but he’s one of the best deep passers too.

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When most people think of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, they probably don’t think of deep passes. Yet, it’s something more really should.

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar has been taking a deep dive through the NFL to rank the best players at specific tasks. While we already know Jackson is the best mobile quarterback in the league, Farrar put him right in the middle of his list of the best deep-ball passers.

“Including the postseason, he completed 27 of 68 deep passes for 829 yards, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 113.3, fifth-best in the league among quarterbacks who took at least 50% of their snaps.”

Those numbers are somewhat shocking to read. It felt like Jackson didn’t throw downfield very often at all last season, outside of a few games where he kept trying to connect with wide receiver Marquise Brown on deep balls. Yet, 68 passes would be 17% of all of Jackson’s passing attempts last season, while also accounting for 26.5% of his total passing yards and a third of his touchdown passes from 2019.

Farrar also pointed out that Jackson was pretty spot on in Baltimore’s playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans, connecting on 5-of-13 deep passes for 135 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. For a game that saw the Ravens bludgeoned for 60 minutes, that type of success downfield is impressive.

If Jackson is truly one of the best deep-ball quarterbacks in the league, 2020 could be his season to further break out as a passer.

Marquise Brown is finally healthy, looking faster and thicker than he was last year. Miles Boykin has a rare combination of speed and size, which has him primed for a breakout season. Rookie Devin Duvernay is also ridiculously fast and will likely see some targets on deep balls. And we certainly can’t forget Mark Andrews, who was Jackson’s favorite target last year and cemented himself as one of the best tight ends in the NFL in the process.

Regardless of your feelings when the Ravens selected Jackson in the 2018 NFL Draft, he’s proven himself to be deadly to defenses in so many ways. As he continues to develop and mature as a quarterback, it seems like the sky is the limit for Jackson and Baltimore.

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Despite additions, PFF thinks Ravens’ WR corps is among NFL’s worst

Though they led the league in touchdown passes last season, the Baltimore Ravens aren’t seeing much love for their wide receivers in 2020.

The Baltimore Ravens have come a long way over the last three years at wide receiver. After failed draft experiments and short-term success in free agency, Baltimore completely gutted their wide receiver corps and began building one from scratch. Even though things are going well and this is arguably the best unit the Ravens have had over the last five years, it still isn’t great compared to the rest of the league, according to Pro Football Focus, who ranked Baltimore as the eighth-worst in the NFL.

That’s a bit of a shock considering Marquise Brown performed well last season and is finally healthy as he enters his second season. If his offseason workouts are anything to go by, Brown should cement himself as a true No. 1 receiver in 2020. Though, to their credit, PFF agrees with the idea.

However, they critique the group behind Brown, saying the Ravens don’t have a No. 2 receiver figured out yet. While that’s true, Baltimore also hasn’t relied on their wide receivers to fill specific spots like many other teams, instead picking and choosing which player will get highlighted based on their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. Though that inconsistent production isn’t great for fantasy football owners, it worked well enough for the Ravens given their league-leading touchdown passes last season.

Still, it’s a group that might be getting underrated here, even individually. Miles Boykin is primed for a breakout year of his own with the Ravens seemingly having enough confidence in him to man the outside possession role. Willie Snead and Devin Duvernay have proven to be playmakers from the slot, with Duvernay having breakaway speed with the ball in his hands. If PFF were to factor in tight end Mark Andrews, it’s an even more effective and explosive unit, even if there’s no designated second-best receiver.

Baltimore’s wide receiver depth chart is far from perfect and there’s more hope than actual production from the unit. However, it’s a unit that is on the cusp of something special when paired with MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. Though I can understand why they’re ranked so poorly, it’s also the perfect recipe for fans to be pleasantly surprised when they excel in their individual roles this season.

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Devin Duvernay has his sights on emulating some Ravens greats

Meet one of the newest Baltimore Ravens, wide receiver Devin Duvernay

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After being taken in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, wide receiver Devin Duvernay was quick to establish what he will bring to the organization.

“I bring versatility, toughness, physicality, being able to not just go deep but go short, take it the distance, be involved in the screen game and with blocking,” Duvernay said at his introductory press conference. “I’ll kind of be an all-around player. I’m super excited.”

Duvernay thought he and the Ravens would be a “great fit” during the pre-draft process. He was thrilled to be compared to some past Ravens greats like Anquan Boldin and Derek Mason, but especially Steve Smith.

“Those are some great players, especially Steve Smith Sr,” Duvernay continued. “I grew up watching him and loved his game. He was kind of somebody I loved watching and wanted to be like – playing with that chip on my shoulder. It means a lot to get a comparison like that. I just have to keep working, continue to get better, and maybe I can be like them one day.”

If Duvernay wants to be considered one of Baltimore’s great wide receivers, it wouldn’t take much to make the top of the list. The Ravens have struggled to draft and develop receivers over the years. Torrey Smith has been their best homegrown talent, putting up 3,591 receiving yards and 30 receiving touchdowns over four years before leaving in free agency.

Steve Smith Sr. was with Baltimore for three seasons, though his second year saw him head to injured reserve after seven games due to an Achilles tear. But over 37 games with the Ravens, Smith caught 195 balls for 2,534 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. Despite his limited tenure in Baltimore, Smith is ranked 10th on the Ravens’ franchise receiving yards list, putting up the second-highest receiving yards-per-game average in franchise history.

Baltimore hopes to have ended their wide receiver woes and have some promising players on the roster now in addition to Duvernay. The Ravens’ first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Marquise Brown, had an outstanding rookie campaign even with injuries slowing him down. Miles Boykin, a third-round pick last year, showed flashes throughout the season.

If Duvernay continues to have the drive of Smith, it seems like a matter of time before he becomes one of Baltimore’s top options.

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Ravens players finding ways to work out, deal with uncertainty due to coronavirus

Baltimore Ravens players Chuck Clark and Mark Andrews have turned to makeshift home gyms to work out and prepare for the 2020 NFL season.

While office jobs have turned to meetings over video chat and email chains amid the shelter-in-place restrictions across the United States, Baltimore Ravens players are finding they too have to get creative to get the job done.

In a press conference over Zoom, Ravens safety Chuck Clark and tight end Mark Andrews talked about how they’re passing the time at home and preparing for the NFL season while the rest of the sports world is idled by the coronavirus pandemic. Without the access to gyms and trainers, Clark and Andrews said they’ve turned to working out from home with makeshift setups.

“I think the biggest thing right now for most everybody is finding a space to work out and not being around a trainer or around a bunch of other people that are working out,” Andrews said. “So, just realizing that you kind of have to do it on your own. You have to get back to the basics. I have, basically, a prison workout back in my backyard with a bench and weights, and then I go to the field by myself and run.”

Clark said he’s turned his garage into a workout studio, using bodyweight exercises and a dining room chair to keep in shape.

“On my Facebook profile, on my account the other day, I posted a video and I was just showing different workouts from different people,” Clark said. “Regardless of your expertise at it, different modifications for different people, so I posted that out there and people can go check that out as well.”

https://www.facebook.com/100002890948886/videos/2461450880627919/

 

Offseason workout programs were set to start on April 20 before the league postponed them indefinitely in a memo shared by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. With federal social distancing guidelines in place until April 30, and shelter-in-place orders having been issued in all but five states, it’s unclear whether players and coaches are going to be given an opportunity to work out as a team at all this year.

That’s perhaps the trickiest part of this from everyone’s perspective — the uncertainty of how life will be impacted and when things will get back to normal. It’s heightened anxiety and frustrations for people of all walks of life, and NFL players are no different in that regard. When asked about the uncertainty of the season, that doubt was loud and clear.

“As far as moving forward and playing games, nobody knows what’s going to go on, what’s going to come from this,” Clark said. “I would love to be able to play in a stadium again where fans are in there.”

“Chuck definitely hit that right on the head,” Andrews continued. “No one knows at this point. It’s all to be determined, but those other sports that are dealing with this, it’s super tough. I can’t imagine being in that position. It’s not a normal time – nothing is really normal right now.”

Like the rest of the world, football players are simply trying to get by until normal life returns. When that happens, and what it will look like, is a mystery, but at least the Ravens players are doing what they can to prepare in the meantime.

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10 reasons Ravens fans should be excited about the future

A look at the reasons why spirits should be high in Baltimore and their tradition as one of the best franchises in football will continue.

I know it can be disheartening when a team with one of the best seasons in franchise history –maybe even NFL history if you count all the records broken — suffers an unexpected and somewhat uncharacteristic loss at the hands of a seemingly lesser team. But for the Baltimore Ravens, all is certainly not lost after the 2019 season.

Sure, every season is a proverbial question mark before it eventually takes shape, even for the most successful NFL franchises when you account for all the variables. But the Ravens have a lot to be excited about heading into what is typically an uncertain future.

Let’s take a look at 10 reasons why spirits should be high in Baltimore and their tradition as one of the best franchises in football will continue.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Lamar Jackson

We have to start with the NFL’s most electric quarterback. It’s hard not to be excited about the future with the prospect of Jackson leading the offense in Baltimore for years to come.

In only his second year, Jackson seemingly defied all the odds, all the naysayers, and all the NFL records on his way to an unprecedented season and MVP honor.

Even though he has yet to win a playoff game, what Jackson accomplished this season — passing for over 3,000 yards, rushing for the new league record by a quarterback, and leading the league in touchdown passes — was nothing short of remarkable. His losses in the postseason are only fueling his desire to win and ultimately fulfill his promise of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in Baltimore.

Inside the Stats: Tight Ends

Inside the stats for tight ends

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It is a position where few stand out with fantasy relevance, so overall stats say about all you need to know about a tight end’s value. These are the 12 players with at least 50 catches for 2019 and are in an offensive system that will use the position enough to let them matter. Still, always good to know a bit more about the player talent level if only for the future should they change teams.

Notable Players:

George Kittle – He did not see as much work in the playoffs as the regular season, but he’s clearly one of the most talented players of the position. His only metric that wasn’t among the best was the yards before catch – the one thing he has nothing to do with. His catch percentage (79%), yards after catch (7.1), and broken tackles (8) were all best in the NFL.

Darren Waller – For the second year in a row, the Raiders produced a top fantasy tight end from a player that had never been nearly so productive in the past. Waller posted metrics very similar to Kittle and had no low marks in any category.

Mark Andrews – The Ravens don’t throw a lot and don’t limit themselves to just one tight end, but Andrews led the group with 13.3 yards per catch not unlike a wide receiver would do.

Tyler Higbee – His late-season explosion of 2019 is still hard to wrap a head around. Is he just a late-career Cinderella ready to return to pumpkin status or will he continue his head-scratching, elite performances?  His 78% catch rate was nearly the best in the league and he only dropped two passes.  One to watch to be sure.

Mike Gesicki – The other new face to fantasy tight ends actually fielded the No. 8 highest number of passing targets for the position. That alone makes the third-year former second-round pick on the watch list for 2020. He’s on a trajectory for a breakout season and never dropped a pass last year.

Ravens feature 5 players on PFF’s top-101 players of 2019

The Baltimore Ravens were heavily represented on PFF’s top-101 players of the 2019 season, including two in the top-16.

The Baltimore Ravens had an excellent 2019 season, putting an NFL record 13 players in the Pro Bowl and six players on the All-Pro roster. So with player rankings set to come out this offseason, the Ravens are expected to be featured heavily once again.

Pro Football Focus released their list of the top-101 players of the 2019 season and Baltimore was well represented. The list featured five Ravens players, including two in the top-16.

Ravens on PFF’s top-101 players of 2019:

No. Position Name
7 QB Lamar Jackson
16 T Ronnie Stanley
57 G Marshal Yanda
63 CB Marcus Peters
66 TE Mark Andrews

Though having five players on the list is impressive, the biggest takeaway should be that four of the players are under contract for the next few years and are young. All four actually have room to improve next season, which would be insane for Baltimore given their 14-2 record in 2019 and a far more manageable list of opponents in 2020.

Check out the next pages to see what PFF had to say about each of these players and some analysis on where they may have gotten right or wrong with each one.

Jackson / Stanley / Yanda / Peters / Andrews

Chuck Clark was the Ravens’ unsung hero in 2019

Chuck Clark didn’t win much acclaim for his 2019 deeds but he was a vital part of the Baltimore Ravens defense after Tony Jefferson’s injury

There are a host of big-name players who commanded praise for their role in taking the Ravens to a 14-2 regular-season record in 2019. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is likely to be named the leagues MVP. Tight end Mark Andrews was one of the best in the league at his position as he led the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. The acquisition of cornerback Marcus Peters turned the defense around, leading to Matt Judon enjoying a career season. Safety Earl Thomas looked a lot like his old self during the regular season, too.

But while these players are enjoying their share of the acclaim, what about the players who no one seems to be talking about? The players who turned up, did their jobs very well but without pomp and circumstance? How about safety Chuck Clark?

NFL.com’s Adam Rank identified an “unsung hero” for every team and picked Clark as Baltimore’s quiet savior.

“Quarterback Lamar Jackson is the undisputed star of this team. And even on defense, when your squad brings in Marcus Peters during the season, it’s kind of easy to fly under the radar. Oh, sorry for the bird pun. That was unintentional. But while the move for Peters might have received a lot of credit for the Ravens’ defensive turnaround earlier in the season, Clark taking over for Tony Jefferson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 5, might’ve been the best move for this team.”

It’s hard to argue with what Rank said. Clark received tons of praise from his teammates this season, especially Thomas, for his football intelligence, according to Ravens staff writer Clifton Brown. And he played a pivotal role in Baltimore’s defense, seeing time at both safety and linebacker in the Ravens’ complex scheme. Yet, he only won one Player of the Game awards from us here at Ravens Wire in spite of his solid play every week.

Clark started all 11 games following Jefferson’s injury and registered 57 combined tackles in those games. He also registered a tackle for loss and landed three quarterback hits. Clark was no mug in coverage either, with eight of his nine passes defended coming in these 11 games. Throughout the season, Clark allowed 22-of-35 passes to completed in his coverage but surrendered just 193 yards. That’s an impressively miserly 5.5 yards per target. He also recorded his first career sack against the 49ers in Week 13.

Whether Clark has done enough to prove he is the long-term answer at safety is open to debate. Jefferson is still under contract in 2020, although the general consensus is he’s a possible cap casualty this offseason. The Ravens were also in on the Jamal Adams sweepstakes prior to the trade deadline and may well be interested in renewing that interest. But whatever the future holds, Clark played a vital role in Baltimore’s dominance in 2019, and for that, he should be celebrated.

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