Cover Story: Isaiah Likely Has Gone From Basketball to Baller

Thanks to basketball, deceptive athleticism, and a fiery competitiveness, Isaiah Likely has become a top baller in the Ravens' offense.

By Ryan Mink

Isaiah Likely's college coach, Jamie Chadwell, had an inkling that the tight end he lured from New England to Coastal Carolina might be special.

There was one problem. It seemed like every time Likely rose over his defender like a wave at the top of its crest, a crash followed. He was a big kid with unreal leaping ability, but he couldn't land. And the way he ran was a little funky, too.

"He'd go up and make a catch over the middle and you're like, 'Oh my!' And then he'd land and be hurt for whatever amount of days," Chadwell said. "We laugh about it now because, obviously look at him, he can go up and do almost anything."

No matter how it looks, Likely is a baller. In his third NFL season, he's turned into one of the Ravens' most dangerous weapons and Lamar Jackson's most trusted targets.

When Jackson needed someone to make a play Sunday in Cincinnati after stiff-arming a defender twice and scrambling to the sideline, he tossed a jump ball up to Likely, who was double covered. Likely rose up and came down with it, the second of his two touchdowns to help the Ravens score a wild 41-38 overtime win.

To say Likely is on the cusp of a breakout would be to forget the ridiculous plays he made down the stretch last season stepping in for Mark Andrews. And yet, it still feels like there's so much more Likely can do.

And it all started with an awkward-moving kid from a basketball town.

First Love? Basketball

Looking at his background, basketball was more likely than football (no more puns, I promise).

Likely's uncle played at Providence College. His godfather was a 1,000-point scorer in high school and his grandfather was a 2,000-point scorer. Even though he grew up just outside Boston during Tom Brady's heyday, Likely rooted more for the Celtics than the Patriots.

"Where I'm from, Cambridge, Massachusetts, you gotta play basketball," Likely said. "They're not really known for football. I fell in love with basketball early."

Likely played point guard, shooting guard, and small forward. He was big and strong enough to guard the other team's power forward, then bring the ball down the court as a point guard, drive the lane, and dunk.

Likely started playing basketball and football when he was 4 but started leaning towards football early in high school. He swapped going to AAU basketball games for the weight room.

"My family loved when I played basketball but understood football was definitely the road I was going down," Likely said. "It was hard to give it up. But the more I played football, the more I put my own finesse on it, the more I fell in love with it, and the more basketball faded away."

Likely started as a running back in high school before moving to safety as a sophomore. He became a starting wide receiver and defensive end as a junior, finishing with 917 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns, and 17 sacks.

Likely preferred football because it was a better way to channel his competitiveness and physicality. He liked being able to hit somebody and tell them about it.

"Basketball, you can talk, but fans are right there," Likely said. "With football, when you get hit or when you do the hitting, you can talk and no fan really hears you. It's just you guys between the white lines."

Likely left basketball for good after his sophomore year at Malden High School, but the basketball moves stuck with him.

Going up for contested catches is like rebounding. Crossovers and dribble moves are like getting a release off the line of scrimmage. Boxing out is like shielding a cornerback or safety from the ball. Likely developed the soft skills of body control and special awareness to go along with the hard edge he loved about football.

Likely still shoots around on a mini hoop in the Ravens locker room. He welcomes all challengers, even though shooting was not his strong suit. But you can see his basketball moves every time he plays football.

"I feel like basketball helped a lot," Likely said.

Road Runner on a Walker

Before his senior year, Likely transferred from Malden to Everett High School, a program with a richer football history and list of college football and NFL alumni.

Likely was a big wide receiver who doubled as a playmaking cornerback. His high school highlights look like a man amongst boys, with Likely making numerous leaping catches and monster blocks.

Likely led Everett to a 12-0 record and the 2017 Division I state championship. Yet, he still somehow was only a two-star recruit. He was primarily recruited as a wide receiver and received only a few Division I offers.

Ultimately, Likely was lured to Coastal Carolina, just 20 minutes from Myrtle Beach. It wasn't the surf that lured him. It was Chadwell and his staff who sold him on being a featured hybrid tight end in their offense and centerpiece of a program establishing itself after moving up to the FBS level the year before.

Looking back, it's hard to fathom how so many schools missed on a high school state champion with such physical gifts, but Chadwell doesn't claim to be a genius.

"He was a big receiver in high school, and he played there in Massachusetts, maybe not a hotbed," he said. "But you saw just a big athlete who you could tell was a really good basketball player on the field because he could just go up and make plays with the ball in the air. And at that size you just said, 'Man, this guy can be a matchup problem.'"

What gave Chadwell some pause was when he got a front-row seat watching Likely at Coastal Carolina practice. Oddly enough, it was the way Likely ran.

"We had no idea how good he was going to be because he runs weird," Chadwell said. "It's almost like the Road Runner. Before you get going fast, you almost run in place a little bit, kicking up dust but not really going anywhere. And his hands and arms look like they don't move much. So, it looks like a really stiff upper body, almost like he's walking on a walker."

Chadwell joked that Likely still thought he was a basketball player when he got to college. He liked to play pick-up games and relished the football team's dunk contest. He thought he was the best hooper on the team, Chadwell said, "but he dribbled like he ran – real stiff."

The story Chadwell, who is now the head coach at Liberty University, laughs about most is Likely's aforementioned leaping troubles. Chadwell said he was still growing into his body. Likely said it was because he was trying to do too much.

"Sometimes if you outjump your usual amount, sometimes you don't know how to land," Likely said. "If you want to just make a possession catch, you can land on your shoulder or arm or something. Every time I jumped up, I was trying to find a way to score."

Ultimately, Chadwell asked Likely to land on two feet or go down. Just make the catch. He also begged Likely not to hurdle. Likely remembers one play when two Norfolk State defenders were coming at him after catching a flat route. One went low and the other went high.

"I just tried to jump over both of them," Likely said. "One caught me in the air, but I didn't fall. I just looked at my coach and my coach said, 'Don't ever do that again.'"

Coaches couldn't argue with the results though. Likely delivered on the program's hopes, putting the Chanticleers on the map during his junior season, in which they finished No. 14 in the national polls.

He went off with 912 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior, including a 232-yard, four-touchdown game against Arkansas State. Likely finished his college career as Pro Football Focus' highest-graded tight end ever (95.1 career grade).

After that Arkansas State game, Chadwell knew Likely would be Coastal Carolina's first ever tight end to be drafted. But how high?

"Those catches, he showed speed, he showed going up to get it, he showed all these different things, and you could just see how well rounded he was," Chadwell said. "That's when the national people started realizing, 'Hey, this guy's pretty good.'"

He's Just a Playmaker-Type Guy

The professional football community still needed some convincing, however. When NFL scouts came to Conway, S.C., Chadwell would warn them that Likely wasn't going to look fast. He might not even time fast. But he's fast.

Likely never cared about running track. The way he saw it, any time he had the ball in his hands and a lane, he won the race to the end zone. Coaches briefly tried to "fix" his running form when he got to college but gave up when they saw nobody was catching him.

The 40-yard dash is different, though. During the pre-draft process, coaches told him he was going to have to work to correct it if he wanted to clock a good time. He tried for a little, but they soon determined it wasn't something he could change.

Likely didn't run the 40 at the 2022 Combine. He only did the vertical leap and posted 36 inches – the best for a tight end in his class. He ran the 40 at his pro day and, sure enough, was among the slower tight ends with a time of 4.82 seconds.

His coaches told him he was just going to have to remind teams that he was a "football guy." He was projected to be drafted near the end of the fourth or start of the fifth round. The Ravens drafted another tight end, Charlie Kolar, with pick No. 128 in the fourth round.

Baltimore was targeting wide receiver Calvin Austin III with one of its five fourth-round picks, but the Steelers took him with the pick before Baltimore was on the clock. Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti, a draft aficionado, had taken notice of Likely's game speed. The Ravens leaned on their "best player available" mantra and took Likely at pick No. 139.

That night, Likely told reporters, "Knowing what I bring to an offense, it really didn't matter whether a team drafted one tight end, three tight ends, or five. I know that what I do on the field is unmatched."

When the Ravens drafted Likely, Head Coach John Harbaugh wasn't yet sure whether he would be a wide receiver or tight end.

"It's not like an obvious position fit; he's just a playmaker-type guy," Harbaugh said at the time.

Likely has made that come to fruition. He tells people his position is "chess piece." He can line up anywhere, and it became evident early on that he could make his presence felt wherever.

One of the best battles at Ravens practices is between All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton and Likely. They came into the league together and have been sharpening each other ever since. Likely won the majority of their one-on-one reps this summer, at times making Hamilton throw his hands up in exasperation as if to say, "What am I supposed to do with this guy?" Hamilton said Likely's one of the toughest players he's ever had to defend.

"His phone booth quickness is pretty unique for a guy his size," Hamilton said. "I don't know a ton of guys in the league who move like him, to be honest. It's almost like you're out there covering a receiver when you're playing him. He looks kind of goofy, but he gets open."

Wide receiver Zay Flowers refused to call Likely a tight end.

"He's a receiver," Flowers said. "That's why every time he gets tackled by the first person, I get mad. I tell him all the time he ain't built the same as these boys out here."

In his second professional game in the 2022 preseason, Likely caught all eight of his targets for 100 yards and a touchdown. Andrews knew then that this kid was going to be good.

"That was a special moment," Andrews said. "He has a natural 'it,' a natural knack for football. He and I have a similar way of running routes and getting open. It's awesome."

Becoming a Game Changer

Likely immediately gravitated to Andrews, trying to absorb as much as he could from the Pro Bowl veteran and Jackson's most trusted target.

Andrews, like Likely, was the second of two tight ends the Ravens drafted his year (2018). It didn't take long for Andrews to prove he was better than first-round pick Hayden Hurst.

Asked how often Likely asks him questions, Andrews smiled and said, "I feel like we think the same way now."

When Andrews went down with his ankle injury last season, Likely filled the void. In the seven games without Andrews, Likely averaged more than 50 receiving yards per game and hauled in six touchdowns.

His leaping catch over two defenders in Jacksonville and one-handed catch and run for a 42-yard touchdown on fourth down against Miami were signature plays of the season and proved to Likely, though he didn't need much convincing, that he could be a baller in the NFL.

His 111-yard season-opening performance in Kansas City, capped by a 49-yard step-back move touchdown, showed Likely is ready to take it to yet another level. He's turned into one of the NFL's YAC monsters. It's what makes Likely "special," Andrews said.

"One of his best qualities is being able to catch the ball, get up-field and make somebody miss. He does it time and time again." Andrews said. "I think he's one of the best in the league at that. He's extremely competitive."

Likely's competitive fire has long burned. It's another attribute he shares with Andrews, and part of why he's hit it off with Jackson. Whether it be at practice or walking the halls of the Under Armour Performance Center, it's often Likely and Jackson together. When a pass between them fell incomplete in training camp, they immediately connected afterwards to talk it over.

Likely remembers going on a visit to Boston College when he was in high school. He saw Jackson light them up with five touchdowns and 512 total yards. So, when Likely became Jackson's teammate, he knew they could be a dynamic duo, even though Likely uses that first sighting as a way to tease Jackson about being old.

"I talk to him every day. We can crack jokes whenever, or if he's feeling in a bad mood or anything, I always go talk to him and make sure he's alright," Likely said. "It's to the point where it's like I see him as a big brother, like a mentor."

There's a trust factor between Jackson and Likely, very similar to the one Jackson built with Andrews. When plays break down, Jackson often finds Likely. Likely's favorite play so far of his career was his leaping 26-yard catch in Jacksonville last season.

When the Ravens were down to their final play against the Chiefs, Jackson threw to Likely. He was a big toe away from an epic touchdown. When the Ravens were down to their final play against the Raiders a week later, Jackson heaved a bomb to the sideline for Likely. He caught it but couldn't hang on after a Vegas safety delivered a big high hit.

Their connection finally paid off with points Sunday in Cincinnati. When the Ravens were trailing by 10 with less than six minutes left, Jackson directed Likely mid-scramble to where he wanted him to go and threw it up. Likely's leaping touchdown catch completed arguably Jackson's greatest highlight of his career.

Asked about his connection with Likely, Jackson said "it's just magic happens."

"Ever since Day One, I've seen the potential in Isaiah Likely," Jackson said. "He shows it each and every day – each and every day he wants to be a better player."

When the Ravens went to a run-heavy approach versus the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills and he saw just three passes come his way, Likely stepped up as a perimeter blocker. He brings the same physicality and competitiveness to that part of the job, like a bullying basketball player setting physical picks. He's been one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL this season.

Asked about how he envisions his future, Likely sees himself becoming one of the top multi-dimensional threats in the game.

"It's making that younger you proud. When you were in middle school, you dreamt about being in the NFL, but you always looked up to the superstars," Likely said.

"When you were younger, you obviously looked up to the Rob Gronkowskis, the Tom Bradys, the Ray Lewises, the Ed Reeds – the people in your city. Those are game changers. I always try to remind myself every time I come out here to be that kind of game changer I looked up to."

Likely was spitting mad coming off the field after he didn't get his toe in bounds in Kansas City. He expects to make that play. Four weeks later, he stuck the landing in Cincinnati.