Is Zay Flowers in Store for More Touchdown Catches This Season?
After back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and Pro Bowl nods, Zay Flowers has established himself as one of the NFL's top wide receivers.
There's still one aspect of his game in which he has room to grow: making touchdown catches. Flowers has caught just 14 touchdown passes over his three-year career and has never had more than five in a season.
Part of the issue has been a lack of red-zone targets for Flowers.
"Outside the red zone last season, he had 79 catches on 107 targets for 1,184 yards and four touchdowns, according to Sports Info Solutions," The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer wrote. "Inside the 20, however, the funnel dried up. The 5-foot-9 Flowers was targeted just 11 times, had seven catches for 27 yards and scored one touchdown.
"Flowers' scoring struggles last year were inextricable from the Ravens' red-zone struggles. The team scored touchdowns on only 47.5% of its trips inside the opposing 20-yard line (27th in the NFL), a steep drop from 2024, when the Ravens had the league's most efficient red-zone offense (73.4%)."
Shaffer said the challenge for new Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle is finding how much more Flowers can contribute in the red zone.
"The Ravens do not need Flowers, who has 16 career touchdowns (14 receiving, two rushing), to turn into a fantasy football darling," Shaffer wrote. "There's room for improvement in their red-zone running game, which faltered after injuries hampered quarterback Lamar Jackson. And General Manager Eric DeCosta's investment in the Ravens' wide receiver room could give Jackson other options if Flowers is blanketed in the red zone.
"It's unclear what the pecking order will look like in 2026; the Ravens haven't had a red-zone drill through their first two practices. But Flowers figures to be involved, somehow, somewhere."
When Head Coach Jesse Minter was asked after Thursday's practice about the possibility of Flowers making more touchdown catches this season, he said: "He can thrive at any area of the field. There are so many variables and circumstances that lead to plays, whether they end up in touchdowns or not. I know the type of player that he is, [and] that he is working to be. I expect him to be really productive for us no matter where the ball is at on the field."
How Will Chris Olave's New Deal Impact Flowers' Next Contract?
Speaking of Flowers, the reported agreement between wide receiver Chris Olave and the New Orleans Saints on a four-year contract extension worth up to $132 million ($90 million guaranteed) could be another indication of what Flowers' next contract could look like.
The 11th overall pick in 2022, Olave has averaged about 73 catches, 932 yards, and almost five touchdowns per season. Flowers, the 22nd overall pick in 2023, has averaged 79 catches, 1,042 yards, and almost five touchdowns per season.
Olave's $33 million average annual salary is the sixth-highest among wide receivers.
DeCosta recently expressed optimism about signing Flowers to an extension, and Flowers has said that he hopes to finish his career in Baltimore.
Right now, though, Flowers' focus is on preparing for the season.
"Honestly, I am just working right now," Flowers said after Thursday's practice. "I am trying to get better. I leave that to my agents [and] my representation."
Joe Burrow's 'NFL Top 100' Ranking Is Latest Example of Lamar Jackson Being Held to Different Standard
Lamar Jackson made it clear that he doesn't care about his ridiculously low ranking in the "NFL Top 100," nor should he.
For Ravens fans, however, it's hard not to get worked up every time the countdown reveals another quarterback ranked ahead of Jackson, who came in at No. 69 as determined by player voting.
Thursday's “NFL Top 100” update showed Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow landing at No. 44. Like Jackson, Burrow fell significantly from last year's rankings after an injury-hampered 2025 season.
However, Burrow's plunge wasn't as precipitous as Jackson's despite playing in just eight games, five fewer than Jackson. Burrow dropped 38 spots from No. 6, while Jackson dropped 67 spots from No. 2.
Ebony Bird’s Connor Burke said it's just another example of Jackson being judged more harshly than other elite quarterbacks.
"This isn't a shot at Joe Burrow whatsoever," Burke wrote. "In fact, Ravens fans know better than anyone how dangerous Burrow is. … The big piece of this argument is that Jackson debatably played better [last season]. He was available for five more games, posted a better passer rating, including a league-leading mark of 132.4 on 20-plus-yard throws, and helped keep his team in playoff contention until the very end of the year while playing alongside [the 24th-ranked] defense. Oh, and he was doing that while playing on a bad hamstring since Week 3.
"When you're a two-time MVP like Jackson, you can expect to be held to this standard, but that doesn't mean that it's fair. It seems that one year of injuries and upsetting results from the team makes people completely forget about what the 29-year-old is capable of. "
In addition to Burrow, quarterbacks ranked ahead of Jackson in the "NFL Top 100" thus far include: Caleb Williams (No. 51), Jalen Hurts (No. 56), Bo Nix (No. 59), and Trevor Lawrence (No. 62).
Of the 40 players yet to be revealed, there are probably about eight quarterbacks. That would put Jackson somewhere around QB14, which is beyond laughable.
"Look, there may not even be one other player in the league better than Lamar, yet alone 68 players in the league better than Lamar," Minter said on "The Lounge" podcast last week.
