Earning league-wide respect as a wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens is tough sledding, but one pass-catcher won’t stay “underappreciated” for long after enjoying a “true breakout” season for the NFL’s top-ranked offense in 2024.
Former first-round pick Rashod Bateman made a list of AFC players lacking appreciation compiled by NFL.com Original Content Editor Tom Blair.
He acknowledged how “wideouts tend to play second, third and fourth fiddle to running backs, tight ends and, duh, Lamar Jackson,” with the Ravens. Blair also believes “if you’re a secondary receiver, like Bateman, well, you’re gonna have to search the back room for fiddle No. 5.”
Bateman’s “elevation to productive WR2 in 2024 (he posted 45 catches, 756 receiving yards and nine receiving TDs, all personal highs) counts as a true breakout,” but Blair also noted the one statistic that truly reveals the receiver’s hidden value.
Ravens “Most Underappreciated” Delivering in Key Area
The hidden metric that shows Bateman’s growing importance involves him recording “35 receiving first downs, marking the first time in Jackson’s career that more than two Baltimore pass-catchers posted 30 or more (Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews were the others),” per Blair.
Establishing a niche as a consistent chain-mover makes Bateman the kind of target franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson can’t ignore. Bateman made himself difficult to ignore by averaging an impressive 1.90 yards of separation per target last season, according to Player Profiler.
A great example of Bateman’s ability to create an easy throwing window for Jackson came against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3. Bateman got open because he sold “the over with speed to cause the safety to expand slightly, prior to returning back to the middle of the field. It has to look like he’s trying to win to the opposite pylon,” according to Oceanside high school receivers coach Mike Vannucci.
Love the route by Rashod Bateman here
Sells the over with speed to cause the safety to expand slightly, prior to returning back to the middle of the field.
It has to look like he’s trying to win to the opposite pylon.
The Cowboys were impressed enough to ask about a trade, but the Ravens’ answer was predictable. Jackson will be glad he still has Bateman to look for in clutch situations, even after the Ravens added five-time Pro Bowler DeAndre Hopkins in free agency.
Blair did point out how Hopkins “might suppress Bateman’s numbers a bit in 2025,” but the 25-year-old could be spurred on to greater heights by the increased competition in the Ravens’ wide receiver room.
Ravens Developing Better Wide Receiver Group
The Ravens did Jackson a $6 million favor when they took Hopkins off the veteran market. He’s 32, but Hopkins can still make the tough catches and win inside the red zone.
His enduring skills should mesh well with Bateman’s subtle and elaborate route-running, as well as the explosiveness of Zay Flowers from the slot. The only thing potentially missing from this developing group is the straight-line speed of a legitimate deep threat.
It’s something last year’s fourth-round pick Devontez Walker could provide. He knows how to get vertical, but Bateman has his own flair for stretching the field, evidenced by a career average of 13.9 yards per reception.
Taking the top off of defenses more often is the next step toward Bateman becoming the alpha receiver the Ravens hoped they were getting with the 27th pick in the 2021 draft. Staying healthy will also be key amid the greater competition to catch passes from Jackson.
