The 2024 season will be a make-or-break season for many on the Baltimore Ravens roster from the coaching staff down to the players. Ravens WR Rashod Bateman could be under some of the most pressure of any player on the roster to live up to his draft capital, but one analyst feels he may be a bust this season.
Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon wrote an article on “Predicting Every NFL Team’s Biggest Bust of the 2024 NFL Season” and for the Ravens he pegged Bateman.
Kenyon wrote, “Yes, it’s uncomfortable to move on from a top draft pick at a position of need. Simultaneously, the Ravens handed Rashod Bateman a two-year, $12.9 million extension after he barely generated 1,000 receiving yards in his first three seasons.”
Bateman has had a difficult start to his career with Baltimore but is still only 24-years-old. However, fans are running out of patience with the Minnesota product as they see other first-round WRs excel immediately out of college.
Much of Bateman’s issues are health related, but he has struggled to produce while on the field as well. “His profile isn’t exactly screaming “breakout player” even as Lamar Jackson has to throw to someone,” Kenyon explained.
Bateman is currently listed as the No. 2 WR behind sensation Zay Flowers, but his grip on the job is tenuous at best. If he does not produce this season, then he tenure in Baltimore could be in jeopardy.
Draft Pedigree of Rashod Bateman Fuels the Frustration
Bateman was a top WR prospect coming out of Minnesota as he had 1219 yards and 11 touchdowns during his sophomore season in 2019. Even during his junior season, which was shortened by Covid he excelled with 472 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in 5 games.
The Ravens selected him in the first-round of 2021, part of a revamp to pair him with Marquise Brown in the WR room. However, Bateman’s career started off rocky as he missed the first five games of his rookie season with a groin injury.
In the remaining 12 games that season he compiled 46 catches for 515 receiving yards, which was good enough for third on the team behind Brown and TE Mark Andrews.
Unfortunately, those are still the career highs for Bateman to this point. Bateman only had 15 catches for 285 receiving yards in his second professional season as a result of a foot injury that forced him to miss the second half of the season.
2023 was actually the healthiest Bateman has been as a Raven, but he was buried in the depth chart behind Flowers, Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor.
With Beckham gone to the Miami Dolphins, the Ravens brought back both Agholor and Bateman on short contracts. Bateman will need to show he was worth that first round pick if he hopes to remain in Baltimore or get another shot with a different team.
Rookie WR Devontez Walker Could Be the Answer
The Ravens have struggled with homegrown WRs in recent memory, but the hope is Flowers will change that narrative. Flowers had a strong rookie year with 77 catches and 858 receiving yards, but Beckham is gone, and Jackson needs a second receiver.
Eric DeCosta hopes he struck gold with fourth round pick WR Devontez Walker out of North Carolina. Walker is that big play target the Ravens have missing at the position since Brown was traded.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley wrote, “Walker had nine receptions on passes thrown at least 20 yards, which was the most in the ACC since he made his season debut on Oct. 14. Last season, Baltimore wide receivers had 16 receptions on passes of 20 yards, which ranked 24th in the NFL.”
Walker ran a 4.36 40-yard dash and has the speed to take the top off the defense. Walker will need to adjust to the professional level but if he forces defenses to honor that speed it will open up lanes for other receivers and the running game.
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