Ravens third-round rookie WR Ja'Kobi Lane has generated regular praise out of his first training camp. But the highest praise came Saturday from longtime Baltimore beat writer Jamison Hensley of ESPN. And it merits a thought exercise with these Ravens.
What They're Saying: Ja'Kobi Lane Showing Out
Hensley: "In 27 years of covering the Ravens, I'm not sure I've seen a rookie have a training camp quite like wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane. Every day, Lane produces a highlight-making catch. And today, he has Derrick Henry leaping in the air in celebration."
For a little context, here are some first-round Baltimore picks within the past 10 years:
- WR Zay Flowers (2023)
- S Kyle Hamilton (2022)
- WR Rashod Bateman (2021)
- WR Marquise Brown (2019)
- QB Lamar Jackson (2018)
What If We're Thinking About the Ravens Wrong?
The natural first step here would be to say something like: "Watch out Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews. We might have a new No. 2 target." But that limits the scope of how this season could unfold.
The Ravens have ranked among the league's most run-heavy offenses for a long time. The last season in which they reached 57% pass rate was 2016, two years before Lamar Jackson arrived and three years before he took over as starter.
Since Jackson's rookie year (when he started the final seven games), the pass rates have looked like this:
- 2018: 51.8% (third-lowest)
- 2019: 44.0% (first)
- 2020: 44.1% (first)
- 2021: 56.4% (12th)
- 2022: 50.0% (third)
- 2023: 49.7% (first)
- 2024: 47.5% (second)
- 2025: 48.0% (first)
Those past two years, of course, followed the arrival of Derrick Henry, who turned 32 in January. A month later, the Ravens hired Declan Doyle as a first-time OC.
Earlier this week, WR Rashod Bateman praised Doyle for seeing "everybody's talent" and "playing to everybody's strengths."
This Offense Might Want to Run Less
Henry hasn't missed a game since 2022 and topped 300 carries each of the past two years. He'll clearly remain the workhorse, and betting against him has never worked out.
Look a little closer, though. His carries per game dipped by 1.0 last year, his yards per carry came down (5.9 to 5.2), his rushing-success rate went from 58.8% to 53.1%, and he hit a career-worst in attempts per broken tackle. According to Pro Football Reference, that went from one every 7.7 carries in 2024 to one every 23.6 carries last year.
On whole, that all basically means that Henry just went from amazing in 2024 to really good last year, in spite of Lamar Jackson's injury and subsequent struggles.
But it would at least make sense for this year's Ravens to consider saddling their horse a bit less often -- especially after losing star C Tyler Linderbaum to the Raiders in free agency.
And Baltimore didn't build out the backfield this offseason. It let Keaton Mitchell walk in free agency and added only fifth-round rookie Adam Randall. He spent just one year at RB for Clemson after converting from WR.
The Pass Game Looks More Fortified
Baltimore drafted WR Elijah Sarratt a round after selecting Lane. Bateman has gotten some love. New HC Jesse Minter has said they "look forward to [Zay Flowers] getting the ball in as many ways as possible," and then the team gave him a big-money extension this month.
Mark Andrews is still around. Lamar Jackson's pretty good.
All told, we should probably expect the pass rate to tick up at least a bit vs. the past two years. And it wouldn't be a shock to see a decent shift in that area. There's certainly lots of room for growth.
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Keep the Upside in Mind
We can't really project a huge spike in pass rate. We're talking about a historically run-heavy group under a first-time OC working for a first-time head coach.
But we can keep upside in mind for all the pass catchers.
You've probably already seen Flowers high in our rankings. The rest of the receiving options sit in low-risk ranges of ADP.
So consider taking shots on Andrews, Lane, and Bateman late in your drafts.
