Ravens film study: Rookie WR Zay Flowers lives up to ‘Joystick’ nickname in debut

It didn’t take long Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium to see why Lamar Jackson gave the nickname “Joystick” to rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers.
On the third play of the Ravens’ second possession against the Houston Texans, Flowers, the 22nd overall draft pick out of Boston College, lined up in a bunch formation wide left along with tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar to his right at the Texans’ 28-yard-line. Split out to the right was receiver Odell Beckham Jr., while Jackson stood in the shotgun with running back J.K. Dobbins on his left hip. Houston, meanwhile, had 6-foot-1, 226-pound linebacker Christian Harris lined up against the bunch, with 5-11, 194-pound cornerback Steven Nelson behind him and 5-11, 240-pound linebacker Denzel Perryman inside but leaning toward the stack before the ball was even snapped.
Once it was, Jackson momentarily held the ball out in front of Dobbins while Flowers shuffled a couple of steps to his left and glanced at the defenders in front of him. Jackson then quickly flung the ball toward Flowers, who cradled the tight spiral into his sternum before turning upfield and accelerating through the crease created by Kolar’s block on Harris and Likely’s on Nelson.
Perryman closed in from the right, taking a slight angle upfield, but didn’t stand a chance. As he came diving in for what he thought would be a potentially crunching hit on the 5-9, 182-pound rookie, Flowers planted his right foot and spun back to the right, leaving Perryman and his left arm grasping at the warm Maryland air.
Defensive end Jonathan Greenard was next in line, but as he closed in from Flowers’ right the receiver jump cut to the inside, causing Greenard also to whiff. Flowers then continued upfield for 4 more yards before burrowing to the turf between the four Texans players who surrounded him, including edge rusher and No. 3 overall pick Will Anderson Jr.
It was just one of nine catches for Flowers — a franchise record for a rookie in his debut — but it was the kind of play that makes it easy to understand why coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Todd Monken have already fallen in love with the dynamic and explosive receiver. On what was such a sloppy, sporadic day of offense for the Ravens in their 25-9 win that Jackson at times found himself asking what they were doing, Flowers was a bright light.
[ Five things we learned from the Ravens’ 25-9 win over the Houston Texans ]
“I already knew what Zay was capable of, and he showed it himself — making guys miss and running great routes, catching the ball [and] getting up the field, getting yards after the catch,” Jackson said.
“It slowed down for me,” Flowers said of his first NFL game. “In my head, I was like, ‘Two catches. I’ll be good with that [for my] first game.’ [We] got the win. As long as we win, I was all right.”
Instead, Flowers led the team in targets (10), catches (nine) and receiving yards (78). The next closest players to him were Rashod Bateman (three catches, 35 yards) and Beckham (two catches, 37 yards).
Ravens defenders celebrate a fumble recovery as the Baltimore Ravens host the Houston Texans in the season opener at M&T Bank Stadium. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
Flowers’ numbers were perhaps boosted somewhat by the absence of injured tight end Mark Andrews, but he also stood out among his NFL peers.
His targets, catches and yards all ranked in the top 15 among Week 1 wide receiver performances, with only the Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill (11 catches), Buffalo Bills’ Stefon Diggs (10) and Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua (10) hauling in more passes. Meanwhile, Flowers’ yards per route run (2.79) ranked 13th, while his average separation (3.5 yards) ranked 12th, according to Next Gen Stats, just a half-yard behind Minnesota Vikings star and reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson. His 80.3 receiving grade from Pro Football Focus was also the sixth-best in the league.
“He’s going to play a lot,” Harbaugh said.
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Indeed. How the Ravens deployed Flowers was also telling: He was everywhere.
Of the 54 snaps he played, Flowers lined up in the slot 25 times with the rest out wide. Unsurprisingly, he also got the ball near the line of scrimmage most of the time, with four of his catches coming short left, one short middle and one short right. Of his 78 receiving yards, 52 of them came after the catch. His numbers would have also been even better if not for back-to-back bubble screens that got blown up for minus-6 and minus-3 yards.
But he also showed off his speed downfield, easily working open against cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. for a 20-yard grab down the right sideline in the third quarter. And for good measure, he had two runs for 9 yards on a pair of jet sweeps.
In other words, Flowers was a bright spot on a day with not many of them, especially considering running back J.K. Dobbins went down with a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in the third quarter and three other starters — safety Marcus Williams (torn pectoral), left tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee) and center Tyler Linderbaum (ankle) — got injured.
Of Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers' 78 receiving yards against the Texans on Sunday, 52 of them came after the catch.
Of Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers' 78 receiving yards against the Texans on Sunday, 52 of them came after the catch. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
It was also a familiar one in some ways for Flowers. At Boston College, he was easily the Eagles’ best player last season and was utilized as such in a do-everything role.
“I feel like they use us in every way; that’s for all receivers,” he said of all the action he saw in his first NFL game. “We all [can] play different positions. We all can play every position. We all can run every route. There’s no limit to our receiver room.”