Zay Flowers has already done plenty in Baltimore. The Ravens’ fourth-year wideout has led the team in targets, catches and receiving yards in each of his first three seasons, and he’s kept climbing every year. Now the setup around him looks ready to push him into a different tier altogether.
That’s the case being made by comparing Flowers to Seattle Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who went from a strong season to a breakout that turned into the 2025 Offensive Player of the Year award. Smith-Njigba, also a first-round pick in 2023, exploded after a scheme change and a new quarterback helped unlock more of his game. He finished with an NFL-best 1,793 receiving yards, added 119 receptions to rank fourth, and tied for third in touchdown catches with 10.
Flowers and Smith-Njigba entered the league just two picks apart, at No. 20 and No. 22 overall. The idea here is simple: Baltimore may be lining up the same kind of leap for Flowers in 2026.
The Ravens receiver already has the production to back up the optimism. Last season, he put up 1,211 receiving yards, which ranked seventh in the league and second in the AFC behind only Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals. He has also made the Pro Bowl twice, and his numbers have risen every year since he arrived.
What makes the outlook even more interesting is the change around him. Lamar Jackson remains the quarterback, and Flowers’ connection with the two-time league MVP keeps growing. On top of that, first-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is now in charge of the offense, and Baltimore has made it clear in offseason conversations that it expects to be more receiver-friendly.
Doyle’s background matters here. He came up under Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean Peyton and Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson, and the Ravens believe he has the kind of plan that can get the most out of Flowers’ skill set.
Flowers already sounds sold on him.
"He is a genius," Flowers said during mandatory minicamp. "He has stuff that I've never seen - plays and routes and stuff to help you get open.
He teaches you in a certain way where you remember the plays where there's not too much stress on you. But, he gives you a lot, and he talks fast, too.
I'm like, 'Hey, Coach, chill, chill.' He is a genius, though.
I love it. We've been loving it so far."
The contract picture is the other big piece of this story. Smith-Njigba reset the market in March with a four-year, $168.6 million extension that averages $42.15 million per year. Since then, other receivers with similar or lesser résumés than Flowers have also landed big new deals, which only sharpens the focus on where Flowers’ next contract might land.
Right now, Flowers is set to be the 63rd highest-paid receiver in 2026 at $3.5 million. That number jumps to $27.298 million in 2027 after his fifth-year option kicks in. If Baltimore gets something done before this season, the deal would likely land near the four-year, $141 million extension Drake London signed with the Atlanta Falcons last month, a contract that made London the third-highest paid receiver in the league with an average annual salary of $35.2 million.
London entered the NFL a year before Flowers and has one 1,000-yard season and no Pro Bowl selections. Flowers already has two of each. That’s why a top-four or top-five receiver deal for Flowers could still end up looking like a bargain if he takes the kind of step Baltimore thinks is coming.
Flowers isn’t talking like someone chasing a headline contract. He’s focused on the work.
“I just want to get better every year and improve every year on everything,” Flowers said in April. “Not prove to people but prove to myself what I know I can do and just go out and be the best player I know I can every week.”
The Ravens and Flowers both want to stay together long term, but the timing could still matter. Baltimore waited until late August last year to reach a deal with three-time All Pro defensive back Kyle Hamilton in his first year of eligibility, and a similar timeline could emerge here. The longer it goes, the more expensive it may become - and that could have ripple effects when it comes time to pay other young pieces like cornerback Nate Wiggins, offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten and outside linebacker Mike Green.
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