After the Ravens took wide receiver Rashod Bateman in the first round of the NFL draft last month, coordinator Greg Roman wanted to offer a correction. There was a prevailing narrative around his offense — that it was a run-first attack. And then there were his facts. Which, to him, did not align.
“It’s important to remember that as we are a, quote-unquote, running offense, we still throw the ball more than we run it,” Roman said during a virtual news conference. “There are more passing plays per year than running plays, and we want to be great at both, and we’re going to work very hard at being great at both.”
As the Ravens convened in Owings Mills this week for organized team activities, their revamped wide receiver room daring fans to dream again, it was not hard to imagine this offseason as an inflection point in the team’s offensive evolution. It was quite easy, in fact, to imagine quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens throwing far more often — and running far less — in 2021.
Even with free-agent signing Sammy Watkins absent from Wednesday’s voluntary practice and Bateman sidelined for much of the workout with muscle soreness, Ravens wide receivers flashed. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown ran as if his new No. 5 jersey were an indication of his default gear. Miles Boykin, a perennial offseason standout, impressed with a handful of catches. Devin Duvernay had the afternoon’s longest reception. Fourth-round pick Tylan Wallace worked the middle of the field with confidence. There weren’t a lot of bad days for the group, if any.