Sammy Watkins has been the de facto number two wide receiver in a new and improved Ravens passing attack that has been led by the also new and improved Lamar Jackson. It has also just been announced that he will miss Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers in what we here at RSR are expecting to be a shootout.
Harbaugh said that Sammy Watkins won’t play Sunday. Could miss next week as well but they’ll evaluate next week.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) October 15, 2021
If an extended absence due to injury is expected, this might present an opportunity for the younger faces in the Ravens wide receiver room.
One face in particular is one that fans are raring to see and that would be Rashod Bateman. Fans, I have some good news: according to John Harbaugh, Bateman is expected to play. After surgery on his groin in the preseason, this is very encouraging to see him back so soon.
As we all know, Harbaugh in most cases likes to slow-cook his rookies. For reference, when Hollywood Brown made his debut back in 2019, he played just 14 snaps or 18% of the Ravens offensive snaps. However, Sammy’s injury may cause Bateman to get more action than originally intended. I think he would’ve played this week regardless, but only on a pitch count. Miles Boykin had just come off of IR in Week 5, and was not seen on offense at all, only on special teams. I don’t expect that to happen with Bateman, mainly because of the Watkins injury.
Sammy was getting about seven targets per game, and was playing about 75% or more of the offensive snaps. That’s a lot to replace. With Watkins out of the picture, that leaves Hollywood, Devin Duvernay, James Proche, Tylan Wallace, Boykin and Bateman. Harbaugh doesn’t have a veteran to rely on in the wide receiver room like he did in years past with Willie Snead.
That’s two third year players, two second-year players and two rookies. Hollywood is now the Ravens’ most experienced receiver. Time sure flies doesn’t it? I’ve already been on record praising Hollywood and his development, so let’s look at the other guys. What does Sammy Watkins being out mean for the other five receivers on the roster?
As I alluded to earlier, Sammy was a starting wide receiver getting a large portion of snaps for a Ravens offense that is suddenly reliant on the passing game. We haven’t seen what this offense looks like relying on the younger faces in the receiver corps since Keith Williams and Tee Martin were added to the coaching staff, though I have been happy with what I’ve seen thus far.
Proche has shown his ability to make difficult catches, and Duvernay has proven to be more than just a good kick returner.
Prediction time: I don’t think the Ravens will throw the ball as much against LA simply because the Chargers don’t have the caliber of run defense to completely nullify it like Denver and Indianapolis did. However, I think that each and every one of the remaining receivers on the roster will show us something on Sunday. Personally, I’m not expecting a big day from Bateman. Instead, keep your eyes on Duvernay and Proche. I think those two are primed for breakout games.
And if the Chargers want to put seven or eight guys in the box all game like the Colts and Broncos did, the young receivers will make them pay.
