The Ravens apparently have the confidence Rashod Bateman is ready to embrace the role as the team’s No 1 wide receiver.
Otherwise, they would’ve never traded Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals during the NFL draft.
Bateman is not backing down from the expectations surrounding him this season.
In fact, he’s embracing the challenge.
“I feel like Baltimore drafted me for a reason,” Bateman told cornerback Marlon Humphrey on ” Studio 44.” They drafted me to be in this position. For me, all I’ve been waiting on is the opportunity. I know what I’m capable of, I feel like the Ravens organization knows what I’m capable of. I’m just excited to go out and finally show it to the fans and especially to my teammates, for sure.”
Bateman might not have Brown’s speed to consistently get behind a secondary but he is an overall better wide receiver. Bateman runs better routes, has better hands, catches balls in traffic and is able to get more yards after the catch.
Bateman also won’t pout about his targets or role in the offense like Brown over the past two seasons. He wants to improve on his rookie season.
“There’s always room to grow, but I think I did an OK job – I guess good enough for this year,” Bateman said. “But I know there’s always room for improvement. I learned a lot this year. A lot of lessons learned for sure. That’s what this offseason is for – for me to take everything that I’ve learned and digest it and go back to work. Hopefully, we can see a change in the next year.”
Bateman was the 27th overall pick in the 2021 draft from Minnesota. He had a stellar college career, finishing with 147 receptions for 2,395 yards and 19 touchdowns, which was fifth in school history. He also had some huge games and recorded ten 100-yard receiving games 10 times over his career.
Bateman missed the first five games of the season after undergoing groin surgery. He was one of the Ravens’ most productive players when he returned to the lineup and finished with 46 receptions for 515 yards and a touchdown.
“I’m just glad I got out healthy,” Bateman said. “I feel like I’m going into the offseason strong so I can work on the things that I need to work on to come back next year and have a better chance of performing at a higher level. My rookie season, it went OK in my opinion, coming back from injury and working my way back. I’m just thankful to be here, be a part of this organization, and I’m looking forward to the future.”
Bateman has already put the work in this offseason as the team gets ready for its first round of OTAs this week. He’s been working hard in the weight room and has also spent time with quarterback Lamar Jackson to work on their timing. Those workouts have been vital because both Jackson and Bateman missed time last season due to injuries.
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— Russell St. Report (@RussellStReport) May 24, 2022
They are trying to make sure they are on the same page.
“It’s definitely been really important,” Bateman said. “With the injury and missing time, getting that chemistry back with ‘L’ has definitely been important. So, working out with him was definitely a plus. Getting in shape [and] running some routes, it definitely felt good to connect with him.”
The Ravens will likely focus on getting back to their roots and running the ball this season after that plan was derailed when J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards went down with season-ending injuries in training camp.
In addition to Bateman, they also appear willing to give their other young wide receivers a chance to make plays. Devin Duvernay, James Proche, and Tylan Wallace are looking to play a bigger role in the offense.
“We took ‘Bate’ [Rashod Bateman] last year; he was our first-round guy, and I think he’s going to show you why,” DeCosta said. “Devin, we have a theory that guys that end up playing on special teams and being really good special teams players end up being really good position players. We think Devin is a great young player. We took Tylan last year, and kind of the same thing. He’s a young player and we were very excited to get him last year. He’s a guy last year that we got in the fourth round, that we probably would have taken a round and a half earlier last year. Then we have James, and James made a jump last year and made some critical plays in games.
“So, we like our group. We will add players to the mix. We’re doing that right now, and we’ll look at veteran players as well. It wasn’t really by design that we wanted to create a hole on the team. I don’t look at it that way, but in this business, you pivot, you dodge, you weave – you’re always really going to be chasing a need.”
First Day of OTA action ‼️ pic.twitter.com/qWQMoZGyea
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 24, 2022