2023 mock NFL Draft 3.0: Final 11th-hour edition (with trades)
22. player. 826. . Wide Receiver. Eagles . Zay Flowers
On the clock: Pick No. 22: Baltimore Ravens – Zay Flowers, Wide Receiver, Boston College
Mock Draft 1.0 – Jordan Addison, Wide Receiver, USC
Mock Draft 2.0 – Zay Flowers, Wide Receiver, Boston College
The Baltimore Ravens have been pretty open about how much they like Zay Flowers, and signing Odell Beckham won’t preclude a wide receiver here. They need to do everything possible to lure quarterback Lamar Jackson back to the team and additional weapons are just as important as money for doing that.
Flowers had an excellent season for Boston College with 78 receptions for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Eagles. A small receiver at 5-foot-10 and 172 pounds, he was productive on the outside as well as in the slot, although teams might be reluctant to play him very wide given his small stature.
Flowers has had a lot of good momentum coming into the draft with his excellent workouts and relatively weak wide receiver class. He had to run fast in the NFL Combine, which he did with an impressive 4.42 second 40-yard time. His twitchiness and footwork are exactly what you need with an elite slot receiver.
The real question is if a team sees him as a more diverse receiver than that. He won’t outbody anyone on contested balls but if he’s in space he’s almost impossible to chase down, so a smart team could see Flowers as exceptional value. The only other issue facing Flowers is his drops, with 24 drops at Boston College. with an 11% drop rate.