Who Should I Start? Rashod Bateman or Zay Flowers
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.9 | 28.8 | 0.2 |
Rashod Bateman News
Friday, July 17, 5:52 PM
Clifton Brown of the Baltimore Ravens official website lists veteran wide receiver Rashod Bateman as a projected starter for the 2026 season. Brown adds that Bateman is "looking for a healthy and productive campaign" after playing in 13 games and catching just 19 passes on 38 targets for 224 yards and two touchdowns in his fifth year in the NFL. It was even more of a disappointment after the 26-year-old had a career-best 756 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 45 catches in 17 regular-season games in 2024. Bateman could be considered a bounce-back candidate in 2026, but with no ties to the new regime in Baltimore after they fired long-time head coach John Harbaugh this offseason, it's extremely hard to recommend the former first-rounder in 2021 out of the University of Minnesota as anything more than a low-upside dart throw late in deep-league drafts. The Ravens don't have excellent WR depth behind WR1 Zay Flowers, but they did draft rookies Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt, who both should have more short- and long-term upside than Bateman.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.8 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 68.1 | 0.3 |
Zay Flowers News
Thursday, July 16, 9:05 AM
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers is one of the league's top pass-catchers and is the top target for quarterback Lamar Jackson after two straight Pro Bowl seasons in 2024 and 2025. Clifton Brown of the team's official website writes that Flowers is a threat to break the franchise record for most receiving yards in a season, which was set by tight end Mark Andrews in 2021 with 1,361 yards. The 25-year-old former 22nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft out of Boston College has had back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons with nine total touchdowns in 34 regular-season games for the Ravens. There isn't much depth behind Flowers in Baltimore's passing attack, which gives Flowers a pretty safe volume floor as a low-end WR1/high-end WR2 target in fantasy football drafts, even with the Ravens implementing a new offense under head coach Jesse Minter. General manager Eric DeCosta said on 105.7 The Fan on Thursday that the team "definitely" wants to sign Flowers to a contract extension before the start of the 2026 regular season in early September. With a bounce-back season likely coming for QB Lamar Jackson if he can stay healthy, Flowers is a fine target in the early rounds of fantasy drafts, especially in PPR formats.
Rashod Bateman vs. Zay Flowers
Still trying to decide between Bateman and Flowers? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Rashod Bateman is projected to score 6.2 points this week while Zay Flowers is projected to score 13.8 points.
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