For the last several years, Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens has been one of the most productive tight ends in the NFL. Even while dealing with several injuries and playing a lower snap rate than other players of his caliber, Andrews has racked up 347 receptions for 4,305 yards and 37 touchdowns over the last five years. Those figures rank second, third and second, respectively, at the position, with only Travis Kelce and George Kittle ahead of him on any of those lists.
But the Ravens also recently added another quality pass-catching tight end in Isaiah Likely, whom they drafted in the fourth round out of Coastal Carolina in 2022. Likely has played behind Andrews for the majority of his two-year career to date, but he's also flashed high-end talent while filling in for Andrews during his injury absences, like when he collected 19 catches for 291 yards and four scores in a five-game span toward the end of last season.
With those two lining up together, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta believes the Ravens have unmatched talent at the tight end spot.
"I love Zay. He's a playmaker," DeCosta said, via the team's official website. "He's got route-running ability -- [he's] similar to a receiver in some ways. [He's] strong after the catch; that's something that going back to college when I evaluated him, that's the one thing you kind of hung your hat on, 'This guy was dangerous with the football in his hands.'
"He's another guy -- I've seen an urgency with him. His leadership, interaction with other players ... He's kind of changed from being a rookie to being a vet, and I just feel like he and Mark Andrews will be the best tandem at their position in the league and really create a lot of problems for opposing defensive coordinators."
While the Ravens do have an embarrassment of riches at the tight end spot, they used multi-tight end formations last season under Todd Monken less often than they had in previous years under former offensive coordinator Greg Roman. They used two or more tight ends on 39.5% of their snaps in 2019, droppe down to 22.7% and 23.7% in 2020 and 2021 and spiked all the way to 59.2% in 2022, per Tru Media. But last season, that figure plummeted to just 15.7%. If the Ravens want to take advantage of having both of these players on their roster, we may see more of a return to multi-tight end sets, or else more of a rotation between the two than there has been in the past.
