Schefter: Zay Flowers is a true pre-game decision

Flowers’ biggest play of the day came on the Ravens’ opening drive. The star receiver turned a screen pass on third-and-nine upfield for a 48-yard touchdown to give the Ravens an early lead on what would be their only touchdown drive of the day. Despite another low-scoring day for the Ravens’ offense, Flowers continues to be one of the most profitable wide receivers in fantasy. He’s averaged over 10 targets per game in three starts by Tyler Huntley and has caught six or more passes in his last four games. With Lamar Jackson (ankle) expected back for Week 8’s game against the Bills, things are looking up for Flowers and the Ravens’ offense as a whole. The good news for Flowers’ managers, however, is that he’s a must-start regardless of who is under center.

Flowers has yet to find the end zone in back-to-back games with Tyler Huntley under center, but the 10 targets per game he has averaged over that span is still encouraging. Flowers led the Ravens in targets by a wide margin in this week’s loss, with his biggest play coming on a 31-yard reception in the third quarter. Scoring opportunities were scarce in this one, as the Ravens managed just 10 points on their first two drives and were shut out for the rest of the game. Flowers will be in the WR1 conversation next week against the Bengals if Lamar Jackson (ankle) makes the start, but would be more of a WR2 if Huntley gets the nod for a third straight week.

Perhaps feeling a bit wistful after spending a little of every week of the season on the injury report, Flowers got re-added Thursday with a limited session. He was limited again on Friday but is expected to play. There’s no further word on how serious this toe injury was, but he’s doing enough on the field in his limited time so far this year that nobody is seriously benching Flowers anyway.

Flowers played through a foot injury last week, catching 8-of-9 targets for 53 yards and rushing once for 13 yards. This injury could be related, but we really don’t know. Flowers’ productivity took a hit with Tyler Huntley running the offense last week. Huntley is currently in line to start again, though Lamar Jackson’s (ankle) status is still up in the air. If the toe injury limits Flowers, that further complicates things, but he still must be started if active. Hopefully, he practices tomorrow.

Flowers was largely confined to short area work with Tyler Huntley under center and also saw a 26-yard reception erased from his ledger due to a 29-yard pass interference penalty on the play. It was a weird situation in which the penalty yardage was greater than his reception. Fantasy managers might be forced to continue waiting on the return of Lamar Jackson after it was reported this week that the All Pro starter could be forced to miss another week. Flowers is a locked-in WR2 against the Browns in Week 6 with Huntley under center and an elite WR1 should Jackson return.

Jackson had already been ruled out earlier in the week and reportedly could be looking at a multi-game absence due to an ankle injury suffered before halftime in Week 4. Tyler Huntley will start under center for the Ravens as they look to subdue the momentum of the Falcons, who have won both games started by Michael Penix. Wide receiver Zay Flowers is officially active for Sunday Night Football.

Flowers was limited in practice throughout the week but never appeared at risk of missing Sunday night’s game. The bigger issue for him will be the absence of Lamar Jackson. Flowers has been the most efficient receiver in the league on a per-route basis this year. That will come back to Earth sans Jackson, but he remains on the WR1/2 border, even with Tyler Huntley under center.

Flowers got in three limited sessions while dealing with the foot injury. He loses ceiling with Tyler Huntley under center, but remains a rock solid low-end WR1 in terms of how much volume he amasses in this passing attack.

Flowers appears well on track to play this week after two limited sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. His ceiling will probably take a small hit with Lamar Jackson out, but he remains the only game in town in Baltimore and should still have WR1 viability.

Flowers was not present during the portion of practice open to the media earlier today, though it was assumed that this was a maintenance issue relating to his multi-week hamstring strain. It turns out Flowers is dealing with a new injury. It is unclear when the injury occurred. If it was an in-game issue last week, then beginning Week 5 with a limited practice is a great sign for his availability. Stay tuned.