Mink: The Ravens tight end split last season was fairly even in terms of snaps. Mark Andrews played 682 and Isaiah Likely played 627. I wouldn’t read too much into Head Coach John Harbaugh’s comments about his goal for Likely to be an All-Pro. I’m sure Harbaugh would also say he could see Andrews, who has already been an All-Pro, reach the pinnacle of his position again.
Likely is absolutely an ascending player who will continue to be a versatile playmaker in the Ravens offense. He prides himself on being a “chess piece” that can be used all over the offense. While Likely could continue to level the snap count or even surpass Andrews in some games, I would anticipate that the rotation looks similar to how it did last year when Andrews and Likely combined for 1,150 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns.
The Ravens ratcheted up their use of “12” personnel (one running back and two tight ends) last season and had the highest expected points added (EPA) from it by far in the league. Thus, I (and Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken) expect that to continue.
“[Tight Ends] Coach [George] Godsey does a great job every week of [figuring out], ‘How do we rotate those guys? Where do we have the targets aligned, so those guys feel like they’re getting their opportunities?'” Monken said, giving credit to Andrews and Likely for being selfless. “I’m fired up they’re all here to run it back with those guys, and I see us being very similar to last year in a lot of ways, because I think that’s our best grouping.”