{"id":847724,"date":"2026-04-01T19:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/847724\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T19:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:00:33","slug":"jesse-minters-faith-in-unreliable-weapon-shouldnt-alter-ravens-draft-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/847724\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesse Minter’s faith in unreliable weapon shouldn’t alter Ravens’ draft plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the Baltimore Ravens\u2019 offseason happenings that kind of got swept under the rug is what went down with Rashod Bateman. After a tremendously disappointing 2025 campaign, posts surfaced on one of Bateman\u2019s Instagram accounts complaining about his usage<\/a>. He said he was hacked, but also added he agreed with some of what was posted.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear Bateman was disgruntled last year, and while a new coaching staff led by Jesse Minter should smooth things over, it\u2019s becoming evident that he may not be the wide receiver no. 2 that Baltimore was hoping he\u2019d become.<\/p>\n

Still, Minter seems adamant that Bateman can bounce back from his 19-reception, 224-yard season last year. He sounded hopeful about what 2026 could hold for the 26-year-old<\/a> when asked about it during team meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a lot of confidence in Rashod Bateman,\u201d Minter said. \u201cI know he\u2019s hungry, he\u2019s ready to get back to what he is\u2026And a lot of confidence in that whole [wide receiver] room. Just to continue to grow, opportunities for young players, really excited about them, and I think they\u2019ll be a big part of our offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, there\u2019s still potential with Bateman and others like Devontez Walker, but it shouldn\u2019t change Baltimore\u2019s draft plans. They need a receiver, and should take one with one of their first two picks.<\/p>\n

Jesse Minter\u2019s optimism can\u2019t overshadow Baltimore Ravens\u2019 urgent wide receiver need<\/p>\n

Bateman has been wildly inconsistent since being drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. It seemed he finally broke out in 2024 with 45 receptions, 756 yards, and nine touchdowns, which earned him a three-year, $36.75 million extension<\/a>. Unfortunately, he followed that up with a career-worst campaign in 2025.<\/p>\n

Bateman\u2019s injuries and lack of effort at times popped up once again last year. He may still be a nice third wideout or rotational piece, but the Ravens desperately need someone to pair with Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers<\/a>. They need a physical threat on the outside, and one who could be a trusted playmaker to make life easier for Jackson and take the pressure off Flowers.<\/p>\n

Arizona State\u2019s Jordyn Tyson seems like the perfect piece to solve the issue<\/a>. After a free agency period that saw a lack of starting offensive additions, it\u2019d be smart to go in that direction in the first or second round. <\/p>\n

If Tyson falls, his physicality would be the dream fit in new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle\u2019s offense. If he doesn\u2019t fall, Day 2 options like Louisville\u2019s Chris Bell or Indiana\u2019s Elijah Sarratt could make sense.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, Bateman does bounce back. He\u2019s flashed as a deep threat, and if the pass protection can hold up once, maybe he could replicate his 2024 success. With that being said, that shouldn\u2019t take wide receiver off the table in the 2026 NFL Draft. It remains a significant need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the Baltimore Ravens\u2019 offseason happenings that kind of got swept under the rug is what went…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":847725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-847724","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116330995892609058","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/847725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}