Zay Flowers Dynasty Value | Fantasy Outlook, Ranking, and More

The NFL never stops. Even when games aren’t taking place, fantasy football values are constantly shifting. Baltimore Ravens WR Zay Flowers put together a quality rookie season that suggests long-term success, so where does his dynasty value stand heading into the 2024 offseason?

Zay Flowers’ Dynasty Outlook

Amidst a run of four consecutive wide receivers, Baltimore made Flowers the third one selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. It was a good landing spot from the perspective that Flowers would immediately be the best receiver on the team. But it was a tricky one on the basis that the Ravens weren’t exactly known for being a favorable offense for wide receivers.

All things considered, Flowers had a pretty great rookie year. The first thing we want to see for rookie wide receivers is at least 500 receiving yards. Anything less, and their odds of ever mattering in the NFL are close to zero.

MORE: Fantasy News Tracker

What also matters is the degree to which a rookie receiver tops the 500-yard threshold. Flowers met this threshold with ease.

He caught 77 passes for 858 yards, and his 24.4% target share was 20th in the league. Flowers averaged 12.9 fantasy points per game despite being targeted on just 21.1% of his routes run (outside the top 40) and playing on an offense that threw the ball fewer than 500 times.

Some may look at that as a negative. But I see Flowers as a player who is still getting better. After several years of taking shots at wide receivers in the early rounds of the draft, the Ravens look like they finally hit.

Jason Katz’s Top 25 WR Rankings

1) Justin Jefferson | MIN
2) Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
3) CeeDee Lamb | DAL
4) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
5) Garrett Wilson | NYJ
6) Tyreek Hill | MIA
7) Puka Nacua | LAR
8) A.J. Brown | PHI
9) Chris Olave | NO
10) Jaylen Waddle | MIA
11) Brandon Aiyuk | SF
12) DK Metcalf | SEA
13) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND
14) DeVonta Smith | PHI
15) Drake London | ATL
16) Jordan Addison | MIN
17) DJ Moore | CHI
18) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
19) Tank Dell | HOU
20) Nico Collins | HOU
21) Rashee Rice | KC
22) Tee Higgins | CIN
23) Zay Flowers | BAL
24) Stefon Diggs | BUF
25) Davante Adams | LV

Should You Trade Flowers in Dynasty?

Are you considering trading Flowers? Our PFN Trade Analyzer allows you to find the best trades to make in seconds!

Flowers detractors might point to TE Mark Andrews’ injury as an inflection point in his rookie season. I would be remiss to not at least address it.

With Andrews, Flowers averaged 11.0 fantasy points per game (11 games). Without Andrews, that number spiked to 17.4 ppg (six games).

You could look at this, know Andrews will be back next year, and view Flowers as a sell. After all, the numbers don’t lie — he was objectively worse with Andrews active.

However, we need to also consider the timing of everything. Rookie wide receivers historically perform better over the second half than the first half. They learn the playbook more, get acclimated to the NFL, and in turn produce at a higher level.

Andrews went down in Week 11 with his injury. Was the reason Flowers’ production increased over the second half because Andrews got hurt, or did things just start to click?

MORE: Pittsburgh Steelers Dynasty Trade Advice

Albeit to a far lesser extent, this is similar to what we saw in 2021 with Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. It’s a bit different because St. Brown’s fantasy numbers were more elite, and he was also a Day 3 pick.

But the same questions were being asked. Was his late-season surge due to his talent, or the fact that T.J. Hockenson and D’Andre Swift both got hurt?

I tend to believe that bad players aren’t going to suddenly be good just because volume opens up. If Flowers wasn’t good at football, the targets vacated by Andrews would’ve gone to someone else.

What we saw from Flowers in 2023 is likely his floor going forward. I expect him to continue to improve, and be an even more reliable fantasy asset in 2024.

I don’t see a weekly fantasy WR1 in Flowers’ future, but a consistently reliable WR2 is very much in his plausible range of outcomes. Unless someone is paying you a price greater than that, hang onto Flowers and enjoy what should be a long, solid career.

With the fantasy football season behind us, why not start preparing for your rookie drafts with our dynasty rookie rankings? Additionally, as you look to improve your team heading into 2024, our dynasty trade calculator can help you find the perfect deal to boost your championship chances.