His 2024 season is mostly remembered for ending the wrong way, but Mark Andrews had still proved a prolific weapon for the Baltimore Ravens by scoring 11 touchdowns, although he shouldn’t expect to do it again.
Instead, the All-Pro has been warned “a return to earth in 2025 is a near lock” by ESPN’s Mike Clay. The warning is based on Andrews never being “so TD dependent (his 16.2% TD rate was way above his prior career rate of 7.1%).”
Matching his prolific efficiency at the business end of the field will be tough for Andrews, and not just because of the numbers. There’s also the not-so small matter of the Ravens having a host of other targets ready to command the attention of two-time NFL MVP, quarterback Lamar Jackson in the red zone.
Andrews is increasingly looking like the odd man out while his position remains under threat from a budding young star. It’s also possible 29-year-old Andrews is just at the start of a late-career decline.
Mark Andrews Faces Challenge Maintaining Rare Form
Not many pass-catchers possess the flair for finding the end zone Andrews displayed during his seventh season. He “finished first in TDs but 20th in targets among tight ends last season. The veteran caught nine of his 10 end zone targets, nearly doubling his career catch rate (47%) on those plays. No other player with more than three end zone targets had a catch rate above 71%.”
Andrews got open and made the tough catches in traffic where it matters most. Scores and plays like these highlighted here by Underdog’s Josh Norris.
What’s more impressive than the number of touchdowns Andrews scored was how he did so after overcoming a slow start to the campaign. When he was struggling for mere targets, let alone touchdowns.
He played his way back into a key role, but the comeback was derailed when Andrews endured a nightmare against the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs. His critical drop of what would have been the game-tying two-point conversion, highlighted by Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, ended Baltimore’s season.
The Ravens backed Andrews, but that didn’t quiet speculation he would be dealt this offseason. Andrews is still on the roster and will remain a vital weapon for Jackson, but the star signal-caller isn’t short of other options ready to amass some scores of their own.
Ravens, Lamar Jackson Don’t Need Mark Andrews Scoring Reliance
Clay projects Andrews will still score seven touchdowns this season, although that number could be impacted by an increasingly wide target share. Jackson has so many other playmakers to aim for, including breakout move tight end Isaiah Likely, who can get onto the field more often by beating Andrews in a key area.
There’s also room for Rashod Bateman to get into the end zone more often, although Clay is far from convinced. Bateman has changed the narrative for the Ravens at wide receiver, but Clay expects the wideout’s touchdown tally to fall from nine to five because “Bateman (4.6 xTD) ranked outside the top 55 wide receivers in targets and receptions, but finished eighth in TDs thanks to Lamar Jackson’s career-high 41 TD passes. This is after Bateman totaled four TDs (4.9 xTD) during his first three NFL seasons.”
If Bateman does falter, Jackson can turn to DeAndre Hopkins. The five-time Pro Bowler is a contested-catch machine who can be unerring inside the 20, but the Ravens have been warned about the 33-year-old’s enduring big-play potential.
Any downturn from Hopkins can be compensated for by Zay Flowers continuing his maturation as Jackson’s WR1. Jackson has gotten used to looking for Andrews in clutch situations, but his reliance on No. 89 is naturally waning thanks to the Ravens stockpiling playmaking pass-catchers.
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