Who's winning the WR2 job in Baltimore - Rashod Bateman, Devontez Walker, Ja'Kobi Lane or Elijah Sarratt?

There's no other way around this: Rashod Bateman looked awful last season when he was healthy, and he missed time to boot. This came after he signed an extension that keeps him in Baltimore until 2029.

On top of that, this team sorely needed a big body receiver to help in the red zone. The DeAndre Hopkins experiment also went poorly.

Naturally, the team added two big bodied receivers in the draft this offseason in third round pick Ja'Kobi Lane out of USC and then followed it up in the fourth round with Elijah Sarratt out of Indiana. Oh, and 2024 fourth round speedster Devontez Walker is still in the mix.

With a new offensive coordinator who'll likely run more 11 personnel than the team has run before, especially after they let Isaiah Likely walk, there's opportunity for two of these guys to be absolute values on an elite offense.

Let's talk through the scenarios of each player and predict where each will be in week one.

Rashod Bateman: The Incumbent

Rashod Bateman entered camp as the number two receiver on the offense by default. And look, I buried him in the intro somewhat unfairly, completely ignore the massive breakout he had in 2024 with a 45-756-9 line. That might not even be the ceiling case, but it is in his potential if he can get it back together after last season.

From the 2026 Basement Brewed Sports Draft Guide (now available!):

"Rashod Bateman looked horrendous last year, straight up. Generationally bad for a WR2. But we've seen what peak Rashod Bateman can look like, and that's a really valuable piece - you only have to go back to the year prior when Bateman finished as a top-40 player in PPR and cracking the top 35 in half point PPR. That upside is too big for someone going this late in drafts. The downside risk? Two picks were spent at WR in Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt. It's been all but confirmed that Bateman will start the season as the WR2 in the offense, with Lane, Sarratt and Devontez Walker competing for an actually-valuable WR3 role, but should Bateman's production look awful again, it won't take much convincing for the Ravens to try out these three in the role. For now, I'm optimistic on Bateman."

Ja'Kobi Lane: The Big-Bodied Rookie With Training Camp Hype

If you Google Ja'Kobi Lane right now, you'll probably see a bunch of quotes and pieces talking about highlight-reel plays in training camp. The momentum here is insane, to the point that he's probably pulling away as the WR3 heading into preseason games. These things can be fickle, though, and momentum can stop & change direction on a dime. Subscribers in our Discord server already know that I drafted Ja'Kobi Lane in the final round of my first draft in the DraftKings Best Ball Millionaire Tournament on April 28th and simply said "Ja'Kobi Lane WR2 in Baltimore???" as my comment.

Clearly I'm in on a personal level, but what say you, Mikey?

"Ja'Kobi Lane joins an interesting wide open Ravens passing offense that loses Isaiah Likely and, under new OC Declan Doyle, may run more 11 personnel than they historically have. We know that Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews are entrenched in their roles, but that leaves Lane, former first rounder Rashod Bateman, fellow rookie Elijah Sarratt, who was drafted behind Lane, and former fourth round pick Devontez Walker as the four players competing for the WR2 and WR3 role. Coaches have all but confirmed that Bateman will start in the WR2 role, and Devontez Walker is closer stylistically to Bateman than Lane & Sarratt, so I view the WR3 role as coming down to "who of these big body rookies can perform better in camp to win the job?" The initial edge should go to Lane, who has the draft capital in his favor, but it was Sarratt who got more buzz in OTAs. The best case scenario for Lane is that he shines in training camp and wins a solid big-body role across the middle and in the red zone outright; the worst case is the opposite. For redraft, I don't think any of this can matter yet - clear watch-list situation unless it's a deep league. For best ball, though? Quite frankly, I want to make bets on at least Bateman, Lane and Sarratt as much as possible, because whoever is out there should clearly outproduce their ADPs."

Elijah Sarratt: OTA Hype Stunted By An Injury

As spoiled by the draft guide write-up for Ja'Kobi Lane, it was actually Elijah Sarratt that was getting the hype in OTAs over Ja'Kobi Lane. See, these things can be fickle! He's got a profile that's a great fit for Lamar Jackson - maybe even more than Lane does - but the team obviously drafted him a round later for a reason. That's not a precursor to say that Sarratt is worse than Ja'Kobi Lane - as a reminder, the Packers drafted Luke Musgrave in the second round before drafting Tucker Kraft in the same draft in the third round, and we all know how that turned out. But for the first season, it does at least imply a neutral edge to Lane.

From the draft guide, written before training camp kicked off (and will repeat some from the above):

"Elijah Sarratt, drafted in the fourth round by the Ravens, joins an interesting wide open passing offense that loses Isaiah Likely and, under new OC Declan Doyle, may run more 11 personnel than they historically have. We know that Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews are entrenched in their roles, but that leaves Sarratt, former first rounder Rashod Bateman, fellow rookie Ja'Kobi Lane, who is stylistically similar enough to Sarratt and was drafted ahead of him, and former fourth round pick Devontez Walker as the four players competing for the WR2 and WR3 role. Coaches have all but confirmed that Bateman will start in the WR2 role, and Devontez Walker is closer stylistically to Bateman than Lane & Sarratt, so I view the WR3 role as coming down to "who of these big body rookies can perform better in camp to win the job?" I'm of the opinion that the initial edge should go to Lane and not Sarratt based on draft capital, but it was Sarratt who got more buzz in OTAs, as called out by the beat writers at least. We do know that he was on the receiving end of multiple Lamar Jackson touchdowns, which is always a good sign. The best case scenario for Sarratt is that his momentum continues in training camp and wins a solid big-body role across the middle and in the red zone outright; the worst case is the opposite, where Lane stunts that and shows why he was drafted ahead of Sarratt. For redraft, I don't think any of this can matter yet - clear watch-list situation unless it's a deep league. For best ball, though? Quite frankly, I want to make bets on at least Bateman, Lane and Sarratt as much as possible, because whoever is out there should clearly outproduce their ADPs. Wheels up."

Devontez Walker: Pure Speed That You Can't Write Off Yet

To me, Devontez Walker feels like the clear fifth option here, and I know Mikey agrees. His play style still has a fit here, though, as the most obvious replacement for Rashod Bateman's actual role, not depth chart placement, should he be a disaster again and/or get hurt. Is he good enough to take the position outright? Maybe, but if that were the case, he had opportunities to do it last year and that didn't happen.

From the draft guide:

"Devontez Walker appears to be the odd man out on this Ravens roster, given the additions of Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt, but let's not bury him quite yet. While Lane and Sarratt are likely ahead of him on the depth chart on paper, his skill set as a speed threat actually competes more closely to that of Rashod Bateman than the other two. There's a chance they'll want to keep Tez around for that reason alone. Then you add on possible kick return or punt return duties, and now you have a dart throw on an elite offense that could be a big play away from mattering. Probably a best ball only pick in the final rounds of drafts on Lamar teams."

Conclusion: It's probably Bateman and Lane, but that doesn't mean you can't draft Sarratt

I'm primarily a best ball player, which gives me an opportunity to build out a portfolio of players to spread out my chances. And let me tell you, I have been all over this Ravens passing in the post-NFL-Draft contests.

Through 80 (and counting!) drafts, my Ravens exposure overall is:

• Lamar Jackson: 14% of teams

• Justice Hill: 15% of teams

• Zay Flowers: 19% of teams

• Elijah Sarratt: 21% of teams

• Ja'Kobi Lane: 19% of teams

• Rashod Bateman: 16% of teams

• Mark Andrews: 11% of teams

As a reminder, these are 12-team drafts, meaning the "average" for drafting most of these guys is 8.33%.

Right now, it feels like Bateman and Lane will start the season, in that order, as the starters alongside Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews in 11 personnel. But Sarratt should be right there all season, and perhaps they even carve out a role for him separately as more of a big slot type player (replacing some of the Isaiah Likely role). Time will tell, but I agree with Mikey: You're going to want all of these guys in your best ball portfolio, and in redraft, you should be taking a chance on at least one of Bateman, Lane or Sarratt if you can.

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