Ravens News: Ja’Kobi Lane Will Get Targets
Rashod Bateman is heading into his sixth NFL season with very little fantasy relevance and a shrinking footprint on the Baltimore Ravens’ offense.
The former 27th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has never delivered the consistency his draft pedigree implied. Injuries derailed his first two seasons; he played just 18 games combined in 2021 and 2022, and a full year of health in 2023 produced only 32 catches for 367 yards and one touchdown. His 2024 campaign was the exception: 45 receptions for 756 yards and nine touchdowns in 17 games, a breakout that earned him a three-year, $36.75 million extension through the 2029 season.
Then 2025 happened. Despite playing 13 games, Bateman managed only 19 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 39 targets. Injuries to the ankle and shoulder, and illness, hampered him throughout. By season’s end, he had become something of an afterthought in a passing game that increasingly ran through Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, and Devontez Walker.
The 2026 offseason has done nothing to improve his standing. Baltimore overhauled its coaching staff, replacing 18-year head coach John Harbaugh with Jesse Minter and tabbing 29-year-old Declan Doyle, who came from the Chicago Bears, as offensive coordinator. Neither has a prior professional relationship with Bateman.
In the 2026 draft, the Ravens added wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane in the third round (80th overall) out of USC. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound Lane gives Baltimore a physically imposing jump-ball threat it has lacked for years. The Ravens also drafted tight end Matt Hibner in the fourth round out of SMU, a pass-catching option who overlapped with Minter at Michigan and could absorb targets that might otherwise flow toward Bateman. Together, the new additions further crowd a receiver room that already includes Flowers, Walker, and returning tight ends.
Bateman has theoretical job security given his contract, walking away from a deal that runs through 2029 with $20 million guaranteed is not something Baltimore can do casually in the near term. But a second consecutive down season would put him firmly on the roster bubble by 2027. At this stage, his fantasy utility is minimal in most formats.