Is Rashod Bateman the key to unlocking Baltimore’s offense?
Yahoo Sports’ Dalton Del Don and Matt Harmon discuss the impact the former Minnesota WR could have in 2021.
Video Transcript
[VARIOUS SPORTS SOUNDS]
MATT HARMON: Where are you at with Rashod Bateman?
DALTON DEL DON: Man, my buddy and I are in this big survivor buy-in league, and he talked me into going-- talked us into the Ravens last week. So where I am at is Marquise Brown drops a few balls here and there, and there might be a wide open spot for Bateman to step in. Man, Hollywood.
I don't know. I think that first drop they called have been tipped before, so I'm only gonna say two dropped wide open touchdowns. But, you know, you squint, you could even say three.
But anyway, Bateman. People loved him. You know, the RotoViz group, I believe, was really high on him, and they know prospects far more than me. So he absolutely should be stashed in all competitive leagues. Lamar Jackson's awesome, man. He's out there--
MATT HARMON: I know, he looks great.
DALTON DEL DON: --swinging in the ball, too. Lamar Jackson's-- oh, so, so good. Oh, I mean, just, again, like, you know how many yards were left on the field last week. His numbers would look even better. But the man's awesome. He's fantastic, and I think-- yeah, Bateman's someone to stash. I mean, Sammy Watkins is still there too, but Bateman's definitely interesting moving forward.
MATT HARMON: The thing with Marquise Brown, too, is he's definitely a mistake-prone player. He's not very good at tracking the ball. I still think he's a fine, like, number two or number three receiver. Which is what he would be if Rashod Bateman's healthy. That's why I said coming into the year, like, Bateman is the key to unlocking this offense.
Like Marquise Brown is not an alpha receiver. Sammy Watkins has never been an alpha receiver. But it's a lot to put on Bateman, right, as a rookie that missed a bunch of practice time. We haven't really seen anyone do that, sans Odell Beckham. You know, Beckham coming in there and--
DALTON DEL DON: Right.
MATT HARMON: --crushing it. We'll talk about Beckham-- current version of Beckham-- in a second. But, yeah, Beckham, like, no training camp time. Comes in cold. Immediate instant impact player. Immediate superstar player his rookie year. Like, I don't think Bateman is gonna do that because it's just tough to project anybody to do that.
But I think he's that good of a prospect. Like, I think, from a technical standpoint, he was ready to be on the NFL field in 2020. I think he is a guy who reminds me a lot of Keenan Allen. Reminds me a lot of Justin Jefferson from a prospect standpoint.
Like he should-- he's the type of guy that's gonna get out there on curls, on digs, on slants, and just get separation, just get open because he's that kind of technical player. And they've not had anybody like that, Dalton. They've not had anybody like that for Lamar since he's been there.