The Baltimore Ravens selected Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers with the 22nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Flowers played four years at Boston College (2019-2022). He left the program as the Eagles’ all-time leader in career receptions (200), receiving yards (3,056) and receiving touchdowns (29). As a senior, Flowers was a third-team All-American and a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver.
Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley, who has seven years of experience as a defensive backs coach in the NFL, believes Flowers is going to be a nightmare for NFL defensive backs despite not being the biggest target in stature (5-foot-9, 182 pounds).
“You’re going to struggle to cover this guy one-on-one,” Hafley said on Glenn Clark Radio May 1. “You better go down and get your hands on him, and then you better be good at the line of scrimmage because he can release. He can reduce the surface area, he can make you miss, and he can accelerate. His ability to stop and start is ridiculous.”
Hafley referred to two plays in particular from Boston College’s game against Louisville in October 2022 as moments when he knew that Flowers was going to be a special player.
The first play was a 57-yard touchdown reception in which Flowers adjusted to make the catch over a defender’s shoulder in double coverage. The second play was an impressive 22-yard run off a busted play, though it was not a touchdown because Flowers stepped out of bounds just before the goal line.
“There were [two] defenders, and he went up and just completely took the ball away from them,” Hafley said. “And then the other one we called a reverse pass — because Zay can throw, so that’s going to be a pain to defend, too. He caught a bubble going to his left … and no one was open. So, he reversed all the way across the field and [nearly] scored a touchdown running it about 40 yards. … He probably ran 90 yards to get 40 yards, made like six people miss.”
Flowers ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. His arms and hands are a bit smaller than league average for receivers, but that did not prevent him from posting an overall draft score of 82 out of 99, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
While his size indicates he will likely be restricted to a slot role in the league, Hafley insists that Flowers is more than capable of being used in more ways than one.
“We had to develop him. And that’s why I think it was really important that he stayed last year,” said Hafley, the head coach at BC since December 2019. “… He wasn’t just the guy getting bubble screens and [receiving handoffs]. He went from a guy who could catch and run and make people miss to a guy that by the end of last year could go out and make the contested catch. And in my opinion, he’s not just a slot. He’s complete wideout.”
The Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson agreed to a five-year extension right before the draft. The team also signed free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., but that did not stop them from taking another pass catcher with their top pick to help their franchise quarterback.
Just like Jackson, Flowers is a South Florida native. From Fort Lauderdale, Flowers is the fourth youngest of 14 siblings. His mother, Jackie, passed away when he was 5 years old due to complications from a head injury. His father, Willie, worked tirelessly to provide for the family after the tragedy.
Hafley says the person the Ravens just drafted is equally as important as the football player.
“You’re getting a guy who’s going to give his teammates everything, just like he gave his family everything, just like he gave his team and his coaches everything, and he’s going to stay committed to them, and he’s going to stay loyal to them,” Hafley said. “He’s been through a lot of hard times, but it’s never broken him. And he comes out with a smile on his face with a ton of energy, whether it’s family issues, whether it’s family travesties, or whether it’s being on a team that didn’t have a lot of success this year, yet he continued to go harder than anybody.”
For more from Hafley, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of BC Football