The promotional campaign began early last season, courtesy of Lamar Jackson.
“We’ve got top two — not two — in the league right now at tight end,” the Ravens quarterback said in September 2020. And again in December: “Top two, not two.”
This week, it’s maybe easier than ever to consider Mark Andrews a top-two tight end in the NFL, and perhaps No. 1 overall. He entered Week 15 leading all tight ends in receiving yards. He’s behind only San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle in Pro Football Focus’ positional rankings. And he’s coming off an 11-catches-on-11-targets performance in the Ravens’ loss Sunday to the Cleveland Browns that gave Andrews the single-season franchise record for receiving yards by a tight end (926).
“He’s definitely one of the best in the league,” Ravens tight ends coach Bobby Engram said in an interview Thursday. “There’s always going to be debates — one, two or three? I’m biased, so I think he’s No. 1.”
Sunday’s masterclass makes for a compelling argument. In the 24-22 road loss, Andrews became the first player in Ravens history to finish with at least 10 receptions and catch 100% of his targets in one game. He also earned high marks from Engram for his blocking, which helped the Ravens average over 5 yards per carry despite the early exit of Jackson (sprained ankle).
“I feel like he played a complete game,” Engram said, but maybe more revealing was the complete trust the Ravens put in their fourth-year star. Andrews has earned what Engram calls “creative freedom” as a receiver. He’s long had the quickness to separate from linebackers and the physicality to shrug off safeties and cornerbacks. In this Ravens offense, coaches and quarterbacks trust him to read his keys — presnap formations, midplay leverages, one-on-one matchups — and get open.
Sometimes that can mean using the same kind of route concept to get open for three different kinds of catches. That’s what happened Sunday. On Thursday, Andrews broke down every reception, big and small, with The Baltimore Sun.
First quarter
Catch No. 1: Lined up as an in-line blocker on second-and-8, Andrews chipped defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, slowing his pass rush, before releasing into the left flat, where Jackson found him. He was tackled behind the line of scrimmage for a 1-yard loss.
“When you’re chipping and you’re releasing, it’s a huge job,” Andrews said. “Your tackles are relying on you to chip a certain way, be aggressive and be able to get some movement, and then once you do that job, that’s the most important thing. Obviously, there’s routes in this protection, and you want to be able to make some time for those longer routes, and then be able to get out and have an outlet for your quarterback and hopefully outflank the defense and turn up the field and get some yards.”
Second quarter
Catch No. 2: On second-and-15, the Ravens called a tight end screen for Andrews, whose pass-block posture didn’t fool defensive end Myles Garrett. As Jackson tried to run away from inside linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah — Jackson sprained his ankle on the play — Andrews separated from Garrett, made a juggling, one-handed catch and gained 5 yards.
“Once I saw that [Garrett] wasn’t going to fully go up the field, which he usually does — he made a smart play — I made a rollout to the sideline as fast as I could,” Andrews said. “Lamar threw a great ball, and I just kind of tipped it to myself and got upfield.”
Catch No. 3: On second-and-3, in a hurry-up situation, Andrews ran an out route from the right slot — where he did most of his damage Sunday — against the smaller Owusu-Koramoah, using his size to initiate contact and create space on a 4-yard catch.
“His job is the curl-flat area, so for me, being a bigger-body type guy, I’m going to press him and I’m going to lean up and break out at an angle where ‘Snoop’ [backup quarterback Tyler Huntley] has an easy, safe throw,” Andrews said.
Third quarter
Catch No. 4: Lined up in the slot against Owusu-Koramoah, Andrews faked an out-breaking route — the kind he used to free himself for his third catch — before stemming his route back inside, where he settled into an open patch of grass and fell forward for a 10-yard completion on second-and-6.
“I can break out, I can break in,” Andrews said. “I felt that once I kind of was leaning outwards, I felt his momentum go out, and so for me just to be able to find that space inside, I knew I had him just turned inside. It’s those types of things when you start running those 8-, 10-yard routes and those 5-yard routes — you can start to feel what the defense is doing. You’re not going to get the same thing all the time, but you can start to kind of guess and feel and anticipate things. And that’s one one of those ones right there.”
Catch No. 5: Andrews’ biggest play, a 32-yard catch-and-run that Harbaugh called “pretty beastly,” came not long after telling Huntley he’d been open on a similar design late in the second quarter. This time, with Andrews slyly freeing himself from cornerback Troy Hill on a crossing route with a “chicken wing-type thing,” Huntley hit him in stride and watched him rumble. Four Browns defenders tried to knock Andrews over before he carried them out of bounds.
“Something I’ve been working on is YAC,” he said. “Yards after catches are important. It’s something that helps the whole team out. When you make a play like that, everyone’s ready to go. I’m trying to help any way that I can, and when I get the ball, the only thing in my head is trying to get to the end zone. … Whenever you can drag some guys and not go to the ground, I think that sends a statement to what you’re about.”
Catch No. 6: On third-and-22, with the Ravens needing some easy yards to get into field-goal range for kicker Justin Tucker, Andrews caught a screen pass out of a spread formation. His 8-yard gain got the Ravens to Cleveland’s 37-yard line, and Tucker nailed a 55-yarder on the next play.
“I love being able to catch the ball, make a run and run some people over and make some big yards,” Andrews said. “But I also love blocking for those guys. I love blocking for ‘Quise’ [Marquise “Hollywood” Brown], ‘Duv’ [Devin Duvernay], ‘Pro’ [James Proche] — anybody, all those guys — because I know how explosive they are. They’re way more explosive than I am. So if I know I can make a big block and I can drive a guy 5, 10, 15 yards, especially some of those smaller guys, and just drive my feet, they’re going to make me right, they’re going to make a big play. And that’s probably one of the most satisfying things you can do.”
Fourth quarter
Catch No. 7: On fourth-and-11, Andrews was left uncovered just inside the numbers after a presnap breakdown in Cleveland’s pass defense. But before he could even turn around to present himself as a target, Huntley had wound up. Andrews quickly adjusted to the ball’s flight, which led him upfield, and he fell forward for a 13-yard gain.
“I think that Snoop’s learning a bunch,” he said. “That play call is one of those things where it’s always preached: ‘Eyes.’ If you feel that you’re open, give your eyes, and his eyes were spot-on. He was ready immediately. I think that he learns a lot. I think he’s learned a lot from Lamar. I think he’s hitting that in stride. He’s playing really, really well. And a ball like that’s not easy.”
Catch No. 8: Yet another example of Andrews’ freedom: With little space underneath and a patch of unmarked grass ahead, Andrews decided against a quick-hitting route. Instead, he continued up the seam, raising his hand and watching as Huntley feathered a 20-yard pass in between the Browns’ shallow-zone and deep-zone defenders.
“I just chose to take it vertical,” Andrews said. “I knew that there was no throw here [in the flat]. It’s not something that I do all the time. It’s something I felt. I felt this one, and obviously Snoop felt it as well, threw a great ball, fit it in there. I knew there was a pocket [of space] there, and usually, a play like that, I wouldn’t do this, I would just run my route. But I’d ran it a couple of times and I knew there was something there.”
Catch No. 9: On fourth-and-1, with about three minutes remaining, Andrews didn’t need much. He ran a quick out-breaking route against safety Grant Delpit, who was guarding the first-down marker, then secured a throw on the run from Huntley. His only regret on the 2-yard catch? Not getting out of bounds.
“Usually, teams are going to dial up something where it’s going to be man [coverage] in some sort of way,” he said. “So that play call was perfect. Just allowed me to hit the flat and get a yard and get up.”
Catch No. 10: On first-and-goal from Cleveland’s 8, Andrews wanted to get to his “sweet spot” in the back of the end zone. So he bent his route away from one dropping defender, inside linebacker Malcolm Smith, and split the Browns’ two deep safeties, who were stretched by the Ravens’ spread formation. On a one-step drop, Huntley gave Andrews enough time to clear the coverage and enough space to get both feet inbounds for an easy-looking touchdown.
“Again, Snoop’s thrown a great ball to right in that good area,” Andrews said. “It’s a timing thing. Things happen fast in the red zone, and so for us, it’s got to be on the same page, got to do the things the right way.”
Catch No. 11: On third-and-20 on the Ravens’ final drive, Andrews broke off a vertical route and cut across the middle for a 14-yard gain, again using his size to create a pocket of space and a glimmer of hope.
“I ran real hard up the field and realized that [Smith] wasn’t going to let me get around him, [so I] came under it,” he said. “Snoop fired it, and that was a big gain. Gave us a chance here to make a fourth-down conversion.”
They couldn’t, leaving Andrews to reckon with all that he hadn’t done. There wasn’t much. On Thursday, he was asked what he’d taken away from a game with such highs and lows.
“Most importantly, I wish we would’ve won that game,” Andrews said. “I think that we fought until the very end. I think everybody — offense, defense, special teams — we were all fighting. And I think that every game’s different, you know? Some things happen — maybe a ball gets broken up — but it was a special game. I thought I played well. I wish we would’ve won. I think that would’ve made things better.”
Week 15
PACKERS@RAVENS
Sunday, 4:25 p.m.
TV: Chs. 45, 5 Radio: 97.9 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Packers by 5 ½