Todd Monken, the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, was obviously not going to give away any information, especially not in May when teams are not interested in giving their rivals an advantage in the scouting process.
Thus, when Monken was recently questioned about how much of his off-season strategy he focused on making the most of tight ends Isaiah and Mark Andrews He probably stuck to generalizations the most.
“Well, everything was going back to the drawing board to say who we want to be moving forward offensively,” he said.
Likely, though, could hardly contain his excitement when he discussed sharing the field with Andrews, along with Baltimore’s other top playmakers.
“Having all of us on the same field at the same time, you don’t know whether it’s going to be run or pass, and you don’t know where the explosive play can come from,” he said last week.
The offensive strategy of the Ravens may have changed in Year 2 under Monken, as coaches and players have alluded to. These adjustments have not been very noticeable during the team’s structured exercises, and since teams like to make things as uniform as possible during training camp and preseason games, they might not be immediately apparent to spectators.
However, it would make plenty of sense if one of those changes in 2024 was using more two tight end sets. Bucky Brooks, an analyst for NFL.com, recently wrote about a potential league-wide rise in “12 personnel,” which features one running back, two tight ends and two wide receivers, as offensive designers and play callers try to create more mismatches.
The Ravens used 12 personnel on 1,044 offensive plays last season, which equated to 11.1 percent of the time and ranked 27th in the NFL, according to SumerSports. But the Ravens are likely to use 12 players far more in the future given Likely’s rise in the second half of the previous season and the return of a healthy Andrews.
Just think of the possibilities—and possible mismatches—when quarterback Lamar Jackson takes the snap in front of Derrick Henry and surveys the area downfield, where tight ends Andrews and Likely and wide receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman are running routes.
“You see it all across the NFL. The tight end position is growing and growing,” Andrews said last week. “These are guys that are some of the best athletes on the field, being big, tall, strong, able to go (and) get passes. I love what we’re able to do. I think that we’re going to continue to grow, obviously me, ‘Like’ and everybody else. But, it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be fun to be able to play around, game plan for that and just play some football. Obviously, we have Lamar Jackson, and he likes his tight ends. So, we’re going to get open for him.”
A striking increase in personnel, consisting of one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers, marked Monken’s debut season. After the Ravens signed veteran wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor as free agents and selected Flowers in the first round, it made sense. For slightly less than 48% of their offensive plays, the Ravens lined up with 11 personnel. Even so, that was 14% less than the league average.
Monken also used 21 personnel, which consists of two running backs, two wide receivers, and one tight end, on just under 24 percent of their offensive plays, the third-highest percentage in the league, with one of the greatest fullbacks in the league in Patrick Ricard.
So while 12 personnel was not one of Baltimore’s top formation choices, it was plenty successful when the Ravens did go to it. The Ravens, who passed 52 percent of the time out of the grouping, led the league in expected points added when they were in 12 personnel.
The formation has an easy-to-understand charm. Defenses may create a size mismatch by going light with an extra defensive back, forcing a smaller defensive back to match up with an athletic and physically strong tight end. Reducing size might also expose a defense to the powerful and relentless rushing attack of the Ravens, who now feature the 247-pound Henry.
If defenses opt to match up by going with an extra linebacker, that would potentially leave Andrews or Likely operating in the middle of the field, where Jackson loves to throw, against a slower defender.
“It’s going to be special,” Andrews said. “When you have two guys that are dynamic, mismatches all over the field — it doesn’t matter where you put us. That’s tough to game plan for. We’re guys that love to play ball, love to compete, and it’s going to be fun. Really, our whole tight end room is special right now, and I’m excited about that. We’re just trying to grow and get better each and every day.”
As Brooks wrote: “Few opponents will possess the size, strength and physicality to deal with the Ravens’ running game while also having enough athletes on the field to cover the team’s dynamic pass catchers on the perimeter.”
That’s what Likely was getting at when he beamed about the thought of being on the field with Andrews more.
“I mean, he’s an All-Pro. He’s definitely the best in the league at what he does,” Likely said of Andrews. “And then, not only do you have to worry about him, you have to worry about ‘Bate’ and Zay outside with our receivers, as well as (Agholor), and then you still have Lamar and Derrick Henry in the backfield. So, those people need no recognition. Then, (I’m) finding my way in the offense as a chess piece, just seeing where I can fit in.”
“The way he plays football on Sundays is the same way he plays at practice.” @DaGorilla4 on @Mandrews_81: pic.twitter.com/LCCPDEP9Rn
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 28, 2024
Andrews, who is most likely a 2022 fourth-round pick, shattered his fibula and tore ligaments in his ankle during the previous season’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11. In the seven games without Andrews, including the team’s divisional-round playoff victory over the Houston Texans, likely averaged 3.4 receptions and 50.8 receiving yards per game. The most amazing thing was that he caught six touchdown passes.
What the Ravens have struggled to do is get Andrews, a three-time Pro Bowler who has long been Jackson’s favorite target, and Likely heavily involved in the same game. Andrews had 47 catches for 559 yards and six touchdowns in 11 games last season, including the AFC championship against Kansas City. In those 11 games, Likely had just 10 receptions for 105 yards and no touchdowns.
This offseason, the Ravens let go of Beckham and lost Devin Duvernay to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency. The most noteworthy wide receiver to be acquired was fourth-round rookie Devontez Walker. Following the top three of Flowers, Bateman, and Agholor for the Ravens, many questions remain. It is clear that Andrews enhances that group, but it also seems sense that Monken would want Likely to play as well.
“Certainly, with the way Isaiah Likely came on and having Mark, Pat Ricard, the wideouts we have, we do have tremendous skills,” Monken said. “So, how do we utilize each player and their elite skill sets? What is that? How can we utilize that? So, that has been a big part of the offseason with those guys and how do we get them — when and how — on the field that allows us to be very consistent on offense and score touchdowns.”
(Photo of Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
