Ebony Bird
FanSided

Willie Snead has been a model of consistency for the Ravens

By Brandon Deffet

BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 21: Wide receiver Willie Snead #83 of the Baltimore Ravens runs with the ball in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints at M&T Bank Stadium on October 21, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 21: Wide receiver Willie Snead #83 of the Baltimore Ravens runs with the ball in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints at M&T Bank Stadium on October 21, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images) /
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The Baltimore Ravens best receiver is Willie Snead:

Unsurprisingly, the Baltimore Ravens 2018 season has provided a lot of twists and turns up to this point. Some players start off hot, and then cool down as the season grinds. Oftentimes it’s the exact opposite that occurs, and a struggling player hits his stride later in the year, when it counts the most.

Through all these ups and downs, we sometimes lose our sense of value when it comes to players that display true consistency throughout the entirety of the season.

Enter Ravens wide receiver Willie Snead:

Did you know that Snead has had at least 5 catches for 50 receiving yards in 9-of-14 games this season? That’s a pretty impressive stat. What really makes this remarkable, is that Snead has maintained this model of consistency despite playing with two very different quarterbacks in 2018.

With Joe Flacco at the helm, the Ravens offense averaged 42 passing attempts per game. That’s an amount capable of lifting the stats of a wide receiver.

– Snead hit the 5-catch/50-yard milestone in six out of nine Joe Flacco starts. (60%) 

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With Lamar Jackson as the starter, the Ravens have become the most run-heavy offensive unit in the league. Not by any coincidence, they have also become the most successful team in terms of rush yards per game. Through five starts, Jackson is averaging just 24.8 attempts per game.

– Snead has still hit the 5-catch/50-yard milestone in three out of the five Lamar Jackson starts. (60%)

Now that is consistency.

It doesn’t end there, either. Snead has been the Ravens’ chain-mover through the air. Of Snead’s team-leading 61 receptions, 36 of them have gone for first downs. Even further, 14 of those receptions have come on third down conversions. There’s another C-word that comes to mind for those stats: Clutch.

As the end of the end of the 2018 season nears, the Ravens find themselves in a position to make a playoff push. They are going to need Willie Snead to continue to keep up his steady production and be Lamar’s safety-valve when he drops back to throw in this run-heavy offense. If the Ravens are going to make a playoff run, there are likely going to be some big moments to come over the final two weeks of the season. You can expect Willie Snead to be featured in these moments.

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Perhaps the most important conclusion we can draw from Willie Snead’s play this season goes beyond the 2018 season. This is that he is EXACTLY the kind of receiver you want to keep around for Lamar Jackson in the years to come. It’s obvious that he’s the receiver that Lamar trusts. He’s a young receiver who can deliver in a possession role. A clutch player that can move the chains on third-down. A guy that a still early-in-development Lamar Jackson can trust in the passing game.

That’s Willie Snead. Expect him to be a staple in the Lamar Jackson offense beyond 2018.

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