Flowers did more with less at quarterback than any other top receiver in this class, and with the newly-resigned Lamar Jackson throwing him the ball, Flowers should finally have a real chance to show all he can do. Flowers can win from all points of the field, and he’s the first legitimate WR1 the Ravens have had since… well, it’s been a long time. Flowers was my best receive in this class, and I think that the NFL is where he’ll really be able to shine as he couldn’t in college.
Height: 5′ 9¼” (8th percentile) Weight: 182 (10th)
40-Yard Dash: 4.42 (82nd)
10-Yard Split: 1.53 (68th)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 35½” (50th)
Broad Jump: 127″ (84th)
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Wingspan: 72¼” (9th)
Arm Length: 29¼” (2nd)
Hand Size: 9¼” (39th)
Bio: Xavien “Zay” Flowers attended University High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and he played on the varsity team all four years. He played receiver, running back, and defensive back, helping University to back-to-back Class 4A state semifinal appearances, and he also played basketball. A three-star recruit, Flowers chose Boston College over more than 30 offering schools because of the educational opportunities. He committed as a defensive back, but switched to receiver almost immediately.
In four seasons with the Eagles, Flowers amassed 199 catches on 347 targets for 3,056 yards and 29 touchdowns. In 2022, he had 547 snaps out wide, 169 in the slot, and three inline.
Stat to Know: 49% of Flowers’ routes run in 2022 were 15 yards or more, which was the highest rate for any receiver on this list.
Strengths: You press Flowers at your peril, because he comes out of his breaks with pure evil in his feet. He is outstanding at displacing cornerbacks and breaking their leverage with foot fakes and at-the-snap movement… and then, it’s off to the races.
Not that you, Mr. Defender, have a better shot at Flowers if you’re playing off-coverage — he’ll set you up well into his route, and turn on the burners. If you catch up to him because his quarterback threw him closed (again), he’ll find a way to catch the ball. Flowers has outstanding contested catch toughness for his size.
In Flowers’ hands, a simple screen, slant, or drag route can become a big play at any time. He accelerates very well after the catch, and he has that special third gear you want in an intermediate and deep receiver — it’s just nice that he can use that on anything.
Weaknesses: You’ll read analysis of Flowers’ route exactness as remedial; maybe that’s true, but it’s so much more about a basic passing game and weird quarterback play than it is a debit in Flowers’ case. So much of this offense was “Get it to Zay however you can” with limited options. I look at it as more an opportunity for Flowers’ NFL coaching staff to make even more of his potential.
Conclusion: Keep in mind that Flowers did everything he did in 2022 with two quarterbacks in Phil Jurkovec and Emmett Morehead who played at a sub-standard level; this is a guy who could have used a good transfer portal last season. Unlike the second and third receivers on this list, Flowers wasn’t catching passes from Kenny Pickett, C.J. Stroud, or Caleb Williams; he had to make more happen at a higher level than any other receiver discussed here. Flowers was thrown closed far more than he was thrown open, and he faced contested catch situations that were not his fault at all. This makes me think that when he gets to the NFL, he’ll be able to exploit his explosiveness even more than he did in college. Flowers is my top receiver primarily because of that — the projection to the NFL includes at least above-average quarterback play, and with that, Flowers might be just about unstoppable.
NFL Comparison: T.Y. Hilton. The Colts took Hilton in the third round of the 2012 draft out of Florida International, and though he had some work to do with the nuances of the position, the 5-foot-10, 183-pound Hilton could present nightmares to opposing defenses immediately with his explosiveness in all kinds of ways. Hilton was Andrew Luck’s best buddy before that whole thing fell apart, and I think Flowers has the same potential to make his NFL quarterback a very happy person.
