After a June 25 post on Rotoworld.com indicated that Ravens TE Hayden Hurst was questionable for training camp due to lingering hamstring issues, NBC Sports Washington published a post of its own relaying that message. Hurst succinctly tweeted that he is not, in fact, questionable for training camp, and NBC Sports Washington updated its previous post to say that Hurst will be ready to go when the team reconvenes next month.
That is obviously welcome news for Ravens fans. Much of the attention on the Ravens’ offseason has focused upon the departure of some key defensive players, the development of second-year QB Lamar Jackson, and whether the club will regret relying so heavily on two rookies (Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin) at wide receiver. But for all of those concerns, the club could boast the best TE corps in the league — which would obviously help Jackson’s progress and take some pressure off the rookie wideouts — if Hurst can remain healthy.
Still, that’s a big “if.” Last August, Hurst underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his foot that cost him the first quarter of the 2018 season, and he conceded during a recent interview on 105.7 The Fan that he never felt quite right the rest of the year. Hurst was Baltimore’s first of two first-round draft choices last year, but he was decidedly overshadowed by 2018 third-rounder Mark Andrews, who enjoyed a terrific rookie campaign and who is one of the main sources of optimism for the Ravens’ offense.
Hurst also tweaked his hamstring earlier this month and was held out of an OTA as a result — which gave rise to the apparently erroneous Rotoworld post — but he was a full participant in minicamp and expects to make a big jump in Year 2. In addition to being a smooth route runner with excellent hands, Hurst is a strong blocker, which will be essential to the Ravens’ run-heavy attack. He says he has added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason, which should bolster his blocking abilities without detracting from his receiving talents.
In 2018, the former Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand caught just 13 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. Baltimore will be counting on a major improvement on those numbers in 2019.
Hurst, Andrews, and Boyle are by far the most talented group of Tight Ends in the NFL. Even if it is only Hurst and Andrews, or Andrews and Boyle, or Hurst and Boyle, any healthy combination of those three, should go a long ways towards helping Jackson grow and further develop as a QB.
Hurst, Andrews, and Boyle alongside Brown, Boykin, and Snead should be a really talented group of weapons for Jackson..That’s not even counting how effective Jackson and Baltimore’s improved rushing attack is going to be with the additions of Ingram and their new home run threat and versatile weapon in RB Justice Hill..
Baltimore has an extremely young group of weapons, so it’s really good they have a couple veterans mixed in around their offense. Their Captain is unquestionably Yonda, who will lead their O-Line, but they also have veterans a couple other key veterans that are going to lead by example in the aforementioned Ingram, Boyle, and Snead. Plus, RG3 is an excellent veteran from Jackson to learn from. Even if Griffin only shares with Jackson his own mistakes he made, if it helps Jackson avoid doing too much and getting hurt that’s already a huge plus…lol
They’re truly going to be a really fun and young group to watch develop and improve over the course of the season. I can’t wait to see the impact Ingram and Hill have in the backfield, how having such a reliable set of safety valves with a healthy and more experienced Hurst and Andrews ultimately helps assist Jackson, and I definitely cannot wait to see the impact Hollywood Brown and Miles Boykin have on Jacksons growth…
The Orioles just beat Cleveland 13-0 making the Ravens irrelevant…lol.
I guess the Philadelphia eagles tight ends dont exist .
Best duo. But the Ravens have 3 that would all start (when/if healthy) for the majority of the league