The Buffalo Bills will go from facing Puka Nacua to Brock Bowers to Zay Flowers in consecutive games.
Such is life in today’s NFL, a league loaded with ridiculously talented receiving weapons.
By the way, the Ravens receiver has made a legitimate case for himself as one of the game’s elite wideouts this season.
You probably know Flower is a good player. This article aims to show you just how good Baltimore’s No. 1 receiver has become.
Entering Week 8, Flowers, not Jaxon Smith-Njigba, is the NFL’s leader
in yards per route run among receivers at a gaudy 3.73.
The 5’9”, 182-pounder has three games with more than 115 receiving yards in his first seven contests of 2026, and Lamar Jackson has only played in four contests to date.
Among receivers who’ve run at least 75 routes entering Week 8, Flowers is No. 1 in Fantasy Points Data “Separation Score.” That top spot needs context too.
The difference in Separation Score between Flowers and the No. 2 wideout (Josh Down and Flowers’ teammate Rashod Bateman) is almost the exact same as the difference between those wideouts tied at No. 2 and the wideout at No. 30 in this metric (Malik Washington).
Dude gets open. A LOT.
Flowers has also gone 3-for-3 in contested-catch scenarios this season. And success in traffic this season hasn’t been fluky. His current career percentage in those situations is a very respectable 54.8%.
The 26 year old is also one of the most elusive receivers in the NFL. That’s been the case since his rookie campaign, when he forced a whopping 19 missed tackles on 77 catches in the regular season.
In 2024, Flowers forced 17 missed tackles. A season ago, it was 16 missed tackles forced. Through seven contests this season, he’s forced eight misses on his 40 receptions.
And Flowers’ efficiency as a receiver has steadily increased in all four of his professional campaigns to date. His YPRR was 1.64 as a rookie, 2.25 in 2024, 2.53 last year, and it’s the aforementioned 3.73 now.
Lightning quick with quality speed and high-end contact balance, Flowers is a nightmare of a cover in the slot, where he’s aligned on a career high 56.1% of the time this season. In his first three years in Baltimore, he’d be positioned on the outside on more than 60% of his snaps. Yes that was the case despite his smaller size.
Whether it’s Dee Alford, one of their collection of young safeties, or if Christian Beford is asked to shadow Flowers, the Bills secondary will return from the bye with a daunting task of limiting one of the NFL’s most dynamic receiving weapons in Week 8 against the Ravens.
