I liked the look of fourth-rounder Isaiah Likely in Baltimore’s opener. It was just one game, but to me he looks like an NFL player – like a guy who’ll be a starter and have a viable career.
He had his first impact early on, when he caught a short pass and was able to turn around safety A.J. Moore, moving more like a tailback rather than a tight end. (You can see part of Moore in the photo.)
Moore caught 3 more passes in the first half, including a 22-yarder on a high throw where he was able to pull it in despite good coverage. A lot of NFL players don’t make that catch.
The Ravens already have an elite tight end, of course. Mark Andrews caught 107 passes and 9 TDs last year. But they’re painfully thin at wide receiver, where they don’t have much beyond Rashod Bateman. Devin Duvernay and James Proche currently project to be their second and third receivers. So this looks like a team where there is some potential for a second tight end to get involved.
After Andrews, Baltimore’s other tight ends have caught only 11 and 15 passes the last two years. But if you go back to 2019, Baltimore’s tight ends outside of Andrews combined to catch 61 passes and 4 TDs. If they get back to playing with more of that kind of style, Likely might finish with decent numbers.
John Harbaugh says he expects Likely will have an offensive role this year.
The Ravens selected Likely in the fourth round. Oddly enough, they picked another tight end earlier in that round: Charlie Kolar, but he might be out until October after a sports hernia surgery. Kolar caught 62 passes and 6 TDs at Iowa State last year, while Likely caught 59 passes and 12 TDs at Coastal Carolina. But with how Likely looked in that first game, he’s looking like a guy who should have been selected earlier.
The idea of Likely finishing with top-20 numbers at his position, however. That would be rare. Since 2000, only four rookie tight ends have finished with top-20 numbers while being the 2nd-best tight end on their own roster. (If Mark Andrews stays healthy, he’ll outproduce Likely.) And only 22 others have even finished with top-40 production (using PPR scoring).
But Likely caught my eye in his first game. There were six wide receivers selected in the first round, and Likely was more impressive than any of them in the first rack of games. I’m not guaranteeing that will continue, but mark me down as a Likely fan.
| BEST OF ROOKIE "SECOND" TIGHT ENDS (since 2000) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Rd | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2010 | Aaron Hernandez, N.E. | 4 | 45 | 563 | 6 | 142.0 | 14 |
| 2016 | Hunter Henry, S.D. | 2 | 36 | 478 | 8 | 131.8 | 18 |
| 2018 | Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 2 | 33 | 334 | 4 | 90.4 | 20 |
| 2017 | O.J. Howard, T.B. | 1 | 26 | 432 | 6 | 105.2 | 20 |
| 2007 | Greg Olsen, Chi. | 1 | 39 | 391 | 2 | 92.1 | 22 |
| 2013 | Zach Ertz, Phil. | 2 | 36 | 469 | 4 | 106.9 | 23 |
| 2003 | Dallas Clark, Ind. | 1 | 29 | 340 | 1 | 69.0 | 24 |
| 2002 | Jerramy Stevens, Sea. | 1 | 26 | 252 | 3 | 69.2 | 24 |
| 2013 | Tyler Eifert, Cin. | 1 | 39 | 445 | 2 | 95.5 | 26 |
| 2010 | Jimmy Graham, N.O. | 3 | 31 | 356 | 5 | 96.9 | 27 |
| 2006 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 1 | 20 | 265 | 3 | 65.0 | 28 |
| 2008 | Martellus Bennett, Dall. | 2 | 20 | 283 | 4 | 72.3 | 30 |
| 2001 | Mikhael Ricks, K.C. | 2 | 18 | 252 | 1 | 49.2 | 30 |
| 2013 | Joseph Fauria, Det. | FA | 18 | 207 | 7 | 82.7 | 32 |
| 2011 | Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 2 | 26 | 249 | 3 | 68.9 | 34 |
| 2003 | Casey Fitzsimmons, Det. | FA | 23 | 160 | 2 | 51.0 | 34 |
| 2019 | Kaden Smith, NYG | 6 | 31 | 268 | 3 | 75.8 | 35 |
| 2000 | Erron Kinney, Ten. | 3 | 19 | 197 | 1 | 44.7 | 35 |
| 2001 | Todd Heap, Balt. | 1 | 16 | 206 | 1 | 42.6 | 36 |
| 2019 | Foster Moreau, Oak. | 4 | 21 | 174 | 5 | 68.4 | 38 |
| 2012 | Coby Fleener, Ind. | 2 | 26 | 281 | 2 | 66.1 | 38 |
| 2009 | Zach Miller, Jac. | 6 | 21 | 212 | 2 | 54.5 | 38 |
| 2002 | Josh Norman, S.D. | FA | 16 | 201 | 1 | 42.1 | 38 |
| 2015 | Maxx Williams, Balt. | 2 | 32 | 268 | 1 | 64.8 | 39 |
| 2011 | Charles Clay, Mia. | 6 | 16 | 233 | 3 | 57.3 | 39 |
| 2003 | George Wrighster, Jac. | 4 | 13 | 150 | 2 | 40.0 | 39 |
| 2022 | Isaiah Likely, Balt. | 4 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan