Story last week that the Ravens gave Rashod Bateman a three-year, $37-million contract extension. It noted that Bateman is coming off his best season, which is true. But it's still a relatively low bar.
Bateman played every game last year, for the first time in his four-year career, catching 45 balls for 756 yards and 9 touchdowns. It's the touchdowns that are particularly impressive, and useful. But is he a $12-13 million per year wideout and a desirable fantasy option? That one is debatable.
Even while playing every game and catching 9 touchdowns, Bateman finished last year as the 40th-best wide receiver in PPR formats -- a borderline starter in 12-team, 3-WR leagues. I'm not sure he's a good bet to catch 9 touchdowns again, given Baltimore's other receiving options at wide receiver and tight end, and if we look at the larger body of work, he doesn't seem likely to be that good of a fantasy option, either.
Bateman has been in the league and the team's No. 2 or 3 wideout (when healthy) for four years now, since being selected at the end of the first round back in 2021. In those four years, and 51 games, he's averaged 2.7 receptions for 37.7 yards, with a touchdown every four games. That's 8 PPR points per week. Among the 76 wideouts to start at least half the time the last four years, that ranks 58th -- down with a whole bunch of other wide receivers you do not want to be starting.
| WIDE RECEIVERS PER GAME, 2021-2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | TD | PPR |
| Justin Jefferson | 61 | 6.7 | 98.9 | .56 | 20.0 |
| Ja'Marr Chase | 61 | 6.4 | 88.5 | .75 | 19.9 |
| Cooper Kupp | 50 | 6.9 | 84.1 | .69 | 19.6 |
| Tyreek Hill | 66 | 6.5 | 86.4 | .55 | 18.7 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 65 | 6.5 | 83.1 | .55 | 18.6 |
| Davante Adams | 64 | 6.4 | 82.4 | .65 | 18.5 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | 66 | 6.5 | 73.5 | .53 | 17.3 |
| Stefon Diggs | 58 | 6.3 | 74.7 | .57 | 17.2 |
| A.J. Brown | 60 | 5.4 | 81.7 | .50 | 16.6 |
| Mike Evans | 62 | 4.9 | 71.3 | .71 | 16.4 |
| Keenan Allen | 54 | 6.5 | 71.8 | .44 | 16.4 |
| Deebo Samuel | 58 | 4.2 | 61.7 | .60 | 15.6 |
| Chris Godwin | 53 | 6.3 | 70.3 | .33 | 15.5 |
| Tee Higgins | 53 | 5.0 | 69.6 | .52 | 15.2 |
| DJ Moore | 68 | 5.1 | 64.3 | .39 | 14.2 |
| Garrett Wilson | 49 | 5.6 | 65.1 | .29 | 13.9 |
| DeVonta Smith | 63 | 4.9 | 63.7 | .43 | 13.9 |
| Jaylen Waddle | 62 | 5.0 | 66.6 | .35 | 13.8 |
| DK Metcalf | 65 | 4.6 | 63.4 | .48 | 13.8 |
| Terry McLaurin | 68 | 4.6 | 63.9 | .41 | 13.6 |
| Michael Pittman | 65 | 5.6 | 61.0 | .28 | 13.5 |
| Adam Thielen | 57 | 5.1 | 53.9 | .45 | 13.2 |
| Amari Cooper | 61 | 4.3 | 62.7 | .43 | 13.2 |
| Diontae Johnson | 53 | 5.2 | 58.8 | .32 | 13.1 |
| Chris Olave | 39 | 4.9 | 65.8 | .27 | 13.1 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 52 | 4.6 | 56.8 | .44 | 13.0 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 62 | 5.0 | 56.5 | .38 | 12.9 |
| Calvin Ridley | 39 | 4.4 | 59.3 | .39 | 12.9 |
| Nico Collins | 51 | 4.3 | 63.3 | .36 | 12.8 |
| Drake London | 50 | 4.8 | 60.8 | .31 | 12.8 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 56 | 4.1 | 63.1 | .36 | 12.7 |
| Mike Williams | 40 | 4.3 | 61.4 | .36 | 12.5 |
| Christian Kirk | 54 | 4.5 | 60.3 | .31 | 12.5 |
| Marquise Brown | 44 | 5.0 | 54.1 | .30 | 12.2 |
| Tyler Lockett | 66 | 4.3 | 56.1 | .37 | 12.2 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | 34 | 4.8 | 51.7 | .29 | 11.8 |
| Jerry Jeudy | 58 | 4.3 | 59.1 | .22 | 11.6 |
| Courtland Sutton | 65 | 4.0 | 53.2 | .34 | 11.4 |
| George Pickens | 48 | 3.6 | 59.2 | .28 | 11.3 |
| Brandin Cooks | 55 | 4.1 | 48.2 | .37 | 11.3 |
| Zay Jones | 35 | 4.5 | 45.0 | .21 | 10.3 |
| Romeo Doubs | 39 | 3.5 | 41.0 | .39 | 10.0 |
| Wan'Dale Robinson | 35 | 4.8 | 39.7 | .14 | 9.9 |
| Darnell Mooney | 60 | 3.6 | 49.2 | .22 | 9.9 |
| Josh Palmer | 47 | 3.6 | 45.1 | .21 | 9.4 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 43 | 3.3 | 40.6 | .27 | 9.3 |
| Allen Lazard | 54 | 3.0 | 39.7 | .39 | 9.3 |
| Gabe Davis | 58 | 2.6 | 40.9 | .39 | 9.0 |
| Hunter Renfrow | 44 | 3.7 | 36.9 | .25 | 8.9 |
| Tyler Boyd | 65 | 3.6 | 40.7 | .19 | 8.8 |
| K.J. Osborn | 50 | 3.2 | 36.9 | .30 | 8.7 |
| Robert Woods | 40 | 3.5 | 37.7 | .21 | 8.6 |
| Curtis Samuel | 48 | 3.4 | 32.1 | .23 | 8.4 |
| Jahan Dotson | 34 | 2.9 | 34.0 | .33 | 8.2 |
| Elijah Moore | 57 | 3.5 | 36.8 | .16 | 8.2 |
| Noah Brown | 37 | 3.0 | 42.6 | .16 | 8.2 |
| Josh Reynolds | 42 | 2.8 | 39.0 | .24 | 8.1 |
| Rashod Bateman | 51 | 2.7 | 37.7 | .25 | 8.0 |
| Darius Slayton | 59 | 2.7 | 40.8 | .19 | 7.9 |
| DeVante Parker | 35 | 2.9 | 40.8 | .14 | 7.9 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | 38 | 2.7 | 40.3 | .18 | 7.9 |
| Rondale Moore | 39 | 3.5 | 30.8 | .10 | 7.8 |
| Alec Pierce | 49 | 2.2 | 39.4 | .22 | 7.5 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 43 | 3.1 | 34.5 | .14 | 7.4 |
| Mack Hollins | 41 | 2.5 | 31.2 | .27 | 7.4 |
| Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | 58 | 2.1 | 29.7 | .35 | 7.1 |
| Michael Gallup | 40 | 2.7 | 32.2 | .20 | 7.1 |
| Demarcus Robinson | 53 | 2.3 | 28.8 | .28 | 7.0 |
| Kalif Raymond | 53 | 2.4 | 31.1 | .15 | 6.7 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling | 52 | 2.0 | 34.9 | .19 | 6.7 |
| Chris Moore | 34 | 2.4 | 31.9 | .12 | 6.5 |
| Olamide Zaccheaus | 49 | 2.3 | 29.2 | .18 | 6.4 |
| Allen Robinson | 39 | 2.7 | 26.4 | .11 | 6.0 |
| Quez Watkins | 34 | 2.2 | 29.4 | .13 | 6.0 |
| Van Jefferson | 57 | 1.9 | 27.2 | .19 | 5.8 |
| Nelson Agholor | 57 | 2.0 | 25.4 | .19 | 5.7 |
Bateman was a decent starter for this team last year, and he's worthy of an extension. Baltimore has only Zay Flowers, whatever's left of aging DeAndre Hopkins, and a bunch of unknowns at wideout, so Bateman is likely to be a top-3 wideout.
But adding in tight ends, running backs, and Bateman's own modest numbers in his career, he doesn't seem like a guy to bother drafting. If Hopkins still has something left, Bateman might then be a No. 3 fighting off some youngsters. Not particularly appealing.
--Andy Richardson