{"id":27738,"date":"2025-02-21T07:51:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T07:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27738"},"modified":"2025-02-21T07:51:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T07:51:41","slug":"ravens-next-star-elite-prospect-touted-as-nelson-agholors-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27738","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;RAVENS\u2019 NEXT STAR? \u2018Elite\u2019 Prospect Touted as Nelson Agholor\u2019s Replacement!&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2175558026-e1740095020859.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2175558026-e1740095020859.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2175558026-e1740095020859.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-2175558026-e1740095020859.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Nelson Agholor\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"958\" data-dom-ready-time=\"988\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">The Baltimore Ravens can replace free agent WR Nelson Agholor with an &#8220;elite&#8221; prospect.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He\u2019s the unsung hero of the\u00a0Baltimore Ravens wide receiver corps, somebody aptly described as \u201ca reliable dirty-work player,\u201d but\u00a0Nelson Agholor\u00a0is also a free agent who could find himself replaced by 2024 NFL draft fourth-round pick\u00a0Devontez Walker.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the view from\u00a0The Baltimore Banner\u2019s Jonas Shaffer. He sees Walker as having \u201chad elite measurables\u201d coming out of college, but the traits didn\u2019t seamlessly translate to the pros.<\/p>\n<p>Even though Walker is \u201can appealing field-stretching option,\u201d the former North Carolina standout \u201cplayed just 57 offensive snaps last season, working primarily as an outside receiver, and earned three targets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the lack of work and apparent absence of a role in coordinator Todd Monken\u2019s offense, Shaffer still envisages a best-case scenario for Walker: \u201cWith wide receiver Nelson Agholor, a reliable dirty-work player, headed to free agency, Walker has a chance to claim an important role next season behind (Zay) Flowers and Rashod Bateman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s on the long end of the optimism scale, but Walker does have unteachable attributes the Ravens can use. Especially among a core of receivers getting younger and more dynamic, bad news for utility veteran Agholor.<\/p>\n<h2>Devontez Walker Didn\u2019t Live Up to the Hype<\/h2>\n<p>Big things were expected of Walker, with even a\u00a0Ravens great predicting something special\u00a0from the rookie. It didn\u2019t happen, not least because of a\u00a0rib injury that slowed him\u00a0during training camp.<\/p>\n<p>Walker was already unseasoned on the nuances of his position thanks to an\u00a0eligibility issue and subsequent tussle with the NCAA that cost him four games during his final season with the Tar Heels. A lack of experience may have contributed to the Ravens trusting less-heralded veterans during the business end of last season.<\/p>\n<p>As\u00a0Shaffer pointed out, \u201cWalker had almost no role in the Ravens\u2019 two playoff games without star Zay Flowers, overtaken by practice squad call-up Anthony Miller and late-season signing Steven Sims.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walker couldn\u2019t get on the field even after snagging this\u00a0touchdown with his first catch\u00a0as a pro, against the\u00a0New York Giants in Week 15.<\/p>\n<p>The play showcased the straight-line speed, body control and appetite for attacking vertically that make Walker such an intriguing prospect. Shaffer\u00a0noted how, \u201cAccording to TruMedia, half of Walker\u2019s 20 routes last season were vertical routes, and poor ball tracking cost him a big play in Week 17 against the Houston Texans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the raw edges, Walker can frighten defenses in a way Agholor doesn\u2019t. That should appeal to a Ravens team continuing to expand its passing game.<\/p>\n<h2>Ravens Better Equipped to Move on From Nelson Agholor<\/h2>\n<p>It was somewhat surprising when Agholor had\u00a0his deal extended last offseason, but the inconvenient truth was the Ravens still needed him. Their\u00a0ill-fated experiment\u00a0with\u00a0Odell Beckham Jr.\u00a0was over, and Agholor provided veteran cover against a second-year slump from 2023 first-round pick\u00a0Zay Flowers.<\/p>\n<p>Things are different this year after the\u00a0long-awaited breakout\u00a0of\u00a0Rashod Bateman\u00a0and with Walker\u2019s obvious potential still available. The Ravens can suddenly afford to move on from Agholor, rather than using a portion of salary cap space projected by\u00a0Spotrac.com at $8,918,872, to bring him back again.<\/p>\n<p>Agholor is still good at what he does. Namely, getting open between the numbers and blocking people in the running game.<\/p>\n<p>Those are useful attributes in any offense, but the Ravens are becoming more prolific through the air with Monken calling plays. Two-time NFL MVP quarterback\u00a0Lamar Jackson\u00a0needs to enhance his game as a deep passer, and Walker can help more than Agholor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty The Baltimore Ravens can replace free agent WR Nelson Agholor with an &#8220;elite&#8221; prospect. He\u2019s the unsung hero of the\u00a0Baltimore Ravens wide receiver corps, somebody aptly&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;RAVENS\u2019 NEXT STAR? \u2018Elite\u2019 Prospect Touted as Nelson Agholor\u2019s Replacement!&quot; - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27738\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;RAVENS\u2019 NEXT STAR? \u2018Elite\u2019 Prospect Touted as Nelson Agholor\u2019s Replacement!&quot; - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty The Baltimore Ravens can replace free agent WR Nelson Agholor with an &#8220;elite&#8221; prospect. 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