{"id":58976,"date":"2025-06-28T00:37:38","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T00:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=58976"},"modified":"2025-06-28T00:37:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T00:37:38","slug":"ravens-te-isaiah-likely-placed-in-impressive-company-by-espn-personality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=58976","title":{"rendered":"Ravens TE Isaiah Likely placed in impressive company by ESPN personality"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After a promising third season in Baltimore, Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely earned a massive endorsement from this ESPN personality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While\u00a0Mark Andrews is still a beloved member of the Baltimore Ravens, with the veteran tight end still one of the better players at his position in the NFL,\u00a0all eyes are on Isaiah Likely to become one of the new faces of the position moving forward.<\/p>\n

Originally drafted in the fourth round out of Coastal Carolina back in 2022, Likely has gotten better with each passing season in Purple and Black, capping things off with a Junior season headlined by 42 catches for 477 yards and six touchdowns, all of which marked new career highs.<\/p>\n

Discussing where Likely fits into the tight end landscape in 2025 on NFL Live, ESPN’s Field Yates placed the fourth-year Raven among the\u00a0very best players in the NFL at his position, right up there with Andrews.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there’s a chance that we’re talking about Isaiah likely is one of the eight or ten best tight ends in football in the next couple of years. He’s got all the talent in the world, but the Ravens don’t throw the football as much as other offenses do. And of course, Mark Andrews is still there,\u201d Yates explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think at some point we see that segue and Isaiah likely becomes a part of an offense that defensive coordinators begin the week and they say, we have to find a way to slow down Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson. But Isaiah likely is not that far down the pecking order of responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In the NFL, few teams make a tight end a featured part of their passing offense, with just\u00a017 players\u00a0reaching 500 or more yards in 2024. Could the Ravens become the rare team with two 500-yard tight ends, with Likely and Andrews forming the best 1-2 punch in the NFL? Considering how high both Yates and the organization appear to be on the tandem, that feels like a safe bet.<\/p>\n
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