Mark Andrews
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Mark Andrews' future with the Baltimore Ravens was addressed by general manager Eric DeCosta.
The Baltimore Ravens‘ loaded offense has fully blossomed in Todd Monken’s offensive scheme and Lamar Jackson’s continued development as a passer.
In an offense that features other stars like Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers, is one Ravens starter in store for regression in 2025?
Mark Andrews Named a Regression Candidate Entering 2025
The Ravens have seen glimpses of star potential from TE Isaiah Likely during his NFL career, but veteran Mark Andrews continues to play a significant role in the passing game.
Yet, PFF NFL Analyst Nathan Jahnke believes Mark Andrews could be in store for some regression in the touchdown department entering the 2025 NFL season.
Jahnke wrote, “It’s also worth noting that Andrews should be in store for some touchdown regression based on his personnel usage. Nine of Andrews’ 11 touchdowns occurred when the Ravens were more than five yards away from scoring. That wasn’t just the most by a tight end in 2024, but the most by one since 2018 when Eric Ebron had 11. No tight end in the PFF era had eight or more of these touchdowns in back-to-back seasons, while Antonio Gates, Rob Gronkowski and Vernon Davis are the only tight ends with multiple seasons with eight or more longer touchdowns in their career.
Andrews’ production has been exceptional at times during his seven years in the NFL with his best year coming back in 2021 with 107 receptions for 1,361 yards and nine scores.
Andrews actually set a career-high with 11 receiving scores in 2024, but posted the second-lowest mark of his career in the targets per game category.
This drop in passing game usage came from Ravens personnel preferences at the tight end position last year.
Jahnke added, “The Ravens utilized a unique but predictable tight end rotation throughout the 2024 season. Andrews and Isaiah Likely split time in 11 personnel, as Andrews played 64% of Baltimore’s offensive snaps and Likely took the other 36%. In 12 personnel, it was Andrews and Likely 95% of the time as the duo. In 21 personnel, it was mostly Charlie Kolar, while Andrews took 36% of the snaps. The Ravens used more 22 personnel than the rest of the league, and that was Likely and Kolar over 84% of the time, while Andrews rarely mixed in.”
Will Mark Andrews Continue to See a Reduced Role in 2025?
Andrews has been mentioned in a couple of reports this offseason as a potential salary cap casualty for Baltimore, but assuming he returns for his eighth season with the Ravens… it will be interesting to see if his role continues to be reduced in 2025.
Jahnke dissected his usage by writing, “Additionally, 2024 was an abnormal season for Andrews. His playing time dipped to 61.4% on the season, which included four games with his time below 50%. His routes per game significantly declined, leading his receiving yards per game to also decline. However, he graded better than in other recent seasons with more positively graded plays per route and a career-low in drops, along with his second season without a fumble. He didn’t score a touchdown in his first five games, but he managed to score 11 touchdowns in the last 12 games.”
Isaiah Likely doesn’t feel like a player who is going to be less involved with his impressive outings while operating in Andrews’ shadow.
Andrews should continue to be a great red zone weapon, but with emerging young pass–catchers starting to come into their own while playing in a dynamic offense that is exceptional at running the ball… it is certainly plausible that Andrews sees a dip in his touchdown production in 2025.