Cover Story: After the Highs and Lows, Zay Flowers Is Ready to Fly Higher

Never daunted by adversity, Zay Flowers looks forward to another season which starts with another crack at the Kansas City Chiefs.

By Clifton Brown

Zay Flowers could handle feeling disappointed after last year's AFC Championship Game. His greatest challenge was disbelief.

The thought of losing to the Kansas City Chiefs never crossed Flowers' mind until the fourth-quarter clock reached zero and the Ravens had no more plays to run. That's when the tears flowed, and Flowers realized his rookie season was ending one game sooner than he imagined.

"I just couldn't believe we lost," Flowers said. "I wasn't even thinking about the fumble, because there were so many things that happened in that game, before and after that.

"But when it was over, we couldn't change it. It was like, 'Damn, we really just lost?' It was such an odd feeling."

Eight months later, that one disappointing chapter of Flowers' career has been closed. His fumble near the goal line early in the fourth quarter was one of the biggest plays of the Ravens' 17-10 loss to the Chiefs. But he's not reliving the past.

Anyone who thinks Flowers doesn't handle challenges well doesn't really know him.

Adversity Doesn't Defeat Him

Flowers' mother died when he was five years old, and one of his older brothers, Martin, was murdered when Flowers was in high school. He learned early how to cope with heartbreak.

Flowers grew up as the 11th child in a family of 14 children. He learned early that it's never all about him.

The Ravens and Chiefs start the NFL season next week on Thursday Night Football, a much-anticipated rematch that will give Flowers and the Ravens a chance for payback.

But for Flowers, starting the 2024 season against the Chiefs isn't about the past. This season will start a fresh chapter, one which Flowers insists will be better than 2023 when he set franchise rookie records for receptions (77) and receiving yards (858) as the top target for two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Longtime NBC football analyst Cris Collinsworth is a former NFL wide receiver who will be part of the Thursday Night Football broadcast team. He understands the highs and lows of winning and losing big games. Collinsworth thinks Flowers is built with the tenacity and talent to become a star.

"Yeah, he had a couple of major mistakes in that [Kansas City] game, but I loved watching him play," Collinsworth said. "I thought he was just fighting his tail off to try and go win the game.

"If Zay's what I think he is, which is a very, very special player, and can provide that explosiveness on the outside that they've been waiting for? ... I thought Zay Flowers, in many ways, was that missing component for them."

Building to Be Better

Flowers was playing his best football at the end of last season, becoming more familiar with how defenses tried to defend him and finding more ways to counter successfully.

People who focus on his fumble against the Chiefs often forget that he was a problem for Kansas City in that game, finishing with five catches for a season-high 115 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown that tied the game in the first quarter.

In Week 16, when the Ravens clinched the best record in the AFC with a 56-19 rout of the Miami Dolphins, Flowers topped 100 yards receiving (106) for the first time in his career, roasting Miami with a 75-yard touchdown.

Flowers feels ready for whatever comes in Year 2, because he has worked so hard to become a better player. This isn't a revenge tour that starts with beating the Chiefs. Flowers believes his rookie success was just the start of a stellar career.

"I've got more experience under my belt," Flowers said. "I've been through ups and downs. I think I'll be able to control things better after the things I went through last year.

"I felt like I was playing my best football toward the end of last year. As the season went on, I was learning more about how to get open, how to run my routes to get open faster. I'd say the last seven games of the season, that's when things started to come together. That's what I'm bringing to this season from the start."

Simpatico With Lamar

The connection between Jackson and Flowers is obvious, two South Florida natives who have a simpatico friendship on and off the field. They speak the same lingo, can finish each other's sentences and read each other's body language.

Before he ever caught a pass from Jackson in a game, Flowers worked on getting on the same page with his quarterback during summer workouts after the Ravens drafted him in 2023.

Perhaps no one expected Jackson to target Flowers 108 times in his rookie season, but neither of them was surprised. Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams (160 targets) and Jordan Addison of the Minnesota Vikings (108) were the only rookie receivers targeted as often as Flowers. Not only did he enter the NFL with talent, but he entered with Jackson's trust.

Jackson said his chemistry with Flowers is even better this year than last.

"He's so explosive with how he gets out of his routes," Jackson said. "He can have an out-breaking route and a guy have him outside leverage. Usually, you would move on from a receiver knowing that corner is outside leverage, but with him, he still has a chance to win. So sometimes I hang on a little bit because I know he's going to win."

Flowers had six touchdown catches last season, but he'd like more success in the red zone this season. His joystick quickness in tight quarters makes him a threat to juke his way into the end zone, or to find soft spots in the end zone when Jackson extends plays. They've worked on that during training camp with positive results.

Bullish on Baltimore

Flowers has developed an affection for Baltimore that extends beyond his teammates and coaches. He is becoming more involved in the community. Fans have embraced the excitement he brings to the offense and the smile that often lights up his face.

The Ravens are Flowers' new family, but his work ethic comes from his family back home in Fort Lauderdale. The rock of the Flowers family is his father, Willie Flowers, who accepted the challenge of raising 14 children and became an example of perseverance for 10 sons and four daughters. 

Loyalty is big with Willie. When Zay was choosing a college, Willie said he would only accompany his son on one visit. After Flowers and his father visited Boston College, Flowers had invitations to see other schools. But his father wouldn't go on anymore visits, and Zay chose Boston College.

When the Ravens drafted Flowers, Willie was thrilled, and Flowers believes he's found another home that's built to last.

"My dad loved Ray Lewis and Ed Reed when they went to Miami (Fla.)," Flowers said. "That's all he used to talk about, Ray, Ed, Devin Hester. Now I'm with the Ravens? He loves it.

"My dad wanted me to find a place that treats you like family, a place that takes care of you. That's all he's ever wanted for me. He likes the city of Baltimore, the character, a city with strong community. He likes Coach [John] Harbaugh. He knows I can blossom here."

More Leadership, No Beef

Flowers believes he needs to be more vocal this year, even though he was far from silent as a rookie. He often leads the receiving drills in practice, setting the pace for the entire group. Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Nelson Agholor are all returning for their second year in Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken's system, and Flowers believes there's no reason why the passing attack shouldn't be more precise.

"I want us all to be together, to have a bond, to feel like we do more than just play football together," Flowers said.

While doing his research for Thursday night's opener, NBC play-by-play broadcaster Mike Tirico said he's been getting rave reviews about Flowers from people he asks.

"I'm hearing stories about Zay Flowers being very intentional about his work to be a better route runner this offseason," Tirico said. "I'm hearing about his leadership, really stepping up after what happened at the end of last year. It kind of shows you what he's made of. I'm excited to see all the things we're hearing about him brought to reality once the season gets going."

If you ask Flowers about last year's Chiefs game, he doesn't dodge questions. What about the 15-yard penalty Flowers got for unsportsmanlike conduct before his fumble? Flowers lost his temper because he took exception to the way former Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Snead made the tackle.

"He grabbed my leg and when I was trying to get up, he still had my leg," Flowers said. "He wanted the time to run out because the quarter was about to expire. I was in a weird position, and I was like, 'What are you trying to hurt me?' That's when I pushed him, and I saw the ref running in with the flag. I don't think he was trying to hurt me, but that's what I felt.

"That's all over with. There's no beef with me and Snead (now with the Tennessee Titans), there's no beef with me and the Chiefs. I just want to win."

The Ravens didn't play their top offensive playmakers during the preseason. But Flowers, Jackson, Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Bateman, and Agholor are all primed for the trip to Kansas City to see how their offense stacks up facing the strong defense of the defending Super Bowl champs.

There will be a new Ravens-Chiefs game to talk about once the season opens on Thursday. Flowers is ready to roll, and he's looking for a different outcome, not only with how the season starts, but how it ends. If anything, he's even more determined.

"I missed out on a lot of opportunities as rookie that I'm going to capitalize on this year," Flowers said. "Lamar's a free player and he wants us to play free. We thought we were supposed to win that game last year, but we didn't. But we're back. This year, it's time for us to get L.J. that ring."