OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens have high expectations for tight end Isaiah Likely because of his versatility.
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken can use Likely and Mark Andrews in two tight-end sets that can create matchup problems for opposing defenses. Likely, a third-year player from Coastal Carolina also has the size — 6 feet 4, 247 pounds — and speed to line up as a wide receiver.
Likely is looking forward to being a key part of the offense this season after emerging as a playmaker when Andrews missed time because of injury last year.
“I’m very excited. I feel like I finally get to show everybody my football knowledge – understanding [and] being that ‘chess piece,’ as I say it,” Likely said. “From inline to off the ball to in the slot to out wide to in the backfield, showing [offensive coordinator Todd Monken] that as long as I know where I am for that specific play and that specific design, [attacking] that matchup, I can be the nightmare that everybody wants me to be.
“And showing that I can study the playbook – [that] I know the playbook in and out – to be able to tell, not only receivers where to go, but [also] where the running back has to go, and we can play as fastball as possible.”
Last year, after Andrews suffered a serious left ankle injury on November 16th against the Cincinnati Bengals, Likely became a primary target for quarterback Lamar Jackson and scored six touchdowns in the final seven games. Likely helped earn that trust with Jackson in the divisional playoff game against the Texans when he caught two passes for 34 yards, including a leaping 15-yard grab in the end zone that helped the Ravens cruise to a 34-10 victory.
“I’ll say, really, just harping on the little things in practice,” Likely said. “Everybody brings up the Texans game when I told [Jackson] to throw it up; I mean, that was just what we do in practice. Like, I’ll be in practice and say, ‘Man, Lamar, put some more air on it; I promise you, I won’t make you wrong.’ So, having those situations in practice where he trusts me – where he does that in practice – so in [the] game, it’s not the first time. So, in [the] game, when I’d say, ‘Lamar, throw it up. Throw it up. I’ve got you. I promise you,’ he nods his head and lets me know, ‘I’ve got you next time. I’ve got it,’ and when it’s completed, it’s always a good thing.”
This offseason, Likely trained with some of the NFL’s best players in Nashville at the so-called Tight End University hosted by Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, San Francisco’s George Kittle, and Greg Olsen, who spent 14 years in the NFL with the Bears, Panthers, and Seahawks. The three-day program hosted 70 players.
One of the goals of Likely’s offseason workouts was to improve his blocking and that could be another asset for the Ravens.
“I felt like, obviously, [I] want to get better with in-line blocking,” Likely said. “That’s definitely going to keep me on the field a lot more, but really, just working on that first step, that hand placement and really just strain. That’s the one thing that I felt like … As a blocker, it’s more [about] your willingness. ‘How much do you want it more for your person not to make the tackle, rather than for him to make the play?
“So, I feel like that’s more of your want and your drive, at the end of the day, in the play, and I feel like that’s something I’m going to show a lot more this year.”
