NFL Rookie Spotlight - Rashod Bateman

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman was a first-round pick in this year's NFL draft after his productive career at Minnesota. Dan Fornek assesses Bateman's fantasy value in redraft leagues for 2021.

For the second consecutive season, there will be an influx of extremely talented rookie wide receivers entering the NFL. One of them is undoubtedly Rashod Bateman. After three productive seasons at Minnesota, Rashod Bateman declared after his COVID-shortened junior season with the Golden Gophers. Bateman produced at an extremely high level at a non-traditional Big Ten program despite being the most talented player on offense in just about every collegiate game he played.

Even with a limited selection of games his final season at Minnesota, Bateman was the fifth wide receiver selected in the 2021 NFL draft, going to the Baltimore Ravens with the 27th pick in the first round. Bateman has the size, speed, and ability to develop into the top wide receiver for Baltimore as soon as his rookie season and can have a major impact for Lamar Jackson on the perimeter.

Thanks to the Ravens’ historically run-heavy offensive system and Lamar’s continuing development as a passer, many fantasy managers don’t know what to make of the newest weapon in the Baltimore passing game. With any luck, this rookie spotlight will help you make the ultimate decision when you’re on the clock and deciding between Rashod Bateman or other players.

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College Production

Rashod Bateman was a four-star recruit by 247 Sports coming out of Georgia and had 20 scholarship offers to Division 1 programs (and also several basketball scholarship offers) but committed to P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. From that point forward, Bateman established himself as a legitimate receiving prospect with NFL-level talent.

During his freshman season, Bateman set the Minnesota freshman records for receptions (51) and receiving yards (704) while catching six touchdowns. His sophomore campaign would prove to be even more impressive as Bateman developed into legitimately one of the best receivers in all of college football. As a 20-year old sophomore, Bateman caught 60 passes for 1,219 yards (20.3 yards per reception) and 11 touchdowns.

Bateman was named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award (best receiver in college football) and was a first-team All-Big Ten receiver who also won the Big Ten Reciever of the Year award. Bateman was also named a second-team All-American by USA Today. As impressive as those statistics are, they take on a new level of context when we consider that he produced those prolific numbers with Tyler Johnson, a future fifth-round NFL pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on the roster.

Bateman initially opted out of his junior season for the NFL draft but decided to play after the Big Ten announced they would have a football season. Bateman played in five games, totaling 26 receptions for 472 yards and two touchdowns before opting out to focus on his NFL career.

While Bateman is seen as a possession receiver, on numerous occasions he showed an excellent ability to generate yards after reception. He also has experience playing both outside and in the slot as a wide receiver and was frequently tasked to run in breaking routes by the Golden Gopher offensive staff, giving him the versatility NFL teams covet at the position. He is an aggressive hands catcher who has the strength to pluck the ball out of the air.

Rookie Outlook

Image from Player Profiler

Bateman’s draft season started rough, with him measuring in at six feet and weighing just 190 pounds. Bateman was listed at 6’2 and 210 at Minnesota but was able to explain the weight discrepancy with a rough bout of COVID during his offseason. Luckily, Bateman showed more speed than people expected, registering a 4.48 40-yard dash on his pro day according to PlayerProfiler.com (the graphic above). The unexpected speed and college production had many fantasy managers excited for Bateman’s landing spot, which ultimately turned to disappointment when the Baltimore Ravens made him their first-round pick.

While Baltimore isn’t an ideal landing spot for a wide receiver thanks to their run-heavy offense, anybody declaring Bateman a wash as a receiver due to landing spot should be ignored. Bateman walks into a team situation with no true number one receiver (Marquise Brown has been forced into the role during his career) and a quarterback who was the youngest MVP in the history of the NFL. Yes, Lamar Jackson isn’t afraid to tuck the ball and run, but he also hasn’t had the strongest receiving group during his professional career. The best perimeter receiver Lamar Jackson has arguably played with was a 31-year-old Michael Crabtree in his rookie season. His leading receivers the past two years have been a combination of Marquise Brown, Willie Snead, and tight end Mark Andrews. Despite the lack of weapons, Lamar has completed 65% of his passes and averaged 11.6 yards per completion in his past two seasons.

We have also seen players the past two seasons who have gone to teams that haven’t been known for their passing ability and causing the team to expand their air attack. Last year, Stefon Diggs arrived in Buffalo, giving Josh Allen a true number one receiver and causing over 80 more attempts per game. A more relevant example would probably be the Tennessee Titans and A.J. Brown in his rookie season.

Tennessee is the closest thing to the Ravens' current offense in terms of utilizing a strong rushing attack. Despite that, the Titans invested a second-round pick in A.J. Brown and immediately fed him the football. Despite Derrick Henry carrying the ball over 300 times his rookie season, Brown registered 52 receptions on 84 targets (448 attempts) for 1,051 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2020, the Titans added 40 passing attempts while getting Derrick Henry nearly 400 rushing attempts. Brown’s role expanded, catching 70 passes (106 targets) for 1,075 yards and 11 touchdowns in just 14 games.

Ultimately, fantasy players shouldn’t fade Rashod Bateman due to landing spot because his talent will give the offense something they haven’t had in seasons: a wide receiver that profiles as a legitimate first option who can win inside and outside. Clips like this prove that Bateman has the skillset to have that level of impact even as a rookie (yes, that is Marlon Humphrey, a top-five cornerback in the NFL today).

Fantasy Outlook

According to the NFFC ADP data, Rashod Bateman is currently being drafted around pick 155 as the WR60 for the upcoming season. He is being selected behind receivers like T.Y. Hilton, Jalen Reagor, and Gabriel Davis and just ahead of fellow rookies Elijah Moore and Rondale Moore. That ADP is far too low for a player who could very easily establish himself as his team’s WR1 and command close to 100 targets based on a lack of legitimate competition around him. Bateman will operate in the short to intermediate areas and allow Marquise Brown to slot into a field stretcher role, which better suits him.

If I find myself in the ninth round of my redraft leagues this season, I will have no problem taking Rashod Bateman as a team’s WR4 knowing that he has the immense upside to finish as a top-30 wide receiver as soon as this season.

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