The Baltimore Ravens struggles at the wide receiver position have been well documented over the years, Zay Flowers’ two consecutive Pro Bowl nods notwithstanding. 

Those issues were compounded when tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar walked in free agency, leaving a crater-size hole on the roster for trustworthy passcatchers. 

The Ravens answered by investing two draft picks at the wide receiver position and two more at tight end, with third-round wideout Ja’Kobi Lane particularly creating a lot of buzz due to a 6’4’’ 205-pound frame that has never been part of Lamar Jackson’s arsenal in the perimeter. 

The thought was that Lane would make an immediate impact thanks to his ability to win contested balls deep downfield, an element of the passing game that Baltimore has been lacking for years. 

But Lane suffered a wrist fracture in Week 1, and a couple of games later, the Ravens still haven’t figured out how to compete downfield on those 50/50 balls.

That’s why, for Baltimore, Week 6 -- when Lane is due to come off IR -- can’t get here fast enough. 

The Ravens need to get Ja’Kobi Lane on the field

Fortunately for Baltimore, Jackson has been playing at NFL MVP level for most of September, being decisive with his throws and showing nice accuracy over the first three games. 

So far, he’s completing a personal-best 69.7 percent of his throws and he's thrown for four touchdowns to one interception, while ranking fourth in QBR. And he’s doing it all with an inferior group of pass catchers at his disposal. Flowers has already missed one game and big chunks of the other two, Elijah Sarratt hasn’t participated in one regular season play yet and journeyman Chris Moore has suddenly become the team’s No. 2 option on the outside, right behind Rashod Bateman, after returning to the team right before the season kicked off. And among wideouts, even LaJohntay Wester is getting more looks than Devontez Walker. Rookie tight ends Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas have a combined four catches between them.

Perhaps the most obvious flaw in the Ravens’ passing game is the lack of big plays on a regular basis. Walker has just one catch all season, taking his career total to eight after two-plus years with the team. He let a deep pass go incomplete against the Cowboys while waiting to body-catch it, giving a defender ample time to step in and deflect it, and managed to draw a nice DPI on another play.

Moore has one catch per game after three weeks, and he also failed to reel in a critical deep pass in Week 2 on a controversial 3rd and 1 call late against the Saints. Meanwhile Bateman, who’s had by far the most snaps among wideouts, was held without a catch in Week 1 and logged just two receptions on Sunday in Rio. Wester didn’t have one target against the Cowboys. 

Needless to say, this is unsustainable. 

Given the current state of Baltimore’s offense -- including all sorts of uncertainty on the O-Line -- there will be a ton of pressure on Lane to perform when he comes back. But if he delivers on what he previewed over the summer during training camp and preseason, this passing attack may be able to reach levels it’s never touched before.