Ravens Miles Boykin has big plans for his sophomore season
While recording 13 catches for 198 yards receiving and three touchdowns sounds like a great day in fantasy for your WR1, it makes for a poor and lackluster total for a player that appeared in every regular-season game that his team played and started 11 of them. However, when putting the season of Baltimore Ravens’ receiver Miles Boykin into context, it was far from a failure and if given more opportunities, he could blossom into a real weapon.
“Obviously, last year was my rookie year and I was blessed to be part of a team that went 14-2 during the regular season, made it to the playoffs, fell a little bit short. That experience is going to be good for me in the long run,” Boykin said via the team’s official website. “I think I’m ready to break out this year and I’m just excited to see what the year holds for us. I’m going to do whatever it takes to help this team win.”
The third-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2019 was targeted just 22 times on the year but excelled as a downfield blocker for the Ravens’ record-breaking running game. However, he flashed at times as a possession receiver and a threat down the field as well as in the red zone. His longest reception of the season was a 50-yard bomb he caught from Jackson against the Seahawks where he got behind the defense so fast that he had to throttle down to get under the ball and haul it in. All three of his touchdowns on the year came inside the 10-yard line where he was able to use his height and length to high point the ball.
“He made some big plays for us throughout the course of the year,” said General Manager Eric DeCosta earlier this offseason. “We expect him to improve quite a bit with an offseason. He’s a big, strong, fast and physical guy. Great attitude. The second-year for most receivers is critical and we think he’ll make a big jump.”
Boykin was considered a supremely gifted athlete yet a raw prospect at the receiver position during the pre-draft process. He ran a 4.42 in the 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine and tested off the charts. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds his rare blend size and athleticism made to alluring for the Ravens to pass up at the bottom of the third round. Growing up he looked up and modeled his game after future Hall of Fame wideout Calvin Johnson who is built like him and hopes to emulate his success at the next level as well.
“He’s really one of the reasons why I fell in love with the receiver position,” Boykin said. “Being a receiver that big, that fast, that strong is something I kind of envy. That’s what I want to be. That’s who I kind of who I model my game after.”
As much as he desires to show what he can do by putting significantly more production than he did as a rookie, his ultimate goal is to do whatever it takes to help the team achieve theirs and that is to finish what they set out to do last year when they were the hottest team in the league. That goal is to win it all and finish and be the team hoisting the hardware in the end.
“The only goal I have is the Super Bowl,” Boykin said. “I’ve always been the type of person that if you reach your team goals, usually your individual goals will follow. I think we have the team to do it. I’m super excited to see where this team goes.”
The Ravens picked up a pair of receivers in this year’s draft—Devin Duvernay out of Texas in the third round and James Proche out if SMU in the sixth—that are expected to contribute as rookies but Boykin possess the skillset, confidence, and year of experience under his belt to know what to expect and where he needs to improve. As the Ravens look to open up their deep passing attack by exploiting single coverage when teams crowd the line of scrimmage, Boykin could be a tremendous asset for Ravens and reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson.
