After Breakout Season, Consistency Key for Flowers in 2021

Pick your poison.

That’s what you have to do when covering Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers.

“If you play him soft, and he catches the ball in front of you, look out,” second-year head coach Jeff Hafley said. “If you play him tight, and you don’t get your hands on him, look out.”

Flowers is 5-foot-10 and 177 pounds, but he doesn’t play like a small wide receiver. After primarily being used as a horizontal playmaker in 2019, Flowers did everything last season, thanks to a new offensive staff led by coordinator and play caller Frank Cignetti Jr.

Not only can he hit the joysticks and make defenders miss in space, but he can also stretch the field better than any other Eagles wide receiver. In 2020, Flowers’ most productive route was the vertical pattern, on which he was targeted 30 times and recorded 10 catches for 366 yards and six touchdowns, according to Pro Football Focus.

Hafley explained that the All-ACC first-team wideout is exceptional at the line of scrimmage. He’s great at using his hands to break free from defensive backs and accelerate upfield. At the same time, though, if corners sag off to prevent him from getting a step ahead vertically, Flowers has the ability to reel in a short-to-intermediate pass and shake defenders out of their cleats. He led BC in yards after the catch (368) last season, per PFF.

“He’s driven and is just such an exceptional talent,” Phil Jurkovec said of Flowers, his locker mate, earlier this summer. “Really never seen someone be able to stop on a dime like he [does] and how fast and explosive [he is] at the same time. He’s so impressive.”

Cignetti still can’t get over BC’s season opener at Duke last season when Flowers popped off for five catches and 162 receiving yards. One play in particular sticks out, of course. Flowers’ 61-yard touchdown reception that featured the speedy wideout appropriately social distancing himself from the Duke secondary.

“When I saw him run that double move and separate across the field,” Cignetti said. “Wow, man. I don’t know if I’ve seen someone that wide open before. It was impressive.”

Hafley said the only way to defend Flowers is to take space away from the Biletnikoff Award Watch List honoree: that means leaning a safety toward him or taking a linebacker and trying to cut him, inside or outside, with good leverage.

Flowers is going to draw attention—especially after his breakout sophomore season, during which he ranked 18th nationally in receiving yards (892) and led the ACC in touchdown catches with nine. Six of those came on passes of 20 or more yards.

Fortunately for BC, Cignetti’s pattern-based, pro-style aerial attack is designed to free up a receiver if another is smothered.

“I tell our perimeter players, ‘I’m going to try to get you your touches as the primary intended receiver, but, ultimately, the defense will determine where the ball goes.’”

Cignetti continued:

“So if there’s a game where they’re really paying attention to Zay, and they’re taking him away, that’s going to give other guys an opportunity to make big plays.”

That’s something that excites Flowers, the frontman of the most dynamic BC wide receiver corps in at least a decade. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native is confident in the entire unit, a group that scored 28 and 31 points, respectively, against No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Notre Dame last season.

“We know what this offense can do,” Flowers said at BC’s media day on Monday. “It’s just a matter of putting it on the field because we got players everywhere. From the running back room to receiver room to the quarterback room. Everybody in this offense can make plays.”

Hafley said the key for BC’s wide receiver corps in 2021 will be consistency. That goes for Flowers, too. As explosive as he was last fall, he disappeared from games on occasion.

Flowers had four games last year with three or fewer receptions, including a one-catch game against Georgia Tech and a two-grab contest versus Texas State.

He also had seven drops, according to PFF, registering a drop percentage of 11.3%, the second-highest on the team.

But Flowers has been working harder than ever this offseason. Now an upperclassman, he’s stepped up as a leader, Hafley said. He’s added muscle, and he’s upped the ante as far as his route running is concerned.

Flowers, who trained with four-time first-team All-Pro NFL wideout Antonio Brown last offseason, is never satisfied. He wants to be the best.

“We’ve all been around those small guys that just catch bubbles and take jet sweeps,” Hafley said. “Zay can do it all. And that’s what he needs to do if he’s to take the next step. He has to.”