Elijah Sarrat on Getting 'Major Opportunity' With Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens have needed pass catching help for many years, and general manager Eric DeCosta made sure to bring in some help via USC's Ja'Kobi Lane and Indiana's Elijah Sarratt.

Both rookies have strong suits that can benefit the Ravens offense, and one is set to get a "major opportunity," as head coach Jesse Minter stated. With that in mind, Sarratt spoke about what hearing that means for him as an upcoming rookie in the NFL.

"It means a lot just knowing that um he's going to give us a chance to be able to do that, but it also motivates me to continue to go out there and get better cuz like I I'm starting at ground zero," Sarratt said on "The Lounge" podcast.

With a room that contains Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Devontez Walker, Sarratt will battle it out alongside Lane and more to get some valuable playing time. Based on both of their performances during OTAs and minicamp, it will be a strong camp battle to witness.

Sarratt also spoke about one of the plays from Lamar Jackson that drew plenty of looks, and led to the quarterback praising the receiver.

"Yeah, it was kind of just a pylon route. Uh, speaking on Coach Dec's uh detail-oriented again, he told me my angle should have been higher on it, which he's right. It should be after you make a great play. The next day in the film room, he's like, 'Yeah, you got to fix your angle on that,'" Sarratt said.

Sarratt pointed to the detail-oriented nature of offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who has also impressed coaches and players alike. Despite a strong contested catch that made its mark on practice, the rookie receiver understood that it was not the perfect placement for him as the pass catcher, which Doyle let him know.

Regardless, Sarratt understands the gravity of potentially receiving a big opportunity in the NFL, but also understands that the opportunity is not because of what he did as a national championship in college, as he is at "ground zero" as a pro.

"Like coming from now, I was a national champion, led the nation in touchdowns, but none of that matters once you get to the next level. Like there's some real dogs out there. But, uh, just knowing I have I have the trust in my head coach that he's going to be able to he's going to put me out there and see what I can do. It just makes me want to work that much harder. For sure," Sarratt said. 

Sarratt has a big opportunity to showcase his skills as a receiver with the Ravens, and he could very well be used as an X receiver or as a slot. He would be a bigger slot receiver, similar to if the Baltimore offense also puts Lane in that same position.

Regardless, both rookies have the ability to stretch the field, score touchdowns in the red zone, and catch those contested balls. That is a huge benefit to Jackson, who can air out the ball to allow plays like that to be made.

Training camp will showcase which of the rookies is in a better position, though both may see sizable playing time when the regular season rolls around.