As a youth Zay put in the work, his father provided him with the motivation, and on April 27, 2023, the dream became a reality when the Baltimore Ravens used the 22nd pick of the NFL Draft to select Zay Flowers.
As a prospect coming out of high school, Flowers was labeled a three-star wide receiver recruit. His unique skill set caught the attention of an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) school, and after producing a dynamic 4-year college career, Flowers accomplished his goal to make it to the NFL level.
A product of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Zay Flowers is the 11th of 14 children. His mother was the parent who got him involved in the game of football, but unfortunately, Zay’s mother Jackie Walden, passed away when he was just 5 years old.
His father took over in regards to supporting his son’s ambition to participate in football. Flowers credits his siblings for making him competitive and a caring, genuine person. He enjoyed growing up with his siblings, but the downside was finding a place to sleep.
Zay observed his father, Willie Flowers, waking up at 4 a.m. every morning in order to go to work to provide for his family. On weekends Willie didn’t rest; he stayed busy by cooking breakfast, washing clothes, and taking his kids to their football games.
Willie Flowers led by example as he instilled values such as loyalty, hard work, sacrifice, and dedication. Zay was aware of his father’s daily grind, and at that point, he committed to honing his skills because he wanted to make it to the NFL so his father wouldn’t have to work again.
As a high school sophomore at Nova Southeastern University School (NSU), Flowers had a breakthrough year as he averaged 12.2 yards per reception with 8 touchdown catches. The following season Zay was able to duplicate his previous success, but unfortunately, tragedy struck the Flowers family.
Back in November 2017, Zay’s brother, 26-year-old Martin Flowers, was shot to death in Tamarac, Florida. With a heavy heart, Zay played in a high school football game that week and scored two touchdowns in NSU’s 44-21 win over Glades Central.
Flowers would go on to lead his high school to back-to-back Florida Class 4A state semi-final appearances as a junior and senior. After high school, Flowers would leave his home state of Florida and travel to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, to become a wide receiver for the Boston College Eagles.
As a wideout at BC, Flowers was an offensive threat with 4.42 speed, short-area explosiveness, a great route runner, and anywhere on the field, he has that dynamic ability to run after the catch. Flowers was consistently good throughout the duration of his four-year collegiate stint.
During his senior year, Flowers had 1,077 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. He closed out his career rewriting the record books at Boston College, as he currently holds the records for catches (200), receiving yards (3,056), and touchdowns (29).
After a stellar collegiate career, Zay Flowers entered the NFL draft, and the Baltimore Ravens used their first-round pick to select the All-ACC receiver out of Boston College. Once Flower’s name was called, he walked on stage representing his family.
He wore a jacket with faces of his family on the inside, and a chain with a custom picture pendant of his late mother. The pendant had fourteen petals around it and the petals represented the Flowers children.
Zay Flowers made it to the big leagues, and he wanted to reward his father with a new house, but Willie didn’t want a new house because his current place of residence had sentimental value. Instead of the new house, Zay decided to surprise his father with a brand-new Mercedes SUV.
On the field, the Baltimore Ravens rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers has been a consistent contributor on offense with a total of 35 catches for 367 yards through the first six games. This past Sunday in the Ravens’ 24-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans, Zay Flowers caught a 10-yard pass and scored his first NFL touchdown.
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