Ravens wide receiver Devontez Walker showed up to Isaiah Likely’s charity softball game this month with speed, enthusiasm and not much know-how.

Growing up, Walker had watched a couple of baseball games with his grandfather, but he’d never played, not even in youth leagues. No surprise, then, that Walker’s first two at-bats at Ripken Stadium ended with bunt singles. Or that he ran himself into an out on a pop fly after one of them.

“Hopefully, next year, by the time it comes around, I’ll probably know all the rules,” Walker joked Wednesday. “I’m going to go do my research.”

The 2024 fourth-round draft pick is even more optimistic about his second year in the Ravens’ offense. Walker, one of the team’s fastest players, had a quiet rookie season, finishing with just three targets, one catch and a 21-yard touchdown in nine games. He played 57 offensive snaps overall, plus three in two playoff games.

With Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Tylan Wallace also returning in 2025, and veteran DeAndre Hopkins and sixth-round pick LaJohntay Wester joining the wide receiver room, Walker’s path to playing time will be crowded. But the former North Carolina standout impressed in organized team activities, finding the end zone regularly and winning all over the field as an “X” receiver.

Ahead of next week’s mandatory minicamp, Walker spoke with The Baltimore Banner about his rookie year, his development in Year 2 and his work with Hopkins and quarterback Lamar Jackson.

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

The Baltimore Banner: How do you think your first year in the NFL went?

Devontez Walker: Really, my process in going in, knowing what to do and stuff like that, first year, the systems I came from in college, getting in the NFL huddle and stuff like that, a lot of stuff was foreign to me — the play-calling stuff. So I was constantly out there thinking. I couldn’t play my fastest and stuff like that. So I felt like that kind of held me back a little bit. Now I’m a little more dialed in, knowing what to do ... and I’m able to go out there and be a football player and play fast.

The Banner: Did you feel like you were slow mentally during your first training camp and weren’t able to show the full range of talents you had?

Walker: Oh, yeah. Yeah, a little bit. When training camp comes, they throw all the bullets at you, and my mind was everywhere, so I’d get out there, might run the wrong thing, stuff like that. And I wasn’t able to process it like I am now. So that was the big thing for me last year and going into this year.

The Banner: You mentioned the mental adaptation. Have you changed anything physically from Year 1 to Year 2?

Walker: Not too much. Probably put on about five pounds of muscle, but that’s about it. The speed’s still there.

The Banner: I’ve noticed that you’ve had more of an aggressive mentality when corners are in press alignment. You’re trying to knock them back if you feel like you have that advantage. Is that something you feel more comfortable doing this year?

Walker: Oh, yeah, definitely. Like, in college, guys didn’t really get hands on [because of his speed]. Going against a lot of those lead guys [in the NFL], they like to get hands on, reroute you and stuff. So pretty much harping on trying to get physical back [against them] and stuff like that and being able to separate. So that was a big thing going into the offseason.

The Banner: When you think of how Tez Walker wins as an X receiver in the NFL, what do you realize about your game now and the margins for error that you have?

Walker: I realize how much speed affects a lot of people. Even with our guys, they may change up how they play me and stuff, so I try to use that to my advantage. So my thought process is, “Speed, speed, and when it’s time to hit the brakes, hit it,” and stuff like that. So that’s really my thing. So speed is still my outlet when I need to.

The Banner: I know every receiver starts their routes selling a vertical pattern, so how do you think that opens other parts of your route tree?

Walker: Right, that helps out a lot. You get that DB to get his hips turned and stuff — with me, they’re so used to me running past them. Even with the reps I did get in games [last season], you can see guys turning early, trying to open up, beat me to a spot. And I’m able to stop and stuff like that and get a lot more separation.

The Banner: I think the thing that I’ve been most impressed by is how many passes you’ve caught coming back to the ball, especially in red-zone cases, where the margin for error is that thin.

Walker: Yeah, like you said, the margin for error is very thin. You’re going to have a lot more guys on your back versus college. ... They’re a lot more technical, a lot more disciplined, so they’re going to be on your back. So my thought process is attacking every ball in the air. I kind of talked to Coach [John] Harbaugh, [wide receivers] coach Greg Lewis a little bit. They emphasized going and attacking the ball, so I put that in my routine in the offseason and stuff like that.

The Banner: Was there a lesson or message from a coach that you took with you into the offseason that has been kind of a mantra?

Walker: Really, just being dialed in and knowing what to do. ... If you know what to do, they’ll feel way more comfortable putting you out there. And I kind of saw that midyear last year, and then I started getting in the playbook a little bit more, knowing what I got week in and week out, stuff like that. So that’s why they were a little more comfortable toward the end of the year putting me out there more. So now, as you see, you’re getting those one [first-team] reps, two [second-team] reps. I’m able to go out there and play as fast as possible.

The Banner: Was it disappointing for you, then, that when it gets to the playoffs, Zay Flowers is banged up, Rashod Bateman gets hurt in that Buffalo game, and you are not the next man up in that rotation?

Walker: I wouldn’t really say it was disappointing. Yeah, I would’ve liked to be out there. It’s more of a learning curve. That’s just the business. Those are older guys [Anthony Miller and Steven Sims both outsnapped Walker], playoff experiences. I haven’t really been out there much in the regular season, so I get where they were coming from, putting them in and stuff like that. Me, my mindset was being ready when the opportunity came — whatever set they need me in or whatever the one, two reps I get. ... So being ready when that number’s called, that was my mindset throughout all that.

The Banner: Is there anything that you’ve picked up on from watching DeAndre Hopkins, who’s won so often as an X receiver?

Walker: Yeah, talking to him, he just goes after it every play. He’s like, “It’s not going to always be pretty. It ain’t always going to be perfect. As a receiver, it’s our job to be in that spot and catch the ball.” So, when I’m watching him, he’s just out there playing as fast as he can. So he came to me, he said he could tell I’m thinking a lot and stuff like that, trying to perfect everything. When you do that, you’re not able to play as fast and stuff like that. And watching him, it’s been a sight. That’s somebody I watched growing up, so actually seeing it out here, it’s kind of changing my outlook.

The Banner: Does it feel rewarding when you score as many touchdowns as you have in these OTAs? It seems like every day you’re getting in at least once, maybe twice.

Walker: Yeah, it definitely is, because I know they [the staff] see stuff like that. I’m able to come out and make plays and be a big part of this offense and stuff like that. So it’s very rewarding. ... My mindset: I’m ready to go and do it again.

The Banner: How important is it to make the most of the reps that you get with Lamar Jackson when he’s out there?

Walker: It’s very important. That’s the guy you’re going to be with when you get out there in a game and stuff like that. Yeah, you’ve got the ones, twos and threes, but when you’re in a game, you’re a one at that point when you’re out there with Lamar. So it’s very important to get that chemistry with him and stuff like that.

The Banner: You’re doing your thing here with quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Devin Leary. Is there any disappointment that you don’t get more of those reps with Lamar until mandatory minicamp and training camp?

Walker: No, not really, because when he’s out here, it’s like he never left. And then our little receiver group, we’re all making a commitment to go down there with him to Florida, where he’s at. So it ain’t really too much disappointment because we know, when he gets out here, he kind of raises the intensity and tempo.

The Banner: What do you make of the response to the Ravens’ photo of you and the starting wide receivers?

Walker: It was a great photo. I enjoyed it a lot. It was funny looking at the comments. A lot of people were saying I was juicing and stuff like that. Like I said, I put on a couple of pounds and stuff. But I thought it was a dope picture, especially when people labeled it, like, “Fantastic Four” and whatnot.

The Banner: They’re forgetting about Tylan Wallace, though.

Walker: Yeah, Ty — we’ve got to get one with all of us. Ty’s definitely a big part of this team, big part of this offense. But me personally, I was looking at my arms. I’m like, “They did make it look a little crazy.” But it was a dope picture.