Five Breakout Players Who Could Break Ravens Out of Super Bowl Slump

The Ravens haven’t been to a Super Bowl since John Harbaugh was coaching against his brother in a sudden blackout in New Orleans. Yeah, it’s been a minute.

Fast forward to 2026, and Zac Taylor is the most senior head coach in the AFC North and there is no one on the Ravens entire staff who has ever been a head coach before and Mike Tomlin is on Sunday Night Football and when Jim Harbaugh comes to Baltimore this season it won’t be to face his brother but to match wits with his former defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, one of the youngest coaches in the league.

That’s where we are.

So it could well be that making the leap from missing the playoffs with Harbaugh a year ago and winning a Super Bowl in Minter’s first season is a bit much. Feels like a bit much to me. Not where I would set expectations.

But let’s indulge the possibility that the 2026 Baltimore Ravens are the last team standing. If that were to occur, these five players reaching new heights would have a lot to do with it:

Mike Green

Trey Hendrickson, even if he exceeds all expectations, will need a sidekick or sorts. A Robin to his Batman. Green is the most likely to be that guy. He needs to be that guy. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is talking him up as a double-digit sack guy. That’s going to be imperative if this is going to be a defense that rolls through a bunch of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in January and February.

Devontez Walker

Somebody besides Zay Flowers is going to have to make big boy plays in this passing game. Like a real downfield threat, particularly with some size who can win down the sideline and in the middle of the field. Not many better candidates than this guy.

We know Lamar Jackson loves hoisted deep balls his way. If he can stay heathy and earn the trust of this staff, he could potentially do what Rashad Bateman did in 2024 … because I don’t see that version of Bateman ever coming back.

Nate Wiggins

Wiggins needs to be the best corner on this team and it need not be particularly close. His cover skills need to translate to more plays on the ball and he needs to cut down on some of the penalties and prove to be durable and consistent.

If he isn’t much better than Marlon Humphrey and much better than Chidobe Awuzie, then this isn’t going to be a Super Bowl caliber defense. He has Pro Bowl talent though not the ideal frame. Minter has found workarounds to this before in other spots.

Malaki Starks

So, if Wiggins ends up not being that playmaker and difference maker, then Starks is the next best choice. Heck, in this zone-heavy scheme with all the nickel and dime packages Minter will play, Starks as the primary centerfielder and ballhawk could work out quite well.

Kyle Hamilton is going to be all over the line of scrimmage, but the ball in flight 30 yards downfield isn’t his terrain. The Ravens have what appeared to be a loaded deck in the secondary and ample and diverse defenders. Everyone should be in position to succeed and for this second-year playmaker it could result in game-changing plays.

Travis Jones

Jones has had a nice career to this point and got a second contract here, which has been far from guaranteed even for Day Two picks. But with Nnamdi Madubuike coming off neck surgery and Calais Campbell 40, having Jones excel and create more pass rush and be a disruptor could help put this defense over the top.

He still has plenty of upside and frankly the front office has done him no favors by going with such thin defensive lines and taking a weird approach to such a vital position group.

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