Most Underrated Offseason Move The Baltimore Ravens Made

The Baltimore Ravens have made a lot of moves during what has been an offseason of change and overhaul but one of their best was being able to retain this unheralded assistant coach.

Feb 25, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Baltimore Ravens senior special teams coach Randy Brown during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After being fired by the Baltimore Ravens following nearly two decades at the helm of the most prosperous period in franchise history, John Harbaugh essentially tried to take anything that wasn't bolted down or anyone who wasn't under contract with him when he got hired as the next head coach of the New York Giants.

For the most part, he was successful with his pilfering of the Ravens coaching, training and support staff, as well as nearly half a dozen former starting players. However, in what was a somewhat surprising turn of events, given their close, longstanding friendship that dates back to their time together as assistants on the Philadelphia Eagles staff under Andy Reid, the long list of Ravens that flew the coup with Harbaugh to the Big Apple didn't include senior special teams coach Randy Brown.

The former mayor of Evesham Township, New Jersey, is the best of the best when it comes to unearthing and developing good-to-elite specialists at kicker, punter, long snapper, and both punt and kick returner. Some of his most glowing success stories during his time with the Ravens include future Hall of Fame kicker Justin Tucker, revolutionary Pro Bowl punter Sam Koch, five-time Pro Bowl long snapper Morgan Cox, All Pro return specialist Devin Duvernay, and 2025 First Team All Pro punter Jordan Stout, who followed Harbaugh to New York on a market-setting contract.

Even some of the specialists who didn't win a job in Baltimore because of the entrenched veterans that were already in place went on to have successful careers. That lengthy list includes Pro Bowlers, including the likes of Will Lutz, Graham Gano, and Cameron Dicker, who supplanted Tucker for the mantle of most accurate kicker in NFL history in 2025.

Brown oversaw the succession plan of Koch with Stout in 2022 and groomed and did the same at place kicker last offseason when the Ravens moved on from Tucker and used a draft pick on the position for the first time in franchise history to select Tyler Loop in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Arizona. While he had some costly misses as a rookie last year, he showed a lot of promise as well.

Having an elite special teams operation can be the difference in making or derailing a potential Super Bowl run. As dominant as the Seattle Seahawks defense was in their overwhelming win over the New England Patriots to cap off the 2025 postseason, they got a record-breaking outing from Pro Bowl kicker Jason Myers and a masterful performance from All Pro punter Michael Dickson.

A top-tier punter can be a field-flipping weapon that consistently backs up opposing offenses deep in their own territory. A kicker who is not only reliable but can come up clutch in high-stakes moments with the game on the line, no matter the distance or field conditions in a tremendous asset as well. Brown has proven that he can identify and develop both positions in addition to having a keen eye for long snappers and gifted return specialists, so new head coach Jesse Minter being able to retain him on his staff is a massively underrated, if not underappreciated move.

New rookie specialist resembles franchise legend

Michigan State's Ryan Eckley punts the ball during the third quarter in the game against Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the second offseason in a row, Brown was tasked with scouring the nation to find a suitable replacement for an elite specialist. This time around, it was at punter as there was no guarantee that they'd be able to re-sign Stout, which they ultimately weren't in the end once free agency got underway.

Once again, the Ravens utilized a sixth-round pick to land the top overall prospect at the position, according to Brown, and picked former Michigan State standout Ryan Eckley at No. 211 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. While the rookie is tasked with replacing Stout, his game more closely resembles that of Koch is eyes of the person who developed both of them.

"Ryan is more of a shot maker," Brown told BaltimoreRavens.com. "Jordan was more of a home run hitter, then turned into a shot maker with his pooches and with his boomerangs."

Koch was a stalwart of the Ravens' special teams for 16 years, during which his game adapted and changed. The similarities Brown sees between them are from the different stages of his career.

"Ryan doesn't have the Sam Koch qualities from '06 to, let's say, '13, when Sam was more of just a directional turnover guy," Brown said. "It's more of the Sam Koch towards the end of his career."

Eckley was able to lead the FBS with 48.5 yards per punt in 2025, not because he had the biggest leg in the country but rather because of his ability to make life hard on returners, a quality Brown and the Ravens covet, given all the talented return specialists at the NFL level.

"We try to put the ball where the returner isn't," Brown said. "We try to put the ball where the returner's not expecting it. Returners are so good now. You don't want them just standing under the ball waiting for it. You want them looking right, looking left, running right, running backwards, running left, so they can't set their feet. He's got the ability to make those shots."

Another one of Eckley's best traits that made him a right fit for the Ravens was his wealth of experience as a holder, having done it all four years as a Spartan. It was a skill that Stout had to learn over time, but it is one that his successor is already coming into the league being proficient in, which bodes well for Loop heading into his sophomore season.

"Holding actually is higher than anything," Brown said. "You have to be able to hold, and you have to be able to hold really well. I was watching him hold like, 'Man, that's smooth.'"