Ranking Every Ravens Position Group By Overall Talent and Depth

There are myriad ways to evaluate a roster.

One can assess depth charts and compare the number of in-prime, blue chip players to other teams in their division and study the payroll. We’ve done much of that here and will continue to do so. It’s also the time of year when I tend to drill down on each position group and rank them, which can be quite revealing.

It can also be an exercise in futility as things can change rapidly in this league and a year ago when I did this five of the top six position rooms were all on offense (only the secondary rated from defense) and things certainly fell off on that side of the ball, though it was clearly still superior to a failing defense. A year later, the pendulum has swung completely for me.

Perhaps I am over-valuing what I believe rookie head coach Jesse Minter immediately brings to the defensive side as a schematic savant and play caller. Perhaps I am under-appreciating what Declan Doyle can do as a novice play caller with an offense already regressing and which gives me pause with its ability to win at the line of scrimmage.

But here’s how I’d rank the Ravens positions right now:

Top Three

QB – Lamar Jackson is healthy and he has at least one more real year left on his contract (2026; 2027 is going to have to be torn up if he’s staying in Baltimore). That’s enough for me. Dude should have three MVPs. He covers up significant warts every season.

DB – Safety should be a dominant position group and there are ample numbers at corner though bounce-back seasons from Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey are in order. Kyle Hanilton wins for them at safety and linebacker and big nickel. Love the hire of their secondary coach and Minter is a sage putting the back end in positions to succeed. Nice free-agent addition of a box safety and Malaki Starks seems poised for big things.

DL – I am big on the Calais Campbell signing and they infested a second-round pick on a edge and made their most substantial investment in an outside free agent in quite some time with pass rusher Trey Hendrickson. And they have a day two pick from last year who could make a bigger impact (Mike Green) and, most importantly of all, Nnamdi Madubuike might play football this season after neck surgery. There is still some projection involved, but this was the organizational No 1 priority without question since firing John Harbaugh as head coach.

Next Three

RB – I definitely have concerns about Derrick Henry’s age, and especially about the offensive line, which had him getting mauled at or behind the line of scrimmage last year. Still, he has been one of the true unicorns in NFL history and if the staff can limit him to 225 carries or something like that, the opportunity to get value and explosion is there. Can Lamar rip off more big runs to help this group? A healthy Justice Hill to win on third-down and in pass protection is imperative.

WR – Man, it’s starting to get tough here. I will go with the presence of Zay Flowers, who can flip the field but doesn't score much, and the potential of two receivers selected back-to-back in the draft and maybe then getting a few games when Rashod Bateman latches on to a sideline bomb over the rest of these positions. They feel light on bonafide pass catchers to me.

LB – Okay this is really by default because I don’t like the roster at the remaining positions. I don’t think Roquan Smith turns his career around at age 29 in the last real year of his inflated contract. I like Teddye Buchanon’s upside, but is Trenton Simpson a sunk cost? Hamilton’s presence on the weak side pushes them into the top six.

The Rest

OL – If Ronnie Stanley gives them what he gave them a year ago, and they find a starting center soon and they end up not needing a real swing tackle (cuz they don’t have one) then this group is listed way too low. But that’s a lot of ifs. They upgraded at guard, which is great. There was nowhere to go but up. The center thing looms large for now. And lack of quality depth across the board.

TE – I don’t see an NFL starting move/downfield TE in the group. Matthew Hibner (fourth round) faces a steep learning curve and has limitations on usage. General manager Eric DeCosta will come to regret, deeply, the Mark Andrews extension and passing on a wave of Week-1 impact move tight ends to draft a run-stuffing edge instead – HYPER. In the modern passing game, and if Doyle is going to run a derivation of what he was a part of under Ben Johnson in Chicago last year

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