Ravens 53-Man Roster Projection Heading Into OTAs

It’s crazy to project and NFL season in May, but of course that didn’t stop us.

It’s even crazier to project a 53-man roster. But that’s not stopping us either.

Of course, injuries will end up playing a major role here. That’s inevitable. And some players who are not available for the start of OTAs could return more quicky than anticipated. And the front office best not be done looking to make veteran additions at several key areas.

But let’s forget about some of that for now. I’ll take a shot at the 53-man, including a few very deep cuts, a surprise or two, and a quite a few assumptions considering that head coach Jesse Minter (the defensive play caller) and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle have never picked a final roster before, so there aren’t many trends and tendencies to explore to that end.

Offense (25)

QB (2) – Lamar Jackson, Snoop Huntley: The Ravens can stash an un-drafted QB on the practice squad if one warrants it. With so many new pieces on this offense for the first time in a long time, every flexible roster spot matters.

RB (4) – Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, Jaleel McLaughlin, Adam Randall: When the owner makes a fifth round pick, he’s on the team. Maybe it ends up being practice squad. I’m not sure Rasheen Ali is going to be a fit and throwing a dart they go get a RB with ties to Declan Doyle who has a history of being a “joker” in this offense.

TE (4) – Mark Andrews, Durham Smythe, Matthew Hibner, Josh Cuevas: This group gives me a lot of pause. I don’t see an every-down winner let alone difference maker in the bunch.

WR (5) - Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Ja’Kobi Lane, Elijah Sarratt, Devontez Walker: LaJohntay Wester didn’t take hold of the return job a year ago and it could go to a different position this year. Playing a hunch here. Walker is a deep threat for insurance if Bateman flakes out. It hasn’t been uncommon for Doyle’s mentor, Sean Payton, to go with just five using that “joker” role in different ways.

OL (10) - Ronnie Stanley, Vega Ioane, John Simpson, Roger Rosengarten, Starting Center TBNL, Carson Vinson, Andrew Vorhees, Emery Jones, Danny Pinter, Diego Pounds: With no true swing tackle, they lean into a college free agent in Pounds and go for depth at tackle. If the starting center is on this roster, big problems are ahead. We have trade options for them and a college free agent to sign.

Defense (25)

DL (7) – Travis Jones, Calais Campbell, Broderick Washington, John Jenkins, Rayshaun Benny, Adisa Isaac, Aeneas Peebles: I am assuming Nnamdi Madubuike will not be recovered from neck surgery to be on the active roster Week 1. So we get numbers here. Benny is going to make this team despite being a seventh-round pick and would even with Madubuike healthy. Without him it’s definite. Isaac and Peebles might not be long for here.

LB (8) – Trey Hendrickson, Roquan Smith, Zion Young, Teddye Buchanon, Mike Green, Tavius Robinson, Trenton Simpson, Carl Jones: The group at EDGE was heavily invested in. Jones could emerge as deep depth as a Smith understudy.

CB (6) – Nate Wiggins, Chidobe Awuzie, Marlon Humphrey, Chandler Rivers, TJ Tampa, Amani Oruwariye: There are a lot of small corners hanging around the fringes of this roster. Oruwariye has legit size and he’s bounced around quite a bit – most recently in San Francisco – and I could see him standing out. Everything else here is chalk.

S (4) – Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks, Jaylinn Hawkins, K’Von Holland: Two starters and two depth pieces brought in as unrestricted free agents. Nothing to see here. Can’t make every position group interesting!

Special Teams (3)

K – Tyler Loop - My man Nick Novak, kicking guru and former NFL kicker, thinks Loop has All-Pro potential In Year Two.

P – Ryan Eckley - They think he was the best punter in the draft.

LS – Nick Moore - One of the best at his craft.

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