Former ESPN Analyst Ryan Clark Sends Message to Lamar Jackson
Former ESPN analyst and Steelers defensive back Ryan Clark offered Lamar Jackson some advice as the two-time MVP enters his ninth training camp as perhaps the NFL's most scrutinized player.
"Ignore the noise," Clark said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun’s Armstrong Williams. "Great players are always judged more harshly than everyone else. Lamar knows who he is. He knows what he's accomplished. He also knows where he wants to improve. No one is harder on a great competitor than the competitor himself.
"He doesn't need outside voices defining him. He needs to continue preparing, leading and trusting the work that's already made him one of the best players in football. Championships are won by focusing on the next play, not the last criticism."
Clark's comments were similar to those made by Jackson himself on an episode of “The Lounge” podcast, which dropped on Tuesday.
"I don't look for the noise. It finds me," Jackson said with a laugh. "It comes with the territory. The only way I can control it is me being me.
"I don't really care about the naysayers. They're going to always be around."
Largely because of Jackson, Clark said the Ravens "without question" have what it takes to go to the Super Bowl.
"It starts with Lamar Jackson. Quarterback is the most important position in football, and Lamar is one of the elite players in the NFL," Clark said. "The Ravens have built a talented roster, an outstanding coaching staff and an organization that understands what championship football looks like.
"They'll absolutely have an opportunity to compete for another Super Bowl."
Bold Training Camp Predictions for Three Ravens Draft Picks
As part of The Baltimore Banner’s Ravens training camp preview, Jonas Shaffer, Giana Han, and Kyle Goon each made a bold camp prediction. All of their predictions involved members of this year's draft class.
Shaffer: Rookie Elijah Sarratt overtakes Devontez Walker for the WR3 job.
"Sarratt emerged as an unlikely star at James Madison and then Indiana under coach Curt Cignetti, whose demands on his offensive players are not unlike [Offensive Coordinator] Declan Doyle's: Be accountable, be explosive and be a nuisance as a blocker. Sarratt doesn't have elite athletic traits, but the fourth-round pick's route-running savvy in college helped him separate, especially in the red zone. (He had a Football Bowl Subdivision-best 15 touchdowns total last season.) And at his listed 215 pounds, Sarratt could give the Ravens some size as a run-blocking wide receiver in the slot."
Han: RB Adam Randall is going to develop into a key player.
"Randall has the physique of a freak athlete. He obviously knows how to catch and run routes, since he entered Clemson as a wide receiver. Now, he knows how to get downhill, too, from his season as a running back. And he's clearly coachable, if Dabo Swinney tasked him with switching positions late in his college career. So he could continue to grow as both a runner and blocker. Doyle seems creative, and Randall seems like a guy who would make a creative coordinator start drawing up possibilities."
Goon: By the end of camp, CB Chandler Rivers will be higher on the depth chart than most of his veteran competition.
"If you watch Rivers' college tape, it's simply dynamite. He's just 5 feet 9, but he's always around the ball, breaking up passes or grabbing turnovers. It's hard to teach the kind of instincts Rivers has shown in the past: He had 29 career passes defended at Duke, as well as 16 career tackles for loss despite his smaller size. While Bilhal Kone and T.J. Tampa may be more coveted for their special teams contributions, and Chidobe Awuzie has veteran savvy, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Rivers push for a lot of time at nickel or even on the outside. Jesse Minter and [Defensive Coordinator] Anthony Weaver love guys who can get their hands on the ball, and if Rivers can flash that in camp, it will be hard to keep him off the field.
Ravens Land in Middle of Pack in The Athletic's Pre-Camp Power Rankings
The Athletic’s Josh Kendall released his latest set of power rankings to coincide with the start of training camp, and his slotting of the Ravens will raise eyebrows.
Despite the Ravens having some of the highest odds to win the Super Bowl, Kendall put them at No. 16.
Baltimore is sandwiched between two of their AFC North rivals: the Cincinnati Bengals (No. 14) and Steelers (No. 17).
Kendall also identified one thing that's new for each team. For the Ravens, he didn't go with the obvious answer of a new coaching staff led by Jesse Minter, but rather the departure of fullback Patrick Ricard, who signed with the New York Giants in free agency.
"Maybe fullback free-agent moves don't light your fire, but Ricard leaving Baltimore feels almost as foundational as coach John Harbaugh's exit," Kendall wrote.
The Ravens fared better in Yahoo! Sports’ Frank Schwab’s power rankings, coming in at No. 7.
"Sportsbooks are practically ignoring last season for the Ravens," Schwab wrote. "Baltimore is tied for the second-best Super Bowl odds at DraftKings and FanDuel, behind only the Rams. Using that as a measure, having them at No. 7 on this list is a bit low. There are legitimate questions after last season's failure. However, I think Lamar Jackson will be an MVP candidate again and Jesse Minter will be an immediate asset to the defense, and the Ravens win the AFC North.
"While it would be great for the Ravens to make a Super Bowl, just to dash some of the nonsense narratives about Jackson, I don't think this is the season it happens. There are too many questions about some of the offensive depth and whether Minter can be a superstar in year one to get them to the top of the AFC. But if the Ravens get into the playoffs, Jackson always gives them the chance for a deep run."
Three Reasons for Optimism, One for Pessimism About the 2026 Ravens
Ravens in 5's Gordon McGuinness identified three reasons for optimism and one for pessimism about the 2026 Ravens in Pro Football Focus’ season preview. Here are some excerpts:
Reasons for optimism
- "Jackson missing time and playing through injury clearly played a major role in the Ravens' struggles last season, but a healthy Jackson paired with new Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle can rejuvenate the offense. Doyle learned under Sean Payton and Ben Johnson, so expect the Ravens to lean more on three-receiver sets and use plenty of motion."
- "Jesse Minter replacing John Harbaugh doesn't just give the Ravens a fresh perspective at the top; it should also boost a defense that has struggled in recent years — Minter ran a Chargers defense that ranked inside the NFL's top 10 in expected points added (EPA) allowed on defense in each of the past two seasons."
- "[Outside linebacker] Trey Hendrickson should also provide a significant boost to the pass rush. He has earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 90.0 in each of the past three seasons, something no Ravens edge defender has accomplished since Elvis Dumervil in 2013."
Reason for pessimism
- "The interior of the offensive line is still a question mark. On one hand [guards] Vega, Ioane and John Simpson should be upgrades over Daniel Faalele and Andrew Vorhees, but Ioane's lack of NFL experience means the Ravens may have to accept some growing pains. They also lost center Tyler Linderbaum to the Raiders in free agency. While the addition of Ethan Pocic helps, he is still a step down from a player who ranked fifth among all centers in PFF overall grade last season."
Quick Hits
- CBS Sports’ NFL analysts ranked the top 10 players at each offensive position. Jackson was No. 5 among quarterbacks and Derrick Henry was No. 4 among running backs.
