ESPN Analysts Say Ravens Have NFL's Best Starting Lineup
As far as starting lineups go, who's got it better than the Ravens?
Nobody!
That's the opinion of ESPN analysts Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz, and Seth Walder, who ranked each team's projected lineup and put the Ravens at No. 1, one spot ahead of the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Unsurprisingly, quarterback Lamar Jackson was deemed Baltimore's biggest strength.
"Lamar Jackson, an All-Pro in each of the past two seasons and the NFL MVP in 2019 and 2023, is one of the best in the business," Clay wrote. "He fell just short of his second consecutive MVP last season even though he led the league in QBR (77.3) and produced career-high marks in passing yards (4,172) and passing touchdowns (41, the second most in the league). The dual-threat QB has never finished a season lower than second at his position in rushing yards."
Clay contended that guard is the Ravens' biggest weakness, but he put "weakness" in quotation marks.
"On the left side, Patrick Mekari is out and will be replaced by Andrew Vorhees, Ben Cleveland or perhaps a rookie," Clay wrote. "Daniel Faalele returns on the right side after underwhelming as a run blocker."
Walder named left tackle Ronnie Stanley the Ravens' biggest X factor.
"This is all about his health," Walder wrote. "Stanley didn't miss a game last season, which helped earn him a well-deserved contract, but that doesn't mean the injury risks all went away. When Stanley and Jackson are on the field, the Ravens' offense is awfully hard to beat."
The Detroit Lions (No. 3), Buffalo Bills (No. 4), and Kansas City Chiefs (No. 5) rounded out the top five.
Ravens Have Two Players Among Top 10 Defensive Rookie of the Year Candidates
The Ravens have not had a Defensive Rookie of the Year since Terrell Suggs in 2003, but they might have two contenders to win the award this season.
NFL.com’s Dan Parr ranked the top 10 candidates, and second-round outside linebacker Mike Green (No. 4) and first-round safety Malaki Starks (No. 8) both made the list.
"Green has demonstrated the ability to produce at an elite rate," Parr wrote. "He led the FBS with 17 sacks last season and ranked second with 22.5 tackles for loss. Now he joins perhaps the most talented defense in the league and could earn a designated pass rusher role in which that production carries over to the next level. DROY has been dominated by edge rushers of late, and Green is in an enviable situation."
The last time a safety won the award was 1990, but Starks has the potential to end the drought.
"With Ar'Darius Washington suffering an Achilles tear in May, there's no one threatening to challenge Starks for snaps, and Head Coach John Harbaugh has expressed confidence that the 21-year-old is up to the challenge," Parr wrote. "He's joining what figures to be one of the league's stoutest defenses, with Pro Bowl talent at all three levels. And we know he has a knack for making plays, even if it wasn't on display as much in 2024. DC Zach Orr has a world of possibilities before him with two versatile safeties at his disposal now – Kyle Hamilton is coming off his second straight Pro Bowl nod – and the ground should be fertile for Starks to be a quick bloomer."
Jackson Was Top Passer Against Three Different Coverages Last Season
Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker looked at which quarterbacks performed the best against every coverage type last season. As a testament to how difficult Jackson is to defend, he was the leader versus three of the seven coverages.
Here's a look at each coverage Jackson excelled against:
Cover 3 (91.0 PFF grade)
"The NFL's highest-graded overall passer from last campaign finally makes his way onto the list due to his play against three-deep coverage shells. Jackson's 91.0 PFF passing grade eked out Justin Herbert's 90.7 figure, in part because of his 12 big-time throws (second most) to only three turnover-worthy plays. Jackson's 115.8 passer rating against Cover 3 looks was also tops."
Cover 6 (92.5)
"Jackson tormented basically every opposing coverage, but he did his heavy lifting against softer zones. The two-time MVP notched a near-perfect 154.8 passer rating against Cover 6, tossing three big-time throws with zero turnover-worthy plays."
Red zone (90.0)
"Jackson was unstoppable to defend on any blade of grass, and that extended to inside the opponent's 20-yard line. The Baltimore dynamo earned the highest PFF passing grade against red-zone looks by almost a full five points ahead of Justin Herbert (85.1) in second place. It's not shocking to learn that Jackson wasn't tagged with a turnover-worthy play against red-zone looks, either."
Three Ravens Make PFF Top 50, Two in Top 10
As the NFL continues to count down the top 100 players as voted on by the players, PFF has released its top 50 players rankings.
Three Ravens made the PFF50, led by Jackson, who was only No. 4 despite having one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in NFL history.
"Jackson has been at his absolute best over the past two seasons under Todd Monken," PFF's Dalton Wasserman and Trevor Sikkema wrote. "He led the NFL with a 94.9 PFF grade in 2024, becoming the first quarterback in PFF history to post 90.0-plus grades as both a passer and rusher in the same season. Over that span, he leads all quarterbacks with a 95.1 grade and 6.65 PFF WAR as he continues his push for a long-awaited Super Bowl title."
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett took the top spot, followed by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who edged Jackson for MVP last season, was No. 5.
Derrick Henry was No. 8 and the top running back on the list, 14 spots ahead of Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, last season's Offensive Player of the Year.
"Most running backs slow down past age 30 as their physical gifts start to fade. Derrick Henry isn't most running backs," Wasserman and Sikkema wrote. "In his first season with Baltimore, Henry led the NFL with a 93.5 rushing grade and 89 missed tackles forced. The Ravens went a perfect 11-0 when he topped 90 rushing yards. His 2024 campaign was the latest chapter in a remarkable run that's seen Henry rank as the NFL's most valuable running back since 2018."
Hamilton was No. 31 and the highest-ranked safety.
"Hamilton has only been in the league for three years, yet he's already established himself as one of the NFL's premier defensive backs," Wasserman and Sikkema wrote. "Over that span, he's posted pass-rush and coverage grades above 92.0, along with a 78.5 run-defense grade. As one of the league's most versatile chess pieces, there's little he can't do for the Ravens defense."
Henry Focused on Winning Super Bowl, Not Individual Goals
Henry needs 1,317 yards to move past Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett into 10th place on the all-time rushing yards list, but he said the milestone isn't something he thinks about.
"I try not to get too caught up into it, just be present in the moment, be thankful for where I am, and if that time comes, deal with it then and relish the moment at that time. But right now we're still working," Henry told Sports Illustrated on the set of his latest State Farm commercial.
Henry said the only thing he is focused on is winning an elusive Super Bowl championship.
"I don't really have any more individual goals. I just want a Super Bowl," Henry said. "That's the only thing I'm looking forward to and got my eyes set on."
Henry discussed what the Ravens need to do to get over the hump.
"We just need to finish," he said. "I think we all know what it takes, and we have everything that we need to get it done. Last year, we kind of started the season off a little slower than what we wanted to, but you just have to hit the ground running. You have to work hard through training camp, have accountability, and keep that same standard all throughout the season. I think we'll do that. We have the right guys to get where we want to go. We just have to do it."
Quick Hits
Yesterday's Most Read: Late for Work: Will the Ravens Make History as First Team to Three-Peat the AFC North?
- The Ravens are No. 2 in The Athletic’s pre-training camp power rankings.
- Cornerback Nate Wiggins made NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks’ All-Breakout Team.
