Mink: The Ravens' offense will be very good this year. I’m super impressed with new Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle and, more importantly, so are his players. Doyle is next in line among the NFL's young, bright offensive coordinators and sprouted from the coaching tree of Ben Johnson and Sean Payton.
The Ravens have premier talent with Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers leading the way. I expect those three guys to get the ball a lot and perform at a high level.
With all that said, the staple of Doyle's offense is that it's extremely detailed oriented. It's also a dramatic departure from the offenses the Ravens have had previously, featuring more of the quarterback under center, more play-action passing, and more three wide receiver sets.
For those reasons, I think it's reasonable to expect some growing pains early in the season while the offense fine tunes the details. I expect it will have some great flashes and explosive plays, but it may take some time to build a consistently efficient engine. The good news is that over the first four games, the Ravens face only one defense (New Orleans Saints) that finished in the top half of the league last year.
Jackson has adapted well to system changes during his career. He won the MVP in his first year with Greg Roman (2019) and first year with Todd Monken (2023). The Ravens will take some opponents by surprise with their new wrinkles, and Doyle's new system fits Jackson well. But Baltimore's offense will be learning as it goes, too, as Jackson spoke to on Tuesday.
"If one guy is off with something, it can pretty much screw up the whole dynamic of the offense, or whatever play we have drawn up," Jackson said Tuesday. "So, us just being dialed in on each and every play, every second of the details. [Doyle] has been over-emphasizing the details. If we mess up on one small micro detail, now we have to move on to the next play. Do not focus on that play, focus on the next play now."
Brown: I'm not overly concerned about the possibility of starters being rusty in Week 1 because they didn't play in the preseason.
The Ravens didn't look rusty on offense in Week 1 last year when they lost 41-40 to the Buffalo Bills. Jackson was 14-for-19, threw for two touchdowns, and had a 144.4 passer rating. Henry rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns, while Flowers had seven catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. None of them played a snap during the 2025 preseason.
You could make a case that the Ravens' defense looked rusty against Buffalo, or that Baltimore's defense was fatigued down the stretch. I think that's something to watch on Sunday. Neither team's starters have played a full game since last season. Coaches may substitute a little more than normal in Week 1 to avoid players getting winded, particularly along the defensive line.
However, I don't think the Ravens will be at a disadvantage on Sunday because they rested starters during the preseason. The Colts also rested their starters, as most teams do. Certainly, they'll be some players who aren't in midseason form, but Baltimore's starters got valuable reps in joint practices with the Vikings and Commanders to help them get ready.
I agree with Minter's decision to keep starters away from game action until Week 1. In my opinion, getting to Week 1 healthy is far more important than putting starters at risk during the preseason.
Mink: A top-5 offense and top-5 defense is a high bar, but I don't think impossible. The Ravens did it in 2023, finishing fourth in offensive scoring and first in defensive points against.
As stated above, I think the Ravens' offense is going toturn into a juggernaut over the course of the year. The defense hasn't undergone such a dramatic change this offseason, and I believe it will be one of the best units in the league with Minter calling the plays and Anthony Weaver as defensive coordinator. Like the offense, the Ravens' defense has stars at every level – Nnamdi Madubuike, Calais Campbell, Trey Hendrickson, Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton, Nate Wiggins, etc. The Ravens are strong up-front, have an improved pass rush and have Minter calling the shots on the back end of the coverage to confuse opposing quarterbacks.
There are several other top-flight defenses, including the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and more. It will be tough to crack the top five, but I think the Ravens are capable of doing so.
Brown: Earlier this month, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced significant changes to its selection process. They cut the voters from 50 to 28 and there will no longer be at least one selector in each of the home markets of the 32 NFL teams.
It's no secret that Tony Grossi, a longtime Cleveland Browns reporter, was Cleveland's regional selector and campaigned to keep late Ravens Owner Art Modell out. It's unknown who still has votes, but if Grossi is not one of the 28, that could change the calculus.
The goal is to make the process fairer. But that doesn't mean it will make it less challenging for Modell, Suggs, or Yanda to get in.
Now, there will be 15 finalists for the Hall of Fame each year – 13 players, one coach, and one contributor. All inductees need to get at least 80% of the vote.
If Modell makes the 15 finalists, he will need to get at least an 80% nod from the 28 people on the section panel. He will also need to be the highest vote getter in the contributor category. Not impossible, but hardly easy.
As for Suggs and Yanda, I think both are Hall of Fame-worthy and it’s possible they’ll get in as early as 2027. However, Rob Gronkowski, Adrian Peterson, Ben Roethlisberger, and Richard Sherman are among those who will be eligible for the first time next year, adding to the stiff competition.
How funny would it be for Suggs and Roethlisberger to be inducted together? We'll see what happens.
