Ravens News 6/26: Roster Rankings

Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley is rejuvenated and feels he has a lot left in the tank

Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic

Watching you on the field for organized team activities and minicamp, it seems like this is the most fun you’ve ever had being out there for practice. Is that a good read on it?

I would just say I’ve been feeling more like myself than I have in previous years. For the most part, just to be able to feel like myself physically has made me a lot happier. I guess being in that state when I was younger, it wasn’t as savory as a moment or savory as a time, just knowing that, “OK, your career could have been over after one play,” and not knowing if I was ever going to feel like that again physically or athletically. To truly feel like that and be out there and just notice myself getting better every day and feeling more like my old self every day, it definitely makes me happy.

There was a lot made about the pay alteration that you took this offseason. Why were you open to that?

I just wouldn’t have personally felt good about leaving Baltimore on that note. I want to play here my whole career, but even if I’m saying I’ll play one more year for a lot less, it’s because, if this is my last year, I want to go out on a high note. I want to play at the level that I know I can play at. The time that I missed, it would be something that I would have regretted. It would be something that I would think about when I’m older.

Pat Ricard Is Relishing the Opportunity to Block for Derrick Henry

Matt Ryan, BaltimoreRavens.com

“It’s a dream come true for anyone that has to block in the run game,” Ricard, a four-time Pro Bowler, said. “I’ve been admiring him ever since he’s been in the league. … Just the things he can do, it’s so unique, so special. He’s just a freak of a person.

“He’s one of those guys that you never think that you can obtain because everyone is going to want him. It’s Derrick Henry. Eric [DeCosta] did his magic and got him here.”

“I can’t wait until [training] camp where we can actually hit guys and see how the defense can run through me or around me and then have to wrap [Henry],” Ricard said. “Then once we get into games, I think it’s going to be a big problem. And then you add frickin’ Lamar into the equation and all of our receivers and other backs, it’s going to be very hard to defend.”

2024 NFL defensive line rankings: New York Jets take the top spot

Sam Monson, PFF

12. BALTIMORE RAVENS

Justin Madubuike was a breakout force for the Ravens last season. Though he wasn’t quite as dominant as his sack total, he did rack up 64 quarterback pressures and 37 defensive stops.

Michael Pierce and Travis Jones are solid big bodies on the interior, while the edge rush is something of a committee, with Odafe Oweh the most proven threat among the group. Oweh tallied 51 quarterback pressures in 2023.

Top 25 NFL players 25 and under for 2024 season

Cody Banjamin, CBS Sports

14. Kyle Hamilton

Position: S | Team: Baltimore Ravens | Age: 23

The Ravens defense is littered with standouts, but Hamilton impacted every level as a second-year All-Pro: the backfield (10 tackles for loss), open field (81 tackles) and secondary (four picks, 13 pass breakups). His positional flexibility should keep him at the heart of the “D” moving forward.

Ranking 2024 NFL rosters: Best projected starting lineups

Clay, Walder & Schatz, ESPN

3. Baltimore Ravens

Biggest strength: Safety. I could’ve easily gone with quarterback or tight end here, but safety gets the nod after Kyle Hamilton emerged as a superstar last season. The 2022 first-round pick was the only player in the league to reach 80 tackles, 4 INTs and 3.0 sacks (one of only seven to do it over the past decade), which landed him first-team All-Pro honors. He’s joined in the defensive backfield by Marcus Williams, who sits eighth among safeties in INTs (20) and seventh in passes defended (54) since entering the league in 2017.

Biggest weakness: Guard. John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler departed during the offseason after handling 93.4% of Baltimore’s guard snaps in 2023. The team did very little to replace the duo, with the likes of 2023 backup Ben Cleveland, journeyman newcomer Josh Jones and 2023-24 late-round draft picks Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu and Andrew Vorhees the top candidates to start. This is arguably the league’s shakiest guard situation.

X factor for 2024: Defensive coordinator Zach Orr. He has big shoes to fill after Mike Macdonald left to become the Seattle head coach. Macdonald got the most out of the Baltimore defense, a group that allowed minus-0.1 EPA per play last season, the second-best mark of any team despite lacking an elite pass-rusher and getting only 10 games from Marlon Humphrey. Defense was Baltimore’s better unit last year — will it be again?

Nonstarter to know: Edge rusher David Ojabo. Given the age of Kyle Van Noy (33) and the shaky health track record of Odafe Oweh, the Ravens are going to need to get something out of Ojabo, their 2022 second-round pick. So far, Ojabo has played just five NFL games due to injuries, but he had a quality SackSEER rating of 79.3% when we projected him coming out of Michigan. Coach John Harbaugh is behind him: “I think David is just gonna break out,” he told reporters in March.