Quarterback

The Ravens had the most efficient offense in the league last season, leading the league in both yards per play (6.85) and first down rate (36.22%). They were led by quarterback Lamar Jackson, who had one of the best seasons ever by a quarterback. Jackson completed 66.7% of his passes for an average of 8.80 YPA, 41 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, good for a 119.6 QB rating, the 4th best single season QB rating of all time. That alone would have been highly impressive, but the dual threat Jackson also added 915 yards and 4 touchdowns on 139 carries (6.58 YPC), good for the 7th most rushing yards ever by a quarterback in a season. The Ravens lost in the second round of the post-season, but they still had 7.30 yards per play and a 40.35% first down rate in that game, losing because they lost the turnover margin by 3, a metric which tends to be very volatile on a week-to-week basis. 

As is usually the case when you have the best offense in the league and an all-time great season by a quarterback, there isn’t anywhere to go but down, but Jackson has had some other very elite seasons in his career, winning the MVP in 2019 and 2023 with QB ratings of 113.3 and 102.7 and rushing totals of 1,206 and 821 respectively. In his other three seasons as a starter (2020, 2021, and 2022), Jackson wasn’t as good, combining for a 92.5 QB rating and averaging 845 rushing yards per season, while missing 12 games and seeing all three seasons end with injuries, but, overall, Jackson has established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Jackson hasn’t missed a game with injury since 2022, but he still does have a concerning injury history and takes more hits than the average quarterback because of his playing style, so the Ravens prioritized upgrading the backup quarterback spot this off-season, signing ex-Cowboy Cooper Rush. Rush is a career backup who has only made 14 starts in 8 seasons in the league, but his 83.8 QB rating isn’t bad for a backup. He would obviously be a huge downgrade from Jackson if he had to step in and play, but the same can be said of any quarterback backing up an elite quarterback like Jackson, so that isn’t necessarily a knock on Rush as a backup.

Grade: A

Offensive Line

Jackson also had a great supporting cast around him last season, arguably the best he’s ever had and, while there are some reasons to be concerned that his supporting cast won’t be quite as good again in 2025, the Ravens do return 10 of 11 starters from a year ago. The one who didn’t is left guard Patrick Mekari and, while he was barely decent with a 60.4 PFF grade across 998 snaps, his likely replacement Andrew Vorhees looks like a clear downgrade, as the 2023 7th round pick made the first three starts of his career last season and had just a 57.2 PFF grade.

Other left guard options include 3rd round rookie Emery Jones, a collegiate tackle, who could move inside, Ben Cleveland, a disappointing 2021 3rd round pick who has played just 670 nondescript snaps in four seasons in the league (seven starts), and Joe Noteboom, who has finished above 60 on PFF in four of seven seasons in the league, but who is a career backup with 35 starts in seven seasons in the league, just 11 of which came at guard, and who is now going into his age 30 season. Whoever ends up with the starting job would likely be a liability. 

The rest of this offensive line should stay the same in 2025, but there is some concern about left tackle Ronnie Stanley. A 2016 first round pick, Stanley was an elite player early in his career and he received a 71.4 PFF grade in 17 starts last season, but that was his best single season PFF grade since 2020 and from 2020-2023 injuries cost him 36 games. It’s possible Stanley has put his injuries behind him and will continue being an above average starter, but that’s far from a guarantee, especially since Stanley is now entering his age 31 season.

Center Tyler Linderbaum was the Ravens’ best offensive lineman last season, with a 78.1 PFF grade, which is in line with how the 2022 1st round pick has played throughout his career, finishing with PFF grades of 74.7 and 78.3 in his first two seasons in the league, while making 49 of a possible 51 starts in three seasons in the league. Still only going into his age 25 season, Linderbaum’s best years could still be ahead of him and, even if they aren’t, he should still remain a well above average center in 2025 and beyond.

On the right side, the Ravens have a pair of players who were first-time starters last season. Right tackle Roger Rosenstein was a 2nd round rookie and had a decent 66.9 PFF grade. He should remain a capable starter with the upside for more, now going into his second season in the league. Right guard Daniel Faalele, meanwhile, is a 2022 4th round pick who had a 60.5 PFF grade last season, after playing just 355 mediocre snaps in his first two seasons prior. Faalele should remain an underwhelming starting option again in 2025. Overall, this offensive line has some talent, but also some concerns, especially with Patrick Mekari gone and Ronnie Stanley getting up there in age with a history of injury and inconsistency.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

Nelson Agholor, the Ravens #3 receiver last season, was not technically a starter on this offense, given how much the Ravens use two tight end sets, and he only played 420 snaps, but he wasn’t retained this off-season either. He was mediocre last season though, with a 14/231/2 slash line and 1.11 yards per route run, and the Ravens likely upgraded on him by signing DeAndre Hopkins instead. Hopkins was once a perennial 1000+ yard receiver, surpassing that number in seven of ten seasons from 2014-2023, with an average slash line of 88/1155/8 and 2.13 yards per route run over that stretch, but he fell to a 56/610/5 slash line in 2024 and now is going into his age 33 season.

Part of his struggles last season have to do with him being traded mid-season and struggling to pick up the playbook in his new home in Kansas City and, even still, he did have a decent 1.71 yards per route run average on the season, mostly limited by a lack of playing time. Having a full off-season with his new team in Baltimore should help him but, given his age, it’s highly unlikely he will bounce back to his prime form and it’s possible he could decline further.

Fortunately, the Ravens won’t need a big role out of Hopkins unless one of their other pass catchers gets hurt. Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman were their top-2 wide receivers in 2024, finishing with a 74/1059/4 slash line on 116 targets with 2.25 yards per route run and a 45/756/9 slash line on 72 targets with 1.69 yards per route run respectively. Flowers, a 2023 first round pick, also had a 77/858/5 slash line on 108 targets with 1.64 yards per route run as a rookie and looks likely to remain an above average wide receiver for years to come.

Bateman is also a former first round pick, selected in 2021, and, while he hasn’t quite lived up to his draft slot, he was a useful #2 receiver in 2024. Last season was a career best season for him though and he’s only averaged 1.46 yards per route run in his career, while missing 15 games across his first three seasons in the league prior to last season, so he could regress and/or miss more time with injury in 2025, but it’s also possible he’s permanently turned a corner as a player and, even if he does miss more time with injury, the Ravens have a better insurance policy now with Hopkins being added. 

The Ravens top-2 tight ends also played significant roles last season, as Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely finished with snap counts of 683 and 626 respectively. In the passing game, they had a 55/673/11 slash line on 69 targets and 1.88 yards per route run and a 42/477/6 slash line on 58 targets and 1.55 yards per route run respectively. Andrews is an accomplished veteran with an average 62/790/7 slash line on 90 targets with 2.12 yards per route run in seven seasons in the league, but he’s heading into his age 30 season and could start to decline soon. 

Meanwhile Likely, a 2022 4th round pick, is starting to come into his own, posting career highs in catches, yards, targets, touchdowns, and yards per route run last season, after a 36/373/3 slash line on 60 targets with 1.39 yards per route run as a rookie and a 30/411/5 slash line on 40 targets with 1.45 yards per route run in his second season in the league in 2023. With Likely still only going into his age 25 season, we could see this tight end split shift even more in his direction in 2025, though both figure to remain heavily involved in the offense, after the Ravens ranked 5th in the league with 30.2% of their targets going to tight ends last season.

Outside of their top-3 wide receivers and top-2 tight ends, the Ravens lack experienced depth. However, Charlie Kolar, the #3 tight end, has flashed potential in very limited action (517 snaps) through three seasons in the league since being selected in the 4th round in 2022, averaging 2.05 yards per route run, while impressing as a blocker. On top of that, while #4 wide receiver Tylan Wallace has only averaged 1.10 yards per route run in four seasons since being selected in the 4th round in 2021, he did have a 1.77 yards per route run average last season. This is a talented receiving corps overall.

Grade: A-

Running Backs

A big part of why the Ravens’ offense was so successful last season is that Lamar Jackson had by far the best running back he had ever played with, as Derrick Henry excelled in the Ravens’ offense in his first season in Baltimore, turning back the clock to rush for 325 yards and 1,921 touchdowns on 16 carries (5.91 YPC). Henry is a future Hall of Famer who rushed for 3,567 yards and 33 touchdowns on 681 carries (5.24 YPC) in a 2-year span from 2019-2020, but he fell to just a 4.29 YPC over the next three seasons, totaling 3,642 yards and 35 touchdowns on 848 carries, in part due to a declining offense around him in Tennessee, but also seemingly in part due to his age. 

Henry obviously silenced the age concerns last season, but he’s now going into his age 31 season and it’s still fair to note that running backs do tend to drop off in their late 20s and early 30s. In fact, on average, a 28-year-old running back is about 4 times as likely to surpass 1000 yards in a season as a 31-year-old running back like Henry, a huge drop off over just three seasons. Even beyond Henry’s age, the history of running backs after elite seasons like he had last season does not work in his favor. In NFL history, 32 running backs have rushed for at least 1,700 yards in a season prior to 2024. Of those 32 running backs, 29 finished with fewer rushing yards the following season and, on average, running backs who rush for 1,700 yards in a season see their rushing total decline by 35.49% and their yards per carry decline by 14.17%. Henry might not drop off completely in 2025, but odds are against him repeating last season’s dominant performance, which would definitely hurt this offense.

Henry ranked second in the league in carries last season with 325, but the Ravens may try to limit his carries somewhat this season, in an attempt to keep him fresh, especially down the stretch. Obviously Lamar Jackson takes off and runs with the ball frequently, but the rest of the Ravens’ running backs left something to be desired last season. Justice Hill ranked second on the team among running backs with 47 carries last season and, while he took them for 4.85 yards per carry, that was largely the result of primarily playing in long yardage passing situations against defenses expecting a passing play, as Hill had a mediocre 44.7% carry success rate. His numbers last season were largely in line with his career numbers of 4.65 YPC and a 46.4% carry success rate on 250 carries in six seasons in the league, since being selected in the 4th round in 2019.

Hill probably isn’t a candidate for a significantly expanded role as a runner in 2025, but the Ravens should get a healthier season out of Keaton Mitchell, who flashed a lot of promise as a rookie in 2023, with a 8.43 YPC average across 47 carries, before barely playing in 2024 due to injury, limited to 2.00 YPC on 15 carries in five games. Mitchell is a 2023 undrafted free agent who is only 5-8 190, but, if he is back to full health, he could be a useful change of pace back behind Henry.

Hill will likely remain the primary passing down back, after averaging 1.64 yards per route run and posting a 42/383/3 slash line on 51 targets last season, though it’s worth noting that he averaged just 0.72 yards per route run in his first five seasons in the league, so last season’s performance might be a fluke. Derrick Henry has only caught 174 passes in 136 career games though, so he won’t play a big passing down role and, while Mitchell has averaged 2.02 yards per route run in his career, the Ravens probably want to avoid giving him too many touches, leaving Hill to remain the primary passing down back. Derrick Henry probably won’t have as good of a season as he did last season, but he should still remain a talented lead back and the Ravens have a promising passing down back in Justice Hill and a promising change of pace change in Keaton Mitchell as well.

Grade: A

Edge Defenders

The Ravens’ defense wasn’t as good as their offense in 2024, finishing the regular season ranked 6th in yards per play allowed and 10th in first down rate allowed, but they got significantly better down the stretch, ranking #1 in both of those metrics from week 11-18. The primary reason for that was changes they made in their secondary, which I will get into later. Going into 2025, this defense looks very similar to a year ago, particularly on the defensive line and in the linebacking corps.

At the edge defender position, the Ravens return their top-4 in terms of snaps played from a year ago. Kyle Van Noy led the way with a 75.4 PFF grade, particularly playing well as a pass rusher, with 12.5 sacks, 9 hits, and a 12.6% pressure rate. For Van Noy, it was his third season in the past four years above 70 on PFF and his fourth in the past six years, but he’s going into his age 34 season in 2025, so he could easily decline.

With Van Noy getting older, it’s likely that Odafe Oweh will be the Ravens’ top edge defender in 2025. A first round pick in 2021, Oweh got off to a start slow start to his career, with PFF grades of 67.9 and 56.8 across snap counts of 615 and 633 in his first two seasons in the league, but he has come into his own over the past two seasons, with PFF grades of 80.7 and 71.2 on snap counts of 436 and 636, particularly playing well as a pass rusher, with 15 sacks, 22 hits, and a 12.9% pressure rate in 30 games in 2023 and 2024 combined. Still in the prime of his career in his age 27 season, Oweh figures to continue playing at an above average level in 2025.

To potentially offset any decline from Van Noy, the Ravens used a second round pick on Mike Green, who projects as a future starter opposite Oweh. The Ravens also have Tavius Robinson, Adisa Isaac, and David Ojabi. Robinson is a 2023 4th round pick who struggled with a 55.3 PFF grade across 335 snaps as a rookie, before taking a small step forward in year two with a 62.3 PFF grade across 485 snaps. Isaac is a 2024 3rd round pick who only played 32 snaps as a rookie, but who could take a step forward in year two. Ojabo is a 2022 2nd round pick who has largely been a bust to this point in his career, with just 379 snaps played in three seasons in the league, but who still has theoretical upside in his age 25 season in 2025. Kyle Van Noy getting older will hurt this position group, but the Ravens also have a bunch of young options who could take a step forward in 2025.

Grade: B+

Interior Defenders

At the interior defender position, the Ravens bring back their top-3 in terms of snaps played from a year ago. Nnamdi Madbuike led this position group with 812 snaps last season and figures to do so again in 2025. He’s averaged 741 snaps played per season over the past three seasons and has been one of the best interior pass rushers in the league over that time, with 25 sacks, 33 hits, and a 10.3% pressure rate in 51 games. He’s not nearly as good as a run defender, but his pass rush ability makes him a very valuable player and he’s still in his prime, in his age 28 season.

Travis Jones is the Ravens most well rounded interior defender, as the 2022 3rd round pick has finished above 70 on PFF in each of the past two seasons on snap counts of 452 and 599, while finishing above 60 both as a pass rusher and run defender in both seasons. As a pass rusher, he has 2.5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 7.7% pressure rate in 34 games over the past two seasons and he’s been even better against the run. Still only in his age 26 season, he should continue playing at a similar level across a similar snap count in 2025.

Broderick Washington also played a significant role at the interior defender position last season, with 448 snaps played, but he struggled with a 53.5 PFF grade. This is nothing new for him, as the 2020 5th round pick has finished below 60 on PFF in four of five seasons in the league. Also a poor run defender, Washington has just a 5.9% pressure rate in his career. Already in his age 29 season, Washington is who he is at this stage of his career and will likely continue struggling in 2025, but he will have to continue playing a significant role because the Ravens lack a better option. 

The Ravens did lose nose tackle Michael Pierce to retirement this off-season and, though he played just 231 snaps across 11 games, he could still be missed because he excelled with a 80.6 PFF grade. To replace him, the Ravens signed John Jenkins, but he is highly unlikely to be as good as Pierce. Jenkins was a solid run defender in his prime, but he has finished below 60 on PFF in two of the past three seasons, including a 53.1 PFF grade across 606 snaps in 2024, and now he’s heading into his age 36 season. The Ravens did use a 6th round pick on Aeneas Peebles, who has some upside as a developmental project, but he is unlikely to contribute in a significant positive way as a rookie. The Ravens have a pair of talented interior defenders in Nnamdi Madubuike and Travis Jones, but the rest of this group leaves something to be desired.

Grade: B

Linebackers

Starters Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson remain at linebacker. Smith had a down year in 2024 with a 65.2 PFF grade across 992 snaps, after grades of 70.6 and 80.1 on snap counts of 1,039 and 1,066 respectively in 2022 and 2023, but he did get better down the stretch in 2024, with a 75.6 PFF grade from week 11 on, coinciding with the Ravens’ significant defensive improvement down the stretch. Still only in his age 28 season, the former 2018 8th overall pick has a lot of bounce back potential in 2025. 

Simpson, meanwhile, struggled with a 58.7 PFF grade across 654 snaps, leading to him getting benched down the stretch for Malik Harrison, who wasn’t any better, with a 50.4 PFF grade across 371 snaps. Harrison is no longer with the team, which opens the door for Simpson to get back into the starting lineup. The 2023 3rd round pick is only going into his age 24 season and could easily take a step forward in his third season in the league in 2025, but that’s not a guarantee. With Harrison gone, the only competition the Ravens have for him is Teddye Buchanan, a 4th round rookie who will likely begin his career as a reserve and who could easily struggle if forced into a significant role in year one. Roquan Smith has bounce back potential and elevates this position group, but, aside from him, this group is underwhelming.

Grade: B

Secondary

Roquan Smith’s improvement down the stretch is a big part of the reason why the Ravens’ defense improved down the stretch, but the biggest reason is the changes they made in the secondary. To begin the season, Marcus Williams and Ar’Darius Washington played safety together in sub packages, with Kyle Hamilton moving to the slot and Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens being the outside cornerbacks. 

Starting in week 11, Marcus Williams, who had a terrible 42.9 PFF grade, was benched and played just two snaps the rest of the way. In his absence, Washington and Hamilton became every down safeties, Marlon Humphrey moved to the slot in sub packages, and first round rookie Nate Wiggins took on a bigger role as an outside cornerback opposite Brandon Stephens. Washington excelled last season with a 80.3 PFF grade across 726 snaps, but he is a complete one-year wonder, as the 2021 undrafted free agent played just 145 snaps in his first three seasons, and he is also questionable for the 2025 season after an off-season achilles tear. Fortunately, the Ravens used a first round pick on Malaki Starks, who figures to take Washington’s place in the starting lineup. 

Starks might not be as good as Washington was last season, but he comes into the league with a lot of upside. Hamilton, meanwhile, is one of the best safeties in the league, as the 2022 1st round pick has received PFF grades of 82.3, 84.7, and 90.1 in his first three seasons in the league and could still have better days ahead, only going into his age 24 season. The biggest issue at safety with Washington out is depth, as the only other safeties on the roster are 2024 7th round pick Sanoussi Kane, who played 22 snaps as a rookie, 2024 undrafted free agent Beau Brade, who played 11 snaps as a rookie, and a pair of undrafted rookies Desmond igbinosun and Keondre Jackson, all of whom figure to struggle if forced into a significant role by an injury to one of the starters.

At cornerback, Brandon Stephens left as a free agent, but he had a 55.8 PFF grade across 1,047 snaps last season, so that could be addition by subtraction, especially since the Ravens replaced him with Chidobe Awuzie. Awuzie has finished above 60 on PFF in seven of eight seasons in the league, including three seasons above 70, but he does come with some risk, due to his age and injury proneness. He’s going into his age 30 season, hasn’t had a PFF grade above 70 since 2021, and has missed at least eight games in three of the past five seasons, while missing 31 games total over that stretch. 

Awuzie has some upside and it won’t be hard for him to be an upgrade over Brandon Stephens, but he also comes with a lot of downside. The Ravens also lack depth at cornerback, which is a big problem, given Awuzie’s injury history. Their depth options include 2024 4th round pick TJ Tampa, who struggled across 18 snaps as a rookie, 2022 4th round pick Jalyn Armour-Davis, who has played just 172 mediocre snaps in three seasons in the league, and a pair of 6th round pick rookies, Bilhal Kone and Robert Longerbeam, all of whom would likely struggle if forced into a significant role by an injury ahead of them on the depth chart.

Fortunately, Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins remain and are a talented duo. Humphrey was a first round pick in 2017 and has finished above 60 on PFF in all eight seasons in the league, including six seasons above 70 and a career best 81.0 PFF grade across 903 snaps in 2024. He might not be quite as good again in 2025 as he was in a career best year in 2024, but he should remain a high-level cornerback, still only in his late prime in his age 29 season. Wiggins, meanwhile, had a 70.7 PFF grade across 679 snaps as a rookie and could easily take another step forward in year two, still only in his age 22 season. The Ravens’ lack of depth in the secondary is a concern, but their top-3 cornerbacks and top-2 safeties are a very talented group.

Grade: A-

Kicker

Kicker was the Ravens’ Achilles heel last season, as Justin Tucker cost the Ravens 5.24 points compared to an average kicker, a big deal for a team that didn’t lose by more than one score all season. That was surprising, as Tucker is one of the best kickers of all-time, but he was getting up there in age and, between that and some off-the-field accusations that surfaced this off-season, the Ravens made the decision to move on from him and replaced him with 6th round pick Tyler Loop, who was arguably the best kicker in the draft class. It remains to be seen how good Loop can be at the NFL level, but it wouldn’t be hard for him to be a significant upgrade over what Tucker was in 2024.

Grade: B-

Conclusion

The Ravens finished the 2024 season ranked 1st in yards per play differential and first down rate differential, which are more predictive year-to-year than a team’s win/loss record. They were especially good down the stretch and, if not for a fluky turnover margin in a loss to the Bills in which the Ravens won the first down rate battle by 2.67 and the yards per play differential by 7.56%, the Ravens could have gone on a deep playoff run last season. There are some reasons why they might not be quite as good again in 2025, including the fact that they are unlikely to have the fewest adjusted games lost to injury in the league again, but, overall, this looks like one of the best teams in the league.

Prediction: 16-1, 1st in AFC North