At this time last year, almost no one saw the Ravens turning into the NFL’s best team. A week before their season ended, almost no one in Baltimore saw them losing in the AFC championship game, either.
Football can be funny like that. So, while it’s foolish to try to predict what the 2024 Ravens will do after a year when they defied so many, we’ll give it a shot. Here are 10 guesses, with varying levels of boldness, at how this season will unfold.
The Ravens will go 1-1 in the playoffs (again)
The Ravens have it in them to win the AFC North — but will they play like it? Uncharacteristically sloppy play led to a couple of losses in divisional play last season. If the Ravens keep it together in 2024, they’ll win the division again.
Claiming the AFC’s No. 1 seed for a second straight season, though, will be difficult. If the Ravens get a game in the wild-card round game, they should be able to advance. But with no bye week until early December, and then a stretch of three games in 11 days, the Ravens’ late-season depth will be tested. They have a lot of talent, but this roster isn’t as deep as last year’s. The Ravens might not have the juice to get through the divisional round.
This season will be Lamar Jackson’s most conservative as a passer
Jackson has always been one of the NFL’s most aggressive passers. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2019, he’s ranked among the Top 10 qualifying quarterbacks in air yards per attempt — or the average distance of his passes downfield — every season, according to TruMedia. Last year, Jackson’s first under offensive coordinator Todd Monken, was no different. He ranked seventh in the NFL in average air yards (8.4) and attempted passes of at least 20 air yards 12.5% of the time, the league’s ninth-highest rate.
But how aggressive can Jackson afford to be this season? If the Ravens’ rebuilt offensive line can’t reliably protect him on drop-backs, he won’t have as much time to look downfield. And, if the Ravens use more two-tight-end looks this season, Jackson might not have as many vertical routes to pick from. Monken also said recently the Ravens “didn’t screen enough last year,” which could signal that he plans to throw more of them.
Odafe Oweh will lead the Ravens in sacks
Defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike has to be the preseason favorite after a breakout 13-sack season. But the uber-athletic Oweh was a dominant pass rusher for stretches of training camp and, as an outside linebacker, should get more one-on-one opportunities than his All-Pro teammate. The 2021 first-round pick tied his career high with five sacks last season and was unlucky not to finish with more; according to Pro Football Focus, Oweh finished with a higher pass-rush win rate than T.J. Watt (19 sacks), Danielle Hunter (16.5 sacks) and Maxx Crosby (14.5 sacks).
With his fifth-year option for 2025 picked up this offseason, Oweh isn’t playing for a new deal next year. But he approached this spring and summer with his usual rigor, heading to Atlanta to work with Madubuike’s pass-rush coach. At the start of camp, Oweh seemed to burn with a quiet intensity. “I know who I am,” he said. “I know what I can do. A lot of the plays that I know I can make are going to be there, right there, for me, and it’s just for me to go and take it. So I’m ready.”
Only three Week 1 offensive line starters will remain the same
General manager Eric DeCosta acknowledged Thursday that the offensive line might have some “hiccups,” and those could show as early as Week 1. The Ravens face the Kansas City Chiefs, whose defense finished second in the league in sacks last season, behind only Baltimore’s. The Chiefs return key pieces up front, notably All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones. Meanwhile, the Ravens had three starting spots up for grabs heading into camp.
Barring injury, returning starters Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum will be back at left tackle and center, respectively. Andrew Vorhees had a lock on left guard at camp, while Daniel Faalele got a large share of the first-team repetitions at right guard. Roger Rosengarten rotated with Patrick Mekari at right tackle.
Given the Chiefs’ experience and Rosengarten’s inexperience, it wouldn’t be out of the question to start Mekari at right tackle. As the season wears on, it wouldn’t be surprising if Faalele loses the job considering the Ravens staff has not offered much praise about his potential. If Rosengarten takes over at right tackle, that would leave three remaining starters. There’s also a world where Mekari slides inside to a different starting spot. Vorhees graded out the lowest among offensive linemen in preseason, so his success isn’t guaranteed. Harbaugh has his offensive line starters in mind, but he’s not sharing them. So the premise of this prediction could be blown up in Week 1.
Roger Rosengarten will play more snaps than Nate Wiggins
This is a matter of opportunity, not ability. If Rosengarten starts, say, 12 games at right tackle for the Ravens this season, averaging 65 offensive snaps per game, that’s 780 snaps total for the second-round pick. If he starts every game for the Ravens this season, he’ll probably end up with over 1,000 snaps, ranking among the team’s busiest players.
Wiggins’ path to playing time is less certain. The Ravens’ top two outside cornerbacks, Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens, probably won’t leave the field unless they’re hurt or the game’s a blowout. Defensive coordinator Zach Orr has more trustworthy options in the slot. So where does that leave Wiggins? The first-round pick’s game log might look like Humphrey’s did as a rookie in 2017. In a deep defensive backfield, Humphrey appeared in 16 games, starting five, and finished with 597 defensive snaps and 170 special teams snaps.
Ar’Darius Washington will be the Ravens’ leading slot corner
The secondary’s depth has already been tested and the season hasn’t started. Cornerback Arthur Maulet underwent arthroscopic knee surgery midway through camp and will be out until at least Week 5. Harbaugh said the injury that safety Kyle Hamilton suffered against the Green Bay Packers last week isn’t serious, but it’s at least the third he’s suffered over the past year.
The versatile Washington is in a prime situation to slide back into the slot cornerback position he was playing before his chest injury early last season. The Ravens could always slide Humphrey inside and put Jalyn Armour-Davis or Wiggins on the outside. But, if they give Washington the opportunity, he might run with it.
You won’t see as many two-TE sets as you expect
After Isaiah Likely stepped into the limelight last season and Mark Andrews returned to health this offseason, the excitement was palpable. The Ravens have not one, but two stars at tight end. Oh, the things they could do with those weapons lined up together.
But before Andrews’ injury last season, Monken didn’t show an inclination to play with two-tight-end sets. And, when the Ravens did go heavy, they usually paired Andrews or Likely with a blocking presence such as tight end Charlie Kolar or fullback Patrick Ricard. Throughout camp, the Ravens didn’t show they were hugely committed to using Andrews and Likely at the same time. They might be holding their cards close to the vest. They also might not be willing to sacrifice their in-line blocking in a year when they have so many questions up front.
The Ravens will trade for a WR at the deadline
Last season, DeCosta nearly swung a deal for then-Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry. This season, with the trade deadline pushed back to the Tuesday after Week 9, he’ll have even more time to gauge potential partners. The Ravens could be in the market for a stopgap offensive lineman then, but midseason deals at that position are rare. Guard Ezra Cleveland might be the highest-profile lineman acquired before the deadline in recent years.
There should be a handful of receivers available, though. Good wideouts with bad quarterbacks want to play with good quarterbacks, especially when they’re in the last year of their deals. Smart general managers want to trade players for draft picks before losing them for nothing in free agency. Could the Ravens target someone such as Kendrick Bourne (406 yards in eight games last season with the New England Patriots)? Darius Slayton (770 yards last season with the New York Giants)? Someone bigger? If injuries cripple the team’s wide receiver depth, or the passing game needs a spark, DeCosta might have to make a move.
John Harbaugh will lose to Jim Harbaugh
Even some of the best Ravens teams in recent years have put up stinkers. In 2019, they got blown out — at home — by a Cleveland Browns team that finished 6-10. Last season, they lost — again, at home — to an Indianapolis Colts team starting backup Gardner Minshew at quarterback. Two weeks later, they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers amid an avalanche of dropped passes.
This season, the Ravens’ Week 12 trip to Los Angeles has all the ingredients of a weird upset — a pre-Thanksgiving family reunion for the Harbaughs. Familiarity between the coaching staffs. A “Monday Night Football” audience. Prove-’em-wrong opportunities for running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, and maybe a few other ex-Ravens. And, in the Chargers’ Justin Herbert, a quarterback who can match Jackson’s volume of game-changing plays.
Todd Monken will be back in 2025
Monken was in the mix for head coaching opportunities last year, and he has Jackson, Henry and an impressive tight end duo to help him look good this year. But everything starts up front, and the Ravens’ line is young and shaky. If they can’t get up to speed — or if cornerstone center Tyler Linderbaum gets hurt — the Ravens won’t be able to execute on offense. They’ll probably get some more “Lamar magic,” but that will say more about the quarterback than the offensive coordinator.
With another impressive season, Monken should be back on the head coaching radar this winter. Accomplished offensive coordinators, after all, don’t tend to stay with one team for long in the NFL. But without an experienced offensive line or great depth at wide receiver, Monken might not be able to show enough to entice teams.
