ExtremeRavens Posted July 25 Posted July 25 It’s all too easy to say the Ravens’ chances to return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 12 years will come down to quarterback Lamar Jackson’s performance in January. Duh. Jackson is the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player who ensures the Ravens will be a contender to reckon with every year that he’s healthy. He’s also the guy who has performed well below his usual level in the Ravens’ last four playoff losses, including their AFC championship game dud six months ago. But they weren’t the best regular-season team in the league only because of Jackson, and their chances of regaining such momentum in 2024 don’t rest entirely on his shoulders. With training camp just getting started, here’s a look at the other players who might determine the Ravens’ playoff fate, the only measuring stick left for a team that has accomplished everything it can short of reaching the biggest game. Safety Marcus Williams Williams has played just 21 of a possible 34 games since the Ravens signed him to a $70 million deal before the 2022 season and was hampered by the pectoral injury he suffered in Week 1 even when he did start last season. The Ravens still had the league’s best pass defense — they allowed 4.7 yards per attempt and forced 31 turnovers — in part because Geno Stone to stepped in for Williams on the back end, leaving Kyle Hamilton free to rove. Give Williams credit as well for remaining effective in coverage when he could not hit or chase the ball with his usual abandon. He’s a tough, dedicated player. But with Stone in Cincinnati, the Ravens will need more from their highest-priced safety, whose ability to disrupt deep shots should work hand in glove with Hamilton’s do-it-all game wrecking. The Ravens added a proven No. 3 at the position in veteran Eddie Jackson, but in an ideal world, Williams and Hamilton would play almost every snap for first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr. Guard Andrew Vorhees The Ravens said goodbye to starting right tackle Morgan Moses and starting guards John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler, betting that now’s the time to kick off a youth movement on their offensive line. No one epitomizes that bet more than Vorhees, who sat out last year as he recovered from the torn ACL he suffered preparing for the 2023 draft. The Ravens dipped back into the seventh round to snag the seasoned blocker from USC, who likely would have been picked three our four rounds higher had he been healthy. Given all the snaps he played in college and the time he spent learning the Ravens’ system while he rehabbed last season, the powerful Vorhees is not a typical rookie. Of the seven players competing to fill starting jobs around left tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Tyler Linderbaum, Vorhees probably checks the most boxes. “Andrew is a driven young man,” offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris said. “His injury, how he’s come back, he’s just done a heck of a job so far.” Coach John Harbaugh hopes to have most of his starting line set a week or two into camp, with perhaps one spot up for grabs going into the preseason. If Vorhees could lock down the left guard job quickly and begin a long run as a dependable starter, he would bring significant clarity to the team’s most unsettled position group. Outside linebacker David Ojabo The Ravens tried to steal a first-round talent with a second-round pick, but Ojabo has played just five games in two years and is still recuperating from the knee surgery that wiped out most of his 2023 season. He’s expected to be full-go a few weeks into training camp, and the Ravens hope to finally see what they have in the former Michigan standout. They squeezed terrific production out of their edge group last year because late additions Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy exceeded expectations. Van Noy is back, Clowney is not. They also picked up Odafe Oweh’s fifth-year option, indicating they believe he’s still a player on the rise. That leaves Oweh’s high school pal, Ojabo, as the wild card. He has the physical tools to replace a chunk of Clowney’s production, at least as a pass rusher. But with just one standout college season under his belt, he would have been a developmental prospect even if he had gone into the 2022 draft healthy. Instead, he’s had most of his first two years wiped out by serious injuries. The Ravens have to pray this is the year his terrible luck turns, because they need him. 2023 NFL: Seattle Seahawks at Baltimore RavensKarl Merton Ferron/Baltimore SunRunning back Keaton Mitchell could give the Ravens a late-season adrenaline shot, much as he did last season when he averaged 8.4 yards per carry over a six-game span. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Running back Keaton Mitchell Mitchell is the one Raven we know won’t be ready for the start of the season, though his recovery from the torn ACL he suffered last December is proceeding well, Harbaugh said. If he remains on track, he could give the Ravens a late-season adrenaline shot, much as he did last season when he averaged 8.4 yards per carry over a six-game span. He was so quick he looked like a video game character dropped into NFL reality. Imagine the counterpoint he might offer to Derrick Henry’s power or the havoc he might unleash under the league’s new kickoff rules. It’s a lot to ask a running back to cut and accelerate at 100% coming off major knee surgery. It’s also hard not to dream on the possibilities for the Ravens’ offense if Mitchell resembles the guy from last year. Inside linebacker Trenton Simpson The Ravens did not push hard to bring back Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Queen or to add a veteran starting candidate in his place. That amounted to a giant vote of confidence in Simpson, who has earned raves from teammates and coaches for his athletic gifts and eagerness to learn. He could not have a better on-field partner and off-field mentor than Roquan Smith, and Smith’s presence will allow him to hunt for big plays from the weak side without the responsibility of conducting the defense from the middle. Still, it’s a big step up for a second-year guy who essentially played one game on defense last season. Queen played more than 1,000 defensive snaps each of the last two years and brought significant production as a blitzer in addition to his work against the run. Simpson will likely commit his share of gaffes as he learns on the job, but the Ravens will live with those if he compensates with turnovers, sacks and tackles for loss. No one on the Ravens faces a more pivotal season than left tackle Ronnie Stanley. (Kim Hairston/Staff) Left tackle Ronnie Stanley No one on the team faces a more pivotal season than Stanley, who could set himself up for another significant pay day or confront his NFL mortality if he’s sidelined by another significant injury. His performance will be essential to the Ravens, who are counting on him to protect Jackson’s blind side and lead a young, still-cohering offensive line. Stanley was present and engaged for all summer workouts and said he feels the best he has since 2020. He was optimistic going into last season as well, only to suffer an early knee injury that robbed him of mobility and fluidity. He freely acknowledged he was not himself, though he did play his best games at the end of the season. Whether or not the Ravens see Stanley as their left tackle past this year, they don’t have a short-term succession plan. They need him to be good — at least 2022 level — and reasonably durable to reach their offensive potential in 2024. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey We don’t talk about Humphrey in the same terms as Stanley, but he was drafted the year after the left tackle, signed a similarly lucrative extension and is also trying to prove he has not lost a step to injuries. Foot surgery cost him the start of last season, and a calf strain limited him to 13 snaps in the AFC championship game. He also missed five games in 2021, and at age 28, he’s four years removed from his last peak season (though he did make the Pro Bowl in 2022). The Ravens are paying Humphrey to be one of the league’s best, most versatile corners. If he’s not that in 2024, perhaps they will opt to extend Brandon Stephens and roll with him and first-round draft pick Nate Wiggins as their cornerback duo of the future, cutting Humphrey for cap savings. They’d rather see a vintage season from Humphrey, whose talent for shifting inside could facilitate potent lineups featuring him, Stephens and Wiggins together. Tight end Isaiah Likely Likely’s talent is not in question. After Mark Andrews went down last season, he quickly became one of Jackson’s favorite targets and one of the team’s top touchdown producers. The Ravens delivered their most resounding performances of the season with him as their starting tight end. Can offensive coordinator Todd Monken create such opportunities for Likely when he’s on the field with Andrews? That’s the unanswered question. The two tight ends speak glowingly of one another and of the problems they’ll create as complementary weapons. “That’s tough to game plan for,” Andrews said in May. The reality, however, is that Likely did not catch a touchdown pass and at times hardly factored while Andrews was going strong last year. Will the problem take care of itself now that Jackson trusts both tight ends, or will he still instinctively look for Andrews in a pinch? Will Monken rotate them more frequently to give Likely opportunities and keep Andrews healthy? The Ravens need to find answers, because Likely is too good to disappear from their offense for weeks at a time. The Ravens would love it if defensive tackle Travis Jones demands more snaps this season. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) Defensive tackle Travis Jones Defensive tackle Justin Madubuike broke out last year and earned a hearty extension. Could Jones, who took a more subtle step forward in his second season, be the next Ravens defensive lineman to emerge? As an interior monster, he’s unlikely to match Madubuike’s sack total, but the 6-foot-4, 338-pound Jones was regarded as a third-round draft steal, much like Madubuike. Teammates gush about what he could become, much like they did after watching a rookie Madubuike burst off the line of scrimmage. Michael Pierce was still the Ravens’ No. 1 option at nose tackle last year, and he’s back, but they would love it if the younger, more agile Jones demands more snaps. That would set up a natural succession in one of the team’s most stable position groups. “He is a special human first — a special man — and then a special football player,” Ravens defensive line coach Dennis Johnson said. “He’s talented, and he wants it just as a bad as anybody you’d be around.” Wide receiver Rashod Bateman Other than Jackson, there’s no more debated player on the roster than Bateman, the 2021 first-round draft pick who’s still searching for NFL success. Some fans couldn’t believe the Ravens extended him based on 93 catches in three seasons. Others can’t stop wondering why Jackson won’t throw him the ball when he’s open all the time. Harbaugh and Eric DeCosta have said they expect a splendid season from Bateman. Jackson and Monken have said he needs to be targeted more frequently. He was the most dynamic playmaker on the field the last day of mandatory minicamp, 24 hours after he seemed underused and disengaged in the team’s penultimate workout. He’s been a standout so far in training camp. Which Bateman will we see this season? He’s healthy, and with Odell Beckham Jr. out of the picture, he won’t have to fight to get on the field with 2023 first-round pick Zay Flowers. No receiver on the roster is better at creating separation off the line of scrimmage. Bateman’s time is here. View the full article Quote
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