Ravens Insider: 6 things to watch for as the Ravens open training camp

[ExtremeRavens]

It’s almost time for Ravens players to go back to work.

Rookies reported to training camp in Owings Mills on Tuesday, tying for the earliest date in the NFL. Coaches like to get young players in the building as soon as possible so they can acclimate to their first camp, get the attention they need before the arrival of the full roster, and continue to bond with one another. The rest of the team reports Tuesday, with the first practice taking place the following afternoon.

That is, in earnest, when the quest begins for what Baltimore hopes will be its third Super Bowl title and first since the 2012 season. Championship expectations are the norm for the franchise, but they have perhaps never been higher, given the acrid taste still lingering from last season’s divisional round loss to the Buffalo Bills and a roster that is possibly not just the best in the league but maybe unrivaled in the organization’s 31-year history.

“You can kind of see the trajectory that we think we’re on,” safety Kyle Hamilton said last month. “Still a lot of work to be done, obviously, and [it’s] going to continue throughout the season. But I mean, we’re off to a great start.”

Hamilton added that it felt like the defense was playing “12-on-11” during minicamp, a good sign for a unit that ranked 31st against the pass last season.

On offense, quarterback Lamar Jackson is coming off career highs in passing yards (4,172) and touchdown passes (41), while Baltimore led the league in total yards (7,224) and rushing yards (3,189) and ranked third in points per game (30.5). With all of its major skill players returning, an offensive line largely intact from last season and the addition of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins along with fully healthy running back Keaton Mitchell, it’s reasonable to think that the ceiling could be even higher.

So as training camp kicks off, here’s what to watch for:

What will DeAndre Hopkins’ role be?

“I don’t really see ‘D-Hop’ as a third receiver,” Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken said last month. “I see him more as, we have three starters at wide receiver, but we also have the two tight ends. So, it’ll be interesting as we get going, especially once we get to camp and we get the pads on, how we can integrate him into the offense, but we’re excited.”

There are legitimate reasons to be.

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Unlike Odell Beckham Jr. — the other receiver Jackson had requested the team acquire during the quarterback’s 2023 contract negotiations — the potential impact of Hopkins could be substantial. While it’s unlikely that he’ll come close to matching the 82 catches he has averaged over his 12-year career, particularly on an offense that has a lot of mouths to feed, he should still tally a respectable number of targets while importantly being a key figure in short-yard and red zone opportunities, two areas he continues to excel at even at age 33.

One big reason is his ability to catch passes in a crowd.

Last season, Hopkins had 56 catches for 610 yards and five touchdowns between the quarterback-deficient Tennessee Titans and the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs. Of players with at least 20 tight window targets in 2024, Hopkins tied for the 14th-best reception rate (38.1%), according to TruMedia.

He also tied for 22nd in ESPN’s open score with Cincinnati Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase, proving that he’s still capable of finding the patches of grass where defenders aren’t.

New Ravens wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, shown participating in the team’s minicamp, gives the franchise significant depth at the receiver position. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken views Hopkins as a starting-level receiver. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)

Who will win the kicking battle?

With the Ravens having moved on from Justin Tucker, who has since been suspended 10 weeks by the NFL over sexual misconduct allegations from more than a dozen massage therapists, there will be an open kicking competition for the first time since 2012. That summer, Tucker, an undrafted free agent out of Texas, beat out incumbent Billy Cundiff.

This year, Tyler Loop, whom Baltimore selected in the sixth round out of Arizona in April and who was the lone kicker that senior special teams coach Randy Brown identified as draftable in the class, is the favorite. But he also has legitimate competition in John Hoyland, an undrafted rookie out of Wyoming.

“I think the biggest thing is to try to put them in tough situations as much as we can,” coach John Harbaugh said of the two kickers. “And then, you get into the situations, and the team situation is one thing, then the game scenarios are the next thing where they have to run out and make it like a game.”

So far, each has had good and bad days, and their performances will be scrutinized daily in training camp until one of them is named the starter — unless the Ravens decide to bring in a veteran, which could be another possibility.

Is this a make-or-break year for Trenton Simpson?

Harbaugh has said that he expects Trenton Simpson, who was benched after starting the first 11 games last year, to be the starting weak-side linebacker alongside Roquan Smith this season. That’s easy to do in the spring.

Once the pads go on will be more telling, though there have been some positive signs so far, most notably his much-improved grasp of the defense.

“He’s a lot more confident, man,” defensive coordinator Zach Orr said of the third-year former third-round pick out of Clemson. “This is the most confident that I’ve seen Trenton, and he’s a lot more relaxed before the play. I hear him talking. This is the most I’ve heard him communicate on the field, so I’m excited.”

One reason for the improvement is the work of inside linebackers coach Tyler Santucci, who last year at Georgia Tech turned the Yellow Jackets’ defense from worst in the Atlantic Coast Conference to fifth-best and in 2023 was a nominee for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach, while at Duke.

Still, fourth-round rookie Teddye Buchanan is an intriguing player who could potentially challenge Simpson. He’s a former high school quarterback, something Ravens coaches believe has aided his pass coverage. “He flies around, he seeks contact, he can play in space, and he’s a smart player,” Orr said.

But with Malik Harrison and Chris Board having departed in free agency, it will be imperative that Simpson becomes at least a reliable early down linebacker.

Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew II twists after being pulled by the facemask by Ravens outside linebacker David Ojabo during a 2024 matchup. Ojabo has yet to live up to expectations in Baltimore. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)

Will David Ojabo blossom or bust in his fourth year?

Baltimore’s top four outside linebackers on the depth chart will be Odafe Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, Tavius Robinson and rookie second-round pick Mike Green, who led college football in sacks last season at Marshall. With the expectation that the Ravens will carry five players at the position, that leaves David Ojabo and Adisa Isaac to slug it out for the final spot.

Unfortunately for Ojabo, injuries have derailed his career. And even when he has been healthy, he has not been the kind of impact player the Ravens hoped he could be when they selected him in the second round of the 2022 draft out of Michigan.

Isaac’s development was also stunted last year as a rookie because of injuries, so in many ways this year will be like a first season for the 2024 third-round pick out of Penn State.

“One of the things that Adisa has worked really hard on is he’s understanding the defense,” pass rush coach Chuck Smith said. “He’s in good shape, he’s having a good ‘get-off,’ he’s working hard in his coverage — all the different things that you want a guy to do. … I can’t wait to see when we put the pads on in camp and get after it. That’s going to be really the measuring stick of where he’s at.”

Put another way, check back this summer.

There have been plenty of Ravens pass rushers who finally broke through in their fourth year, including Paul Kruger in 2012, Pernell McPhee in 2014, Za’Darius Smith in 2019 and Oweh last year. But expecting Ojabo to do the same is probably a stretch.

Who will emerge on the offensive and defensive lines?

Barring any surprises, the Ravens already know and feel good about who will start for them on the offensive and defensive lines.

On offense, Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten will anchor left and right tackle, Tyler Linderbaum returns for his fourth year at center and Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele are the frontrunners at left and right guard. On defense, Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones, Broderick Washington and newly added veteran John Jenkins figure to be the top four up front.

Ravens tackle Ronnie Stanley warms up during practice before a playoff game this past season. Stanley is a proven left tackle, but the Ravens' offensive line depth outside of the starting group could be one of the team's few weaknesses. (Kim Hairston/Staff)

But beyond that is where there are questions for both lines.

While Baltimore was easily the healthiest team in the league last season, just one injury to a starter on either line could be problematic. That’s the case for most NFL teams, but most teams aren’t contending for a Super Bowl, either.

That’s why the losses of versatile offensive lineman Patrick Mekari, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency, and veteran defensive linemen Michael Pierce and Brent Urban could be tough to make up for. The cupboard isn’t entirely bare, but there is uncertainty.

The hope for the offensive line is that veteran Joe Noteboom will be a dependable swing tackle and that rookies Emery Jones Jr., who missed all of spring with a shoulder injury, and Carson Vinson can develop. Ben Cleveland, now in his fifth season, provides experienced depth on the interior.

Things are perhaps more concerning on the defensive side, particularly if Jones and Washington have to deal with injuries as they did last season. Having to play undersized rookie Aeneas Peebles or second-year undrafted free agent C.J. Ravenell for a meaningful amount of snaps would be difficult.

It’s also possible someone else from the pack of reserves could surprise this summer, though that seems less likely.

Which rookies will have the biggest impact?

The Ravens usually depend on at least a couple of their rookies to be significant contributors right away. and that’s true again this year.

With safety Ar’Darius Washington expected to miss most if not all of the season after tearing his Achilles tendon during offseason workouts, first-round pick Malaki Starks will play early and often. That was likely always going to be the case given how much he has already impressed coaches, but his role now takes on even greater importance.

Likewise, Green, who had 17 sacks and a 20% pass rush win-rate for the Thundering Heard last year, figures to be a regular in the pass rush rotation from the start. Though Kyle Van Noy led the Ravens with 12 1/2 sacks last season, he’s now 34 years old, so it will be imperative to manage his snap count wisely.

As mentioned, Loop or Hoyland will also have big shoes to fill in replacing Tucker, who, despite the worst season of his career last year, was automatic for over a decade and was responsible for producing some of the team’s biggest moments.

Buchanan, who, like Simpson, has excellent speed and athleticism, is worth watching, as is sixth-round rookie receiver LaJohntay Wester, who is small but fast and will have a chance at becoming the starting punt returner, a position that was a weakness last season.

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.

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