This is the Gridiron Review’s grading and breakdown series of every team’s offseason. This article is the offseason in review of the Baltimore Ravens

Players Retained:

Offense: Tyler Huntely, QB; Patrick Ricard, FB; Trystan Colon, C

Defense: Calais Campbell, DL; Josh Bynes, LB; Kristian Welch, LB; Tony Jefferson, S

Key Losses:

Offense: Latavius Murray, RB; Devonta Freeman, RB; Ty’Son Williams, RB; Sammy Watkins, WR; Miles Boykin, WR; Bradley Bozeman, C

Defense: Justin Ellis, DL; Brandon Williams, DL; Justin Houston, OLB; Pernell McPhee, OLB; LJ Fort, LB; Chris Board, LB; Jimmy Smith, CB; Tavon Young, CB; Anthony Averett, CB; Deshon Elliott, S

Specials: Sam Koch, P

Key Free Agent Pick-ups:

Offense: Brett Hundley, QB; Mike Davis, RB; Morgan Moses, OT

Defense: Michael Pierce, DL; Brent Urban, DL; Vince Biegel, LB; Kyle Fuller, CB; Marcus Williams, S

Trades(If Applicable): 

• Acquired 2022 1st round pick in exchange for WR Marquise Brown and 2022 3rd round pick

Draft Class:

• Round 1, Pick No. 14: Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame
• Round 1, Pick No. 25: Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa
• Round 2, Pick No. 45: David Ojabo, EDGE, Michigan
• Round 3, Pick No. 76: Travis Jones, DT, UConn
• Round 4, Pick No. 110: Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota
• Round 4, Pick No. 119: Jayln Armour-Davis, CB, Alabama
• Round 4, Pick No. 128: Charlie Kolar, TE, Iowa State
• Round 4, Pick No. 130: Jordan Stout, P, Penn State
• Round 4, Pick No. 139: Isaiah Likely, TE, Coastal Carolina
• Round 4, Pick No. 141: Damarion Williams, CB, Houston
• Round 6, Pick No. 196: Tyler Badie, RB, Missouri

Our Offseason Grade: One of the best

Record Prediction(Division Rank): 13-4(2nd)

Summary:

Offensively, the Ravens were able to retain Tyler Huntley who we argue is one of the best, if not the best, backup QB in the NFL right now especially from a scheme fit perspective. They lost their entire makeshift running back committee from last year, but Dobbins, Edwards, and Hill should be coming back from injury. They also added Mike Davis from Atlanta, and Tyler Badie from Missouri in the draft. Very important to note, they were also able to retain FB Patrick Ricard. Based on the moves they made this offense we believe that Baltimore will be heading for a big ball, tight end heavy offense. They traded Hollywood and a third for a first round pick, which we think was great value for a speed receiver who struggled with drops last season. This most likely leaves Devin Duvernay for the deep threat role and Proche in the slot role (along with more tight end usage out of the slot). The Ravens receiver room is pretty thin now, but they doubled on fourth round tight ends taking Charlie Kolar from Iowa State and Isaiah Likely from Coastal Carolina. This now makes the Ravens tight end room Andrews, Boyle, Likely, and Kolar. Kolar plays a similar style to Mark Andrews, just not as strong of a run blocker. We think Kolar could be the high end backup for Andrews they have never had, as well as having experience in the slot at Iowa State. He could be the number two tight end sooner rather than later since Nick Boyle is not much of a receiver. Likely on the other hand is not much of a blocker, but a pretty athletic receiving threat. We think the Ravens could start running 12 personnel in place of 10 and 11 personnel where they play Likely and/or Andrews as big slots with Bateman and Duvernay as the outside receivers, which we actually love for this offense and Lamar Jackson. Jackson loves throwing to Andrews and getting him a tall ball lineup could be an amazing decision for his development as a passer. They are playing it risky with their lack of wide receiver depth, but it seems like they are trying to help out Lamar in a different way, getting him two more tight end targets which is what Lamar does best. On the line they lost starting center Bradley Bozeman. The Ravens used the first they received for Hollywood to take Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum. To get Linderbaum at 25 was an absolute steal. He fell due to size concerns, but based on play alone he should’ve been a top 10 pick. He’s an athletic center who should fit right into Baltimore’s offense. They also added Morgan Moses via free agency to replace Alejandro Villanueva. In the draft they also added Minnesota tackle, Daniel Faalele, who is a massive human being and an absolute bargain in the fourth round. We had a late first round/early day two grade on him. Our biggest issue with the Ravens offense is that we would’ve hoped they would add some more depth to the interior of the offensive line. They re-signed Trystan Colon, and still have Ben Powers and Ben Cleveland behind an aging Kevin Zeitler and young, unproven Tyre Phillips. It’s not a bad group now with Linderbaum, but some extra depth would be nice.

On the defensive side, they parted ways with Justin Ellis who is now with the Giants, and Brandon Williams on the line. Williams is still a free agent, so it’s possible they reunite, but it probably has to do with money at this point. We like what they did to the defensive line though. They were able to retain Calais Campbell, and reunited with some familiar faces in Michael Pierce and Brent Urban. They also took Travis Jones from UConn in the third round of the draft. Jones was the only other DT we had a definitive first round grade on, and he fell to them in the third…. Absolute steal! They miss out on Jordan Davis by one pick but are able to make up for it with a super high value third round pick. At OLB they lost two veterans in Justin Houston and Pernell McPhee, but again like Williams, they could reunite on a team friendly deal if they want to retain some of their defensive leadership. In free agency they added Vince Biegel as a depth piece. In the draft they got David Ojabo from Michigan in the second round… which again is an absolute steal! Ojabo was a top 20 projected edge rusher before tearing his achilles. Ojabo is an effective pass rusher with a ton of upside, and is in an amazing situation where he will not be rushed to play because of a room with guys like Tyus Bowser, Jayson Oweh, Daelin Hayes, and Jaylon Ferguson. Our biggest issue with the ravens defense right now is that they didn’t address ILB. They still have Queen and Harrison, but it does not seem like they are developing the way the Ravens had hoped when they drafted them. They are serviceable starters, but I think they are on the hot seat heading into this season. They also retained Josh Bynes and Kristian Welch. In the secondary they lost Jimmy Smith, Tavon Young, Anthony Averett, Deshon Elliott as well as some smaller named corners who were forced into action due to all of the injuries in the secondary last season. The Ravens took no time to replace their losses though. They signed Kyle Fuller to take over the slot role left by Young, and Marcus Williams to replace Elliott. They also retained veteran Tony Jefferson. In the draft, after missing out on Jordan Davis, the Ravens took the best player available, which was Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, who once again was an absolute steal at 14! Hamilton should not have fallen out of the top 10, but fell right to Baltimore. They also took two day three corners: Jalyn Armour-Davis from Alabama and Damarion Williams from Houston. Armour-Davis was a corner we had a day two grade on, so yet another great value pick by the Ravens. It will be interesting to see what they do with three safeties now in Williams, Clark, and Hamilton. We think Clark could be on the block, but we also think with a weakness at ILB they could play Hamilton or Clark as a nickel backer in a different approach to improving the position. Either way, for a team who was playing a secondary of guys we’ve never heard of last season, this could be the scariest secondary in all of football next year, and they are prepared in case the injury bug hits again.

Overall, the Ravens were one of our biggest winners of the offseason. They lost a lot, but they were quick to replace the losses and even improve on what they had. You also can’t rule out a reunion with some of the vets. We have the Ravens finishing 13-4, which would be second in the AFC North. This is under the assumption that they are able to stay healthy this season. 2 out of 4 of the losses predicted are to the Bengals. Joe Burrow just seems to own the Ravens. However, with a healthy year and the additions they’ve made the Ravens certainly have the roster to push Cincy for the division, and to be competitive in the bloodbath that is the AFC. Another incredible offseason by Harbaugh and DeCosta!