With the preseason in the books and the roster down to 53 players, it’s time to look ahead to the regular season.
Offensively, the Ravens lack a singular threat of the Ray Rice or Jamal Lewis caliber, but all in all, this is maybe the most talented skill position group they’ve had on paper.
Defensively, they sport depth, an aggressive new maestro and young guys who look poised to take the next step. In what will be a wide-open AFC, the Ravens will be a dark horse to make noise but it will almost certainly depend on the health and performance of the guys listed below.
John Brown
A massive opportunity awaits “Smokey” Brown in 2018. Plagued by injury throughout his career, John Brown has reached a bit of an NFL crossroads. If he can match his breakout 2015 season production, he’ll likely earn a long-term deal in Baltimore. If not, he could be looking at short, prove it contracts for the duration of his career.
One of my keys to the offseason for the Ravens was replacing Mike Wallace with a more well-rounded player – and they did just that with Brown. His speed is important in keeping defenses honest and raising last season’s 5.1 yards gained per pass attempt (last in the NFL in 2017 per pro football reference).
Another defining quality will be his ability to separate, especially on 3rd down where the Ravens converted 34 percent of their attempts in 2017 (27th in the NFL per pro football reference). A healthy Brown is always a tricky proposition but if he plays all 16 games he should have no problem eclipsing his 2015 breakout season.
Somehow the Ravens were 9th in the NFL in scoring last season. Imagine what we’re looking at if the new additions could get them into the 15-20 range in both categories listed above (yards per pass attempt, 3rd down conversions).
Brown figures to be the biggest catalyst for that potential improvement.
Orlando Brown Jr.
“Zeus Jr” has been given every opportunity to impress in preseason and looks to have locked up the right tackle job. Once the regular season bullets start flying, it will be critical to the team’s success that he’s able to continue his steady play. With Ronnie Stanley coming off a knee strain, the team is ultra-thin at tackle these days and if you’ve watched any preseason football the thought of finding a quality tackle at this stage is laughable.
If Brown can’t provide at least adequate tackle play…I’ll spare you the gory details.
TBD Center
The loss of Ryan Jensen was a big one. His ability to anchor and physical mentality added a finishing attitude that will be tough to duplicate without some shuffling. Matt Skura has been the favorite for the job much of the summer, but his preseason has left much to be desired.
It’s puzzling that the Ravens didn’t get others more meaningful reps there, but here we are.
Rookie Bradley Bozeman offers a more physical option, but all in all is a pedestrian talent. Alex Lewis is an intriguing name. James Hurst could then slide in at guard, where he fared well for the most part in 2017. Lewis’ high upside at left guard makes such a move risky. Nico Siragusa would have been another interesting play there if he was on the active roster *sigh*.
We’ll see how things shape out but odds are against us seeing a 16-game starter there.
Za’Darius Smith
Interior pressure will be one of the main factors in whether this defense ascends from really good to great in 2018. The Ravens took an early season hit in the department with Willie Henry needing hernia surgery. The talented and stout front will no doubt pull their weight in his absence and collapse the pocket a fair amount but Za’Darius offers more versatility in how that’s done as well as how he can be deployed.
He’s been a terror in the preseason and he’ll need to keep that going in the regular season, especially late in games when the Ravens need to get off the field on 3rd down.
Hayden Hurst
This one is scary. Rookie tight end success is about as likely as the Raiders liking a player under 30. Now enter in a foot injury that will likely cost him the first couple games of the regular season.
Hurst was very impressive in preseason, showing strong hands, speed and versatility. The position behind him either takes a steep decline in pass catching talent or a rookie with blocking deficiencies.
If Hurst misses significant time this will be a committee approach with heavy snaps going to guys that defensive coordinators don’t have to plan for like they would the first-rounder.
So there you have it. My five most important Ravens for 2018. Feel free to disagree below, but just please don’t tell me I missed Joe Flacco. I figured that one went without saying.
