Unanswered Questions as Camp Begins

I’ll be honest: once the draft ended and the roster seemed to be fully formed, I genuinely believed that this would be a relatively boring training camp for the Baltimore Ravens. I felt as if the final 53-man roster was pretty clear, depth charts were basically figured out, and there wouldn’t be many positional battles worth watching. 

Naturally, as the dead month of July allowed my brain to wander into the far reaches of this Ravens roster, I’ve now convinced myself that my ho-hum camp theory couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s going to be a few notable battles for starting roles, plenty of depth ambiguity to shake out, and let’s be real here…

Fans are back!

It wouldn’t matter if the Ravens announced the 53-man roster today…the hype, the fanfare, and the excitement is still through the roof!

But in case you wanted something to focus on during the next 3+ weeks of Ravens camp? Here’s a few positional battles worth the watch.

Backup QB

It goes without saying that Lamar Jackson runs the show under center, but ”he who holds the clipboard’ remains to be clear at this juncture. Trace McSorley is entering his 3rd year with the Ravens and surely has the advantage in terms of longevity, but his accuracy issues remain… well, an issue. On the flipside, 2nd year UDFA Tyler Huntley showed some Lamar-esque flashes with his legs last season in limited looks, as well as some promise with his arm, but he still needs refinement and polish to his game. Neither QB has truly stood out thus far, and the hope is to see that separation finally take shape in the coming weeks. 

The other big question here: do the Ravens keep just two signal callers? Or three?

Third-String Tight End

Mark Andrews is undoubtedly a top-five tight end in the NFL, and Nick Boyle can be considered one of the best blocking tight ends in his own right. The big question in this group is who takes on the third spot on the Ravens roster, and what that looks like in terms of ability and strengths. The final roster spot comes down to Josh Oliver, Jake Breeland, Eli Wolf, Eric Tomlinson, Tony Poljan… and maybe Ben Mason if we consider him more of a TE and less of a fullback? Or maybe some semblance of a hybrid? Each player comes with different levels of strengths to their game, different levels of experience, and half of them with a notable injury history. To say any one player has a true leg-up on the competition would be unfair, and I genuinely believe this is one roster spot that could surprise some folks… mostly because everybody just expects the job to be handed to Oliver (especially those who see him as the next Julius Thomas!)

The other factor here is the health of Boyle. Should he be full-go at some juncture during camp that would lead the Ravens to feel confident in him come Week 1, perhaps they lean a little more in favor of the ‘move’ guy versus the in-line tight end.

As for Mason, do the Ravens keep four tight ends and include him? Do they consider him a fullback and keep two at that position? Does Mason find himself hitting the (phantom) IR? Do the Ravens risk cutting him and stashing him on the practice squad?

A truly interesting draft pick has now created a truly interesting roster move in the coming weeks…

Wide Receiver Depth

Ask any Ravens fan and they’ll tell you that Hollywood Brown, Rashod Bateman, Sammy Watkins, Tylan Wallace, and Devin Duvernay should all be safe. Beyond that? It’s a bit of a crap shoot. To some, James Proche should be safe because he hasn’t been given enough of a shot – a totally justifiable opinion – but we’ve also seen the Ravens sever ties with players early in rookie deals as of late. Miles Boykin is another player still on his rookie deal who has seen plenty of playing time, but never truly developed into the role that many expected…

But the Ravens won’t keep seven wideouts.

Something’s got to give.

Then you have these fringe players like Jaylon Moore and Binjamin Victor, who made some noise in OTAs, that’ll be pushing for the final roster spot as well. It’s a bit of an uphill battle but one slip-up by Boykin or Proche can lead to a stolen spot. 

LG & OL Depth

It’s safe to say that four out of five starters on the offensive line are locked in, with the exception of left guard. For some, it’s definitely going to be rookie third-round pick Ben Cleveland… but we’ve also watched the Ravens bury rookie linemen on the depth chart until they’ve earned those snaps. Look no further than Cleveland’s competition in former fourth-rounders Ben Powers & Ben Bredeson, and former third-rounder Tyre Phillips to see how the Ravens have preferred the developmental route to plug & play methods on the line. I genuinely believe this starting spot on the roster has yet to be determined, and the next 3+ weeks will be the key to naming the Week 1 starter sandwiched between Ronnie Stanley and Bradley Bozeman. 

As for the rest of the O-Line group, the depth still has a few question marks as well. Behind Bozeman under center, who is the backup? Do the Ravens value Bredeson‘s positional flexibility to play both guard and center? Or do they believe Trystan Colon is a better center prospect and secure his spot? Do they view Phillips as more of a swing tackle and thus, depth to Al Villanueva and Stanley? Or is Patrick Mekari the key to tackle depth? Or both? 

Pass Rush

One of the biggest question marks this season is the presence of a palatable pass rush… or will it be lack thereof? The losses of veterans Matt Judon and (to a lesser degree) Yannick Ngakoue, will be answered with a rookie presence in Odafe Oweh and Daelin Hayes, while the returns of Tyus Bowser, Jaylon Ferguson, Aaron Adeoye, and Pernell McPhee round out a group of uncertainty when it comes to rushing the passer. 

[Related: Don’t Worry About Ravens Pass Rush]

There’s so many questions here I’m not even sure where to start…

Who will rise to the top? Will the rookies have an immediate impact? Can Ferguson finally ‘figure it out’ and show up in year three? Will Bowser prove that he was indeed the right call when it came to choosing which pass rusher to resign during the offseason? Will the Ravens still look to fill a void and add more talent via a veteran signing?

And no, I don’t think the Chandler Jones hopefuls within the Ravens Flock are going to get their wish (maybe the Justin Houston hopefuls, though…)

Defensive Back Depth

Instead of separating the corners from the safeties, I figured we could handle this group all at once, as neither warrants a ‘must-watch’ scenario, but both surely have some roster implications over the next several weeks. 

I think it’s fairly safe to say the Ravens feel good about the cornerbacks on this roster, and with a healthy Tavon Young returning to the starting lineup, the Ravens should be looking at Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Jimmy Smith and Young as a fearsome unit. The questions come into play beyond these four. 

How Shawn Wade factors into the slot conversation, coupled with Tavon’s injury history, will be something to watch. If Wade shows strong in camp, I could see him earning snaps and slowly taking over that role throughout the season. As for depth on the outside, beyond Anthony Averett, who can the Ravens count on? Biggie Marshall needs to actually stay on the field and off the trainers table if he wants a shot at the roster, then there’s guys like Khalil Dorsey and Davontae Harris that flash enough to give the Ravens reason to believe they could provide value on the back end of the roster as well. Of course, rookie Brandon Stephens could factor in here… but how do the Ravens view Stephens? Is he a corner or a safety in their eyes?

Speaking of safeties, who provides true depth on this roster for Baltimore behind Chuck Clark and DeShon Elliott? It could very well be Stephens, but surely the Ravens will give a good, long look at returning Safety Geno Stone, as well as Nigel Warrior and rookie UDFA (and my pick for the Ravens Fan Obsession Player of the Camp) Ar’Darius Washington. 

A “boring” training camp. What the heck was I thinking?!