The Ravens extended their preseason win streak on Saturday, scraping out a 20-19 over the Eagles with most of the team’s starters watching from the sidelines.
The preseason is ripe for overreaction and hot takes, but teams tend to treat the games as more exploratory and experimental – asking questions and testing hypotheses, seeing what works and what doesn’t.
The first preseason game typically doesn’t answer many of those questions; it refines the existing ones and generates more.
In that vein, here are three questions about the Ravens’ offense coming out of their preseason game, along with some preliminary answers.
What’s immediately different about this offense?
Ravens fans won’t get a true look at their shiny new-look offense until the regular season opener against the Texans, and even then it might take a few weeks to fully settle in.
It’s been clear throughout camp that timing and spacing are a key priority for Todd Monken, and the former was on display vs. the Eagles with a pair of back shoulder touchdowns caught by Devin Duvernay and Tylan Wallace. With the right timing and placement, those throws are impossible to defend, as Josh Johnson and Tyler Huntley demonstrated on Saturday. The Ravens have been practicing that back-shoulder concept throughout training camp, so it was encouraging to see them execute multiple times in the same game.
Spacing in the Monken offense was much improved as well – rarely were multiple pass-catchers occupying the same 10 square yards, as had plagued Ravens passing schemes of the past. Running backs, in particular, were used to target areas of the field cleared out by other routes, giving them far more room for YAC than the typical check down. No Ravens RB has cleared 200 receiving yards in a season since Mark Ingram in 2019. That should change this year.
[Related Article: Camp Notes and the Case for Keaton Mitchell]
Have the Ravens come so far that they can afford to cut solid receiver depth?
Devin Duvernay is talked about as a potential cut candidate to save $4.3 million of salary cap space, but he’s well worth the roster spot, if not every last penny of his performance-escalated contract. Baltimore’s struggles with receiver quality, depth and injuries should make them think twice about cutting a player who has three years of experience catching passes from Lamar Jackson and providing solid special teams play. There’s even an outside chance that another year of improvement and the ever-expanding WR market could land the Ravens a future compensatory pick if Duvernay signs with another team next year. Receivers pick up too many week-to-week injuries to cut solid depth like him before the start of the regular season.
The same can’t quite be said of James Proche, whose time in Baltimore should be coming to a close by Week 1 after his fumble on special teams – a double-whammy in John Harbaugh’s book – on Saturday. Even if the Ravens do keep seven wide receivers – unlikely, given the roster math across the rest of the offense – they should go with a big body like Sean Ryan, who translated a solid camp into an excellent showing against the Eagles.
Replay of the 7-yd TD pass from Josh Johnson to Devin Duvernay#Eagles 3 #Ravens 7 2nd pic.twitter.com/Ks58e7tYbB
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) August 12, 2023
Will Justice Hill finally be a thing?
It always felt like Justice Hill had the talent to succeed in the NFL, and now two years removed from his Achilles tear, he showed against the Eagles that he’s ready to contribute. He’ll be behind J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards on the depth chart, but that shouldn’t keep Todd Monken from finding ways to feature Hill on offense.
Justice Hill is a perfect RB3 💨
Good speed, pass pro and receiving skills along with being an elite special teams player pic.twitter.com/WZu8BOews2
— RanDynasty (@ran_dynasty) August 12, 2023
Hill is a solid pass blocker and runs especially well out of the shotgun, which should lead to increased playing time in the Ravens’ pass-happy offense. It’s still a crowded offense, but there’s a role for Hill to carve out, especially if it allows Monken to spread the RB workload around. Dobbins and Edwards may take over down the stretch and into the postseason, but Hill should get some chances early in the year and he’ll make the most of them.
