It's been 12 years since the Baltimore Ravens last made a Super Bowl appearance. In the time that has passed since the Ravens beat the 49ers 34-31 to claim the Lombardi trophy, Baltimore has been to the postseason six times.
Over those six trips to the postseason, the Ravens are 3-6 and have only been to one conference championship. Can the Ravens go one further in 2024 and make it to the Super Bowl?
Fell at the final hurdle
It was a tough start the 2023 season for the Baltimore Ravens. First, their 24-game preseason win streak was snapped by the Washington Commanders, the Ravens also suffered a plethora of injuries to start the season.
By week four of the season, the Ravens had 20 injured players on their roster. The injuries included season-ending ones for Nick Moore, Trayvon Mullen and J.K Dobbins. The Ravens had also lost all three primary running backs and starting tight end Mark Andrews to serious injuries.
Despite all the early season woes though, the Ravens had their best season since 2019. Baltimore finished as the number-one seed in the AFC with a record of 13-4. Baltimore suffered two losses to the Steelers and one to the Browns, with only one of their losses coming outside of the division to the hands of the Indianapolis Colts. The Ravens were 10-1 in games outside of the AFC North.
Into the postseason, the Ravens dismantled the Houston Texans 34-10 but lost in the AFC Championship to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens were defeated 10-17 but were left to rue a missed opportunity as the Baltimore defence held the Chiefs to zero points in the second half.
Changes aplenty
As many as nine coaches left in the offseason with the most notable departures being that of Joe Horitz, who left to become the LA Chargers General Manager, Mike MacDonald who became the Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Dennard Wilson and Anthony Weaver both took up defensive coordinator jobs at the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins respectively. Ravens offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris died on August 25 at the age of 70.
Free Agency Frenzy
The Ravens lost as many as 16 players during free agency. Odell Beckham Jr., Jadeveon Clowney, Ronald Darby, J.K Dobbins, Devin Duvernay, Gus Edwards, Patrick Queen and Kevin Zeitler were the most notable of those to leave Baltimore.
Running back Edwards, rushed for 810 and 13 touchdowns during the 2023 season for the Ravens, whilst OBJ had the second most receiving yards on the team behind Zay Flowers, he finished the season with 565 yards and three touchdowns.
Clowney racked up 9.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, whilst Queen had been the team’s starting linebacker for the past three seasons and made 133 tackles last season, as well as 3.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.
Ronald Darby contributed well at cornerback in 16 games for the Ravens where he had seven pass deflections.
Offensive guard Kevin Zeitler started 15 games for the Ravens last season and was also voted to the pro bowl.
The Ravens also released outside linebacker Tyus Bowser, who joined the Seattle Seahawks and traded offensive tackle Morgan Moses to the New York Jets.
New beginnings
The Ravens signed arguably the hottest free agent during the offseason when they signed former Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry to a two-year $16million deal.
Henry, now 30, had spent the first seven years of his NFL career on the Titans but with Tennessee now in rebuild mode and Henry wanting to make the most of his twilight years he wanted a new challenge.
There's question marks whether Henry still has the talent that he has showcased over the years, but the simple fact is that the ‘king’ has only had one season under 1000 yards rushing in the past six seasons and even then, Henry managed 937 yards on the ground in only eight games.
Henry also had a career-high of 17 games last season rushing for 1,167 yards on 280 attempts with 12 touchdowns. The 30-year-old also threw two touchdown passes.
There may not have been a better landing spot for Henry than the Ravens. Due to Lamar Jackson’s running ability and solid offensive line Henry will regularly see holes open up for him without even trying.
Outside of Henry, the Ravens didn’t splash a lot of cash with their next biggest signing being offensive tackle Josh Jones on a one-year $1.79m deal.
The Ravens also signed former Chicago Bears free safety Eddie Jackson on a one-year $1.5m deal. Jackson played in 12 games for the Bears during the 2023 season, recording 37 tackles and one interception.
The Ravens also signed linebacker Chris Board, cornerback Ka’Dar Hollman and wide receivers Deonte Harty and Anthony Miller during free agency.
Class of 2024
The Ravens used their first selection in the 2024 NFL Draft (30th overall) to select cornerback Nate Wiggins. The Clemson Tigers alumni made 27 appearances over three seasons, recording 60 tackles, three interceptions, 21 pass deflections and two forced fumbles.
Wiggins was the third cornerback taken in the draft after the Eagles selected Quinyon Mitchell 22nd overall and the Detroit Lions took Terrion Arnold 24th overall.
The Ravens used their second-round selection on Washington offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten.
Penn State outside linebacker Adisa Isaac was selected 93rd overall by the Ravens in the third round of the draft. Isaac recorded 37 total tackles during the 2023 season with 16 for a loss as well as 7.5 sacks.
Baltimore had two selections in the fourth round of the draft, the first of which they used to select wide receiver Devontez Walker 113th overall. Walker had 41 receptions for 699 yards and seven touchdowns in eight games for North Carolina last season.
Iowa State cornerback T.J Tampa was selected with the Ravens’ other fourth round selection. Tampa had 44 total tackles in 12 games in 2023 as well as two interceptions and seven pass deflections.
Running back Rasheen Ali was selected 165th overall by John Harbaugh’s side. The fifth-round selection out of Marshall had 1,135 rushing yards on 212 attempts in 2023 along with 15 touchdowns. Ali also had 28 receptions for 213 yards and a touchdown through the air.
The Ravens used their last three picks of the draft on Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary, Michigan State centre Nick Samac and Purdue safety Sanoussi Kane.
Maybe this year?
The Ravens seem to have entered every season over the last four or five years as one of the favourites to win the AFC and there is no exception in 2024.
Baltimore is currently the third favourite team to win the Lombardi Trophy this term behind last season’s two finalists, the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jackson is coming off his most mature season yet in which he was awarded league MVP and with one of the best running backs of the last five years supporting him in the backfield, the duo of Henry and Jackson will be feared by defences throughout the league. Additionally, the Ravens also have an impressive receiving corps of tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, as well as receiver Zay Flowers the Ravens are spoilt for choice in terms of offensive weapons .
Don't be surprised if Henry and Jackson become the first QB and RB duo to each have 1,000 rush yards since Jackson achieved the feat alongside Mark Ingram in 2019.
On the other side of the ball the Ravens’ defence has been one of the most feared in the league over the past few campaigns. Although they have lost key players, they still have a defensive unit that boasts the names of Kyle Van Noy, Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith, Odafe Oweh and Nnamdi Madubuike.
Expect the Ravens to ease to 10-plus wins once again. Also expect them to be in play for the AFC Championship against the likes of the Chiefs, Bengals, Bills and Texans.
