If you want to win a Super Bowl in this era of “Super Teams” making power moves and relatively unprecedented blockbuster trades happening in rapid succession, then all 53 spots on the roster really matter.
Depth is more important than ever in a sport that forever was obsessed with “three-year windows” and is now increasingly in “go-for-it” mode. The future is now. The urgency at roster cutdowns and the trade deadline to compete for available talent is higher than ever. The more fortified you are in the present, the better.
So, where does this Ravens roster rank? How deep is it?
Here’s how we’d stack them in power ranking style by position group:
1. Secondary
Am I cheating a little here combining safety and corner? Maybe.
But they are going to be playing a ton of zone and a ton of zone in Big Nickel (three safeties) or dime and they have a strong mix to interchange. Kyle Hamilton can play four different positions and Marlon Humphrey can toggle between nickel and boundary and safety and several scouts told me they like some of the depth safeties here in a nickel role.
Keeping Chidobe Awuzie was vital to their corner deployment. Safety should be the second-best position group overall on the roster (to quarterback as long as Lamar Jackson is playing). This didn’t feel like a tough call at all.
2. Defensive Line
This wasn’t tough either, and you are seeing a trend here on which side of the ball is best suited for success. Yeah this defense better hit the ground running. No excuses.
If you are going to bail on a Maxx Crosby trade, then you’d better sign Trey Hendrickson. Calais Campbell was a big move. Maybe Nnamdi Madubuike gets close to what he was in 2024 (2023 seems like a reach). Travis Jones could hit another level. There are real pieces here and some developmental edge rushers to dream on and I think they found a gem in the seventh round, too.
3. Quarterback
You have a two-time MVP at the most important position in professional sports and you have a guy behind him who has won games here when the starter has been hurt, that’s going to get you pretty high in these rankings.
I’m not a huge Snoop Huntley guy and would have liked them to find someone who has ties to this coaching family tree and Sean Payton offense in the past (Teddy Bridgewater), and a new offense for Huntley might be cumbersome if he has to play. But Skylar Thompson intrigues me and there is legit depth here and quality.
4. Linebacker
I’m leaning into some of the EDGE bodies here as well and while I don’t know about a direct understudy to Roquan Smith, I do think Teddye Buchanan offers some intriguing value once healthy again and a stylized role could suit Trenton Simpson better and, well, this is starting to be more a case of me not loving the options behind the starters on the offensive side of the ball.
5. Running Back
Justice Hill is a very good football player who can do a little bit of everything well. Best pass protector on the team outside of OL and embraces that role and has showed up more on third down and special situations as Derrick Henry gets deeper into his career and works well in two-minute stuff.
With the Ravens almost certainly using more tempo and playing at a faster pace this season – and adopting a two-minute look in non two-minute spots – Hill could see more run. And Henry at age 32 can’t carry the ball 300 times again.
Rookie Adam Randall could be quite interesting as a Joker in this offense and he checks an awful lot of boxes across different position groups.
6. The Rest of The Offense
Sorry, couldn’t make a case for wide receiver or OL or tight end. There isn’t elite depth talent or youngsters I could definitely vouch for. No swing tackle, no second move tight end and no proven pass catcher beyond Zay Flowers.
Devontez Walker might become a thing, and maybe Carson Vinson will be a great swing tackle and one of the rookie tight ends will be a thing right away, but there are long in the tooth and lacking proven depth on offense.
That’s going to be the case in certain spots with any NFL roster, and with the Ravens the majority of the questions are on one side of the ball.
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