The Baltimore Ravens’ up and down season came to an abrupt end in week 17 against their arch rivals, the Steelers. The Ravens finished the season with over 20 guys on injured reserved including multiple stars like Lamar Jackson, J.K. Dobbins, and Marcus Peters, amongst others. Backups were forced into play all season long, some performed well, others didn’t. The Ravens front office will be tasked with an important off-season to rebuild a depleted defense and offensive line. Below I will highlight each position and where they stood with their Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade for the season and offer a brief analysis.
Quarterbacks:
Lamar Jackson; PFF grade 70.2, 24/37.
Tyler Huntley; PFF grade of 68.3, 25/37.
The Good: Lamar Jackson’s play in the first half of the season. Lamar was being talked about as an MVP candidate through his first five weeks, with impressive games against the Chiefs and Colts, including multiple game-winning drives. Also, it was clear how important he is to the Ravens as the team went 1-4 in his absence. Lamar should have no problem leveraging a massive contract this off-season. Tyler Huntley also proved his importance to the Ravens. Though he only went 1-4 as a starter, he gave the Ravens a fighting chance in every game down the stretch and nearly led them to a victory against the Packers, but a failed 2-point conversion crushed Baltimore’s hopes. Huntley is a high-end backup and the Ravens should feel good about him coming in relief if anything were to happen to Jackson in the future.
The Bad: Jackson’s Turnover Worthy Plays. As good as Lamar was in the first part of the season, he was equally as bad in the second half. After his week 5 performance against the Colts, he did not have a single game grade over 70 and tossed only 8 touchdowns to 12 turnover worthy plays, 10 of which resulted in interceptions. Even with the bad play, the Ravens still managed to win most of their games with Jackson at the starter, which shows his importance to the franchise. But he will need to cut down on the turnover worthy plays next season if the Ravens want to remain competitive in a tough AFC conference. Huntley stepped in and played admirably in Jackson’s absence but was mostly underwhelming in his 5 starts. His best game was against the Packers (81 PFF grade) but was below 65 in 3 starts and once over 70. He tossed 3 touchdowns and had 8 turnover worthy plays that resulted in 4 interceptions. Huntley is a solid backup but you can clearly see the offense struggle without the threat of Jackson in the lineup. You can do much worse than Huntley as a backup, he finished with a higher PFF grade than Baker Mayfield, Trevor Lawrence, Taylor Heinicke and Sam Darnold. Though grading higher than Darnold is not much of an accomplishment but it still shows Huntley is more valuable than some starters.
Running backs/Full backs
Devonta Freeman; PFF grade 68, 35/62
Latavius Murray; PFF grade 65.5, 43/62
Patrick Ricard; PFF grade 74.5, 1/6
The Good: Patrick Ricard’s run blocking. Ricard finished the season as the top fullback in the league, though there are only 6 qualified fullbacks in the NFL. Ricard finished the season with a run blocking grade of 87.6 which is his highest since entering the league. The Baltimore backfield all suffered season ending injuries before the season even started, but Ricard still put together his most impressive season. Ricard is an unrestricted free agent and you would have to think the Ravens will do everything they can to retain him given his important role in a run heavy scheme. Ricard was also the Raven’s 3rd highest graded player on offense.
The Bad: Losing Dobbins, Edwards and Hill before the season even started. J.K. Dobbins led the NFL in yards per carry as a rookie in 2020 and Gus Edwards has been over 5 yards per carry in every NFL season in his career. The 2, along with Jackson were setup to have another elite running season but that all crumbled a week before the season started. The Ravens were forced to operate with journeyman Devonta Freeman and veteran Latavius Murray. Neither guy impressed besides a few good games. Freeman was the better option but he only had 2 games over a 70 PFF grade while Murray only had 1. Hard to imagine either of these guys will return next season as all 3 of the Ravens running backs are set to reclaim their roles.
Tight Ends:
Mark Andrews; PFF grade 91.5, 1/74
Eric Tomlinson; PFF grade 66.1, 29/74
The Good: Mark Andrews. He was the Raven’s highest graded player on the team and was simply one of the best players in the NFL this season. He led all tight ends in catches, yards and was tied for first with 9 touchdowns. I have written a lot about Andrews this season as he was consistently one of the highest graded Ravens every week. Not only did he possess an elite receiving grade, he also had his highest ever run blocking grade of his career; 75.3. Andrews was especially impressive because he had to operate with Huntley and Josh Johnson as his QBs down the stretch, yet still posted 2 90+ game grades with both of the aforementioned QBs. Andrews was rewarded with a big contract extension before the season and finished the season as PFF’s highest graded tight end and also was named as a first team all pro.
The Bad: Not having a true second tight end. The Ravens have always operated with two tight ends sets with the second tight end being involved in the offense. Whether it was Hayden Hurst or Nick Boyle, Lamar has always like the security of a possession tight end in the quick passing game. Boyle was still recovering from a knee injury from the previous season and never really got on track this season. Tomlinson did some nice things in the running game but he was almost exclusively a blocking tight end. He finished the season with one reception. The return of Boyle next season could further bolster the Ravens passing attack and running game.
Wide Receivers:
Marquise Brown; PFF grade 68.8, 63/125
Sammy Watkins; PFF grade 66.3, 72/125
Rashod Bateman; PFF grade 64.9, 80/125
Devin Duvernay; PFF grade 55.7, 112/125
The Good: Marquise Brown’s intermediate route running. Always known for his deep ability and speed, Brown didn’t have many long touchdowns but he did contribute in the short game a lot this season. Brown has his first 1,000 yard receiving season but had an absurd 49% target share on passes 0-9 yards, which resulted in a PFF grade of 91. He only had 5 catches of 20+ yards this season but 4 resulted in touchdowns which is amazing efficiency. Brown caught a lot of flak because of his drops earlier in the season but he is still clearly the Raven’s best WR. Bateman missed some time due to injury but you can clearly see his route running ability and explosiveness. He did not wow anyone but he knows how to get open and find the first down marker. 29 of his 46 receptions resulted in a first down. If he can stay healthy, he, Hollywood and Andrews can provide a very dynamic trio of pass catchers for Lamar Jackson.
The Bad: Sammy Watkins injuries. Watkins was inked to a one-year deal last off-season in hopes of bolstering the passing game. Watkins had a solid start to the season, he had 4 straight games of at least 4 catches and 50 yards. But Watkins ended up missing multiple games yet again and wasn’t effective in the games he did play after Week 4. With the emergence of emergence of Bateman, you have to think the Ravens will move on from Watkins, they need to get younger and less injury prone at the position.
Tackles:
Patrick Mekari; PFF grade 66.1, 52/83
Alejandro Villanueva; PFF grade 65.2, 54/83
Tyre Phillips; PFF grade 53.1, 79/83
The Good: Mekari. A former undrafted center, Mekari was asked to man the right tackle position after injuries forced the Ravens the shuffle the offensive line. Mekari played very well considering the circumstances, he finished the season allowing only 23 pressures on 423 passing snaps and only allowed 4 sacks. He was even rewarded with an extension. A valuable player who can play all 5 positions is certainly a luxury the Ravens do not mind paying for.
The Bad: Phillips. Phillips has moved back forth between guard and tackle and he has not been good at either position. Phillip simply is not strong enough in the running game to move anyone and is not nimble enough in the passing game to keep up with fast edge rushers. He marginally improved a pass protector this season but has been one of the worst run blockers in the league over the last 2 seasons. The Ravens value depth at the line position so I doubt they move on from him but it’s evident they need to address the line in the upcoming draft. You also have to think the Ravens move on from Villanueva. He had some solid games this season but was mostly a liability this season. Just too inconsistent in the passing blocking game but flat out bad in the running block department. The Ravens need Stanley back and draft young depth behind him.
Center:
Bradley Bozeman; PFF grade 73.3, 11/40
The Good: Bozeman’s stability at the center position. The Ravens struggled the previous season at center, whether it was Matt Skura or Mekari. They had trouble with bad snaps and it cursed them in the playoff game at the Bills which saw an errant snap go over Lamar’s head and subsequently getting him hurt in the process. Bozeman has provided stability all season long and he had his highest graded season in the NFL. Center is Bozeman’s natural position and you hope he and the Ravens can come to agreement on a contract as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
The Bad: Nothing of note, hopefully Bozeman can be the Center for years to come, but as we have seen in the past, the Ravens have no problem moving on from players if they think the price is too high. They value comp picks and would probably receive a 4th or 5th rounder if Bozeman were to walk.
Guard:
Kevin Zeitler; PFF grade 76.4, 10/83
Ben Powers; PFF grade 66.3, 44/83
Ben Cleveland; PFF grade 55.8, 63/83
The Good: Zeitler’s elite pass blocking. Zeitler finished as the Raven’s second highest graded offensive player behind Andrews. His high grade was mostly due to his stout pass blocking. Zeitler only allowed 17 pressures on 724 pass blocking opportunities while only allowing one sack. The one sack came courtesy of Aarond Donald. Zeitler has been the Raven’s best and most consistent lineman all year. He has provided relief to a position that has been in shambles since Yanda retired. Signed through 2023, Zeitler is a key cog in the trenches for the Ravens.
The Bad: Who will play left guard next season? The Ravens were using both Ben Cleveland and Ben Powers in a rotational role this season. Assuming they wanted to see who was the better player, but they didn’t get that answer as both players had average seasons, Powers grading slightly better. Powers had an elite game against the Lions earlier in the season, where he had an 87 PFF grade, but finished under 70 in nearly every other game. Cleveland wasn’t much better but he did show some stout pass blocking, having 5 games above a 70 grade, but also had 2 abysmal performances with PFF grades under 30. Both will be battling for the position next season and I will assume the Ravens will add depth via the draft or free agency.
Mirzet was born in Bosnia and raised in upstate NY. Mirzet became a huge fan of the ravens when he first moved to the country and has never looked back. Mirzet is also a former base data analyst at Pro Football Focus. Using advanced metrics and stats has always been a passion of his when discussing anything football-related. Salihovic also lived in Baltimore shortly after he went to college at SUNY Cortland, he currently resides in Utica, NY.