Since we are officially at the halfway point of the NFL season, let’s take a look at where Ravens starters are currently ranked by PFF amongst their peers. It has been a rollercoaster of a season thus far for Ravens Nation, from thrilling overtime wins to a few disappointing losses. But as it stands, the Ravens are 6-2 and will be looking to continue their momentum going into the second half. Below I will list each player’s rank out of the number of qualified players at the position and offer a brief analysis.
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QB: Lamar Jackson: (13/35)
The former MVP is having yet another MVP-like season. 13 TDs/7 ints, 600 rushing yards (6th in NFL). His 81.9 grade was brought down a bit over the last few weeks. He didn’t have a great game against the Bengals and had a few Turnover Worthy plays against the Vikings. But all in all, no one should be complaining about Lamar, he is the heart and soul of the Ravens and their success is entirely predicated on him.
RBs: Devonta Freeman (30/63), Le’Veon Bell (42/63), Ty’Son Williams (44/63)
Injuries to Dobbins, Edwards and Hill have forced the Ravens to use journeyman running backs and unproven practice squad players. The Ravens are second in the league in rushing mainly due to Lamar Jackson and the threat he poses on every play. Though Freeman and Bell have been playing better over the last few weeks. The Ravens will need them to contribute in any way possible to take pressure off of Lamar going forward. Williams opened the year as the starter but a few fumbles has forced the coaching staff to look elsewhere. Latavius Murray is currently sidelined with an injury but he has contributed nicely when healthy.
WRs: Marquise Brown (10/127), Sammy Watkins (36/127), Rashod Bateman (52/127), Devin Duvernay (102/127)
You can easily make the case that Hollywood Brown has been the most impressive and improved Raven this season. He has an 80.2 overall grade which is easily his highest of his career, 682 yards which ranks 6th in the NFL. This is the exact kind of production fans were expecting when the Ravens took him in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. Watkins has been solid as well; his 73.5 grade is his highest since 2016. Like always, health is a concern for him and he has missed the last few games, but it looks like the Ravens should expect him back soon. The player who has replaced him has been first round pick, Rashod Bateman.
Bateman has impressed so far, 11 of his 12 catches have gone for a first down. Bateman was an elite route runner in college and it has translated over so far. He is excellent at creating space and getting open, something the Ravens need badly to compliment Hollywood Brown. Duvernay has been impressive as well operating as the 4th and sometimes 5th option. Only 15 catches thus far but 2 amazing TD grabs which has helped the Ravens tremendously. This is easily the best group of pass catchers the Ravens have had during the Lamar Jackson era.
TEs: Mark Andrews (1/72), Eric Tomlinson (3/72)
Mark Andrews leads the NFL with an 89.3 grade. Simply one of the best Tight Ends in the league, the former Sooner is fourth amongst tight ends in receptions (42) and second in yards (560). Also, he only has one drop on 58 targets. Andrews is as reliable as it gets. Flying under the radar has been Eric Tomlinson, he has been filling in for injured blocking tight end, Nick Boyle who is set to make his season debut soon. But in his absence, Tomlinson is first in run block grade amongst tight ends (85.3) which is 5 points higher than the next closest tight end. He has filled in admirably during Boyle’s absence and it’s a good insurance policy to have another good blocking tight end on the team if Boyle was to ever get reinjured.
FB: Patrick Ricard (1/7)
“Project Pat” leads all fullbacks in overall grade (75.8) and also miles ahead of any other fullback in run block grade (87.3). Ricard is an integral part of what the ravens do in the run game but also in play action, as he runs a lot of sweep motion to fake a run play which makes the offense harder to predict.
Center: Bradley Bozeman (9/40)
Bozeman has a 72.5 grade this year which is good for ninth best so far. After a disastrous year for Ravens’ centers last season, Bozeman has brought some stability to a very important position. Bozeman was a center in college but was forced into guard play over his first few seasons in the NFL. Now he is back to his natural position and has excelled tremendously. His 72.5 grade is also the highest from any Ravens lineman.
Guard: Kevin Zeitler (18/76), Ben Powers (27/76)
Zeitler and Powers come in a few grading points away from each other (Zeitler 71.4, Powers 67.2). Both have played well at times and not so well at other points. Zeitler has been a better pass protector than run blocker. He has given up zero sacks and only nine pressures, but has struggled to create holes in the run game. But all in all, he’s been consistent in an ever-changing Ravens offensive line. Powers has been similar to Zeitler, a better pass protector than run blocker. However, he’s allowed 3 sacks and has offered about the same in the run block department. The return of Ben Cleveland might spark more guard rotation between him and Powers as evidenced earlier in the season.
Tackle: Patrick Mekari (26/79), Alejandro Villanueva (53/79)
Ronnie Stanley’s injury has forced the Ravens to be creative at the Tackle position. Villanueva has stepped into left tackle which is his natural position, which in turn led to Patrick Mekari, a former center, to play right tackle. So far Villanueva has allowed 32 pressures, which is one of the worst pressure totals from any player so far. To be fair however, 10 of those pressures came in week one when he was the right tackle. But his overall grade of 63.6 leaves something to be desired. Mekari has been a bright spot for the offensive line. He has only allowed 10 pressures on 219 snaps and only 2 sacks. His pass blocking grade currently sits at 73.4, which is 22nd in terms of grade, one grading spot above former Raven, Orlando Brown. Hopefully the offensive line will continue to gel and improve going into the second half of the season.
Interior Defenders: Calais Campbell (5/124), Justin Madubuike (53/124), Justin Ellis (105/124), Brandon Williams, (112/124)
Calais Campbell leads this group by a wide margin in terms of grade, his 84.5 grade is good for 5th in the NFL and he’s also easily the Ravens top graded defensive player. Campbell is finally healthy again after an injured year last year, he is showing the NFL once again that he is one of the most dominant interior players even at the age of 35. Madubuike has been a little bit of a disappointment thus far, only 7 pressures all season so far, and one sack. The Ravens will need more from the former Aggie. But easily the most disappointing player so far has been Brandon Williams. 7 pressures, no sacks, 9 tackles. This is easily his lowest graded season of his career; he has generally graded in the 70s and 80s but is just having a down year so far. The Ravens could use his presence as they have been getting gashed in the running game several times this season. He will look to improve during the second half stretch.
Edge Defenders: Justin Houston (49/110), Odafe Oweh (51/110), Pernell McPhee (98/110)
Justin Houston leads all Ravens’ edge players with a 67.7 grade but also a pass rush grade of 75.5. Both he and rookie Odafe Oweh have notched 3 sacks, and both have had a respectable pressure total (20 for Houston, 24 for Oweh). Oweh has been the much better run defender (69 grade compared to Houston’s 49). But all in all, both players have enjoyed decent seasons so far. Oweh, after starting hot, has cooled down a bit over the last games. He was completely blanked from the stat sheet against the Vikings and fellow rookie, Christian Darrisaw, zero pressures on 30 pass rush attempts and also no tackles. But I doubt this will be a theme going forward. Pernell McPhee has been used sparingly this season; he has only played 62 snaps and earned 4 total pressures.
Linebackers: Josh Bynes (8/86), Tyus Bowser (20/86), Chris Board (46/86), Malik Harrison (74/86), Patrick Queen (79/86)
Linebacker play was a heavily scrutinized position until Josh Bynes came to save the day. Bynes is the 8th graded LB so far with a grade of 74. Since taking over at mike linebacker in week 6, the Ravens’ linebacking core has improved tremendously. Queen and Harrison have been liabilities for most of the season until Bynes stepped in, now Queen has been playing much better, yet his grade is still brought down by the bad play from earlier this season. Harrison was involved in a non-life-threatening shooting over a week ago and we’ll have to see what his role will be going forward. Tyus Bowser is an edge by trade but has qualified as an off-ball linebacker by PFF because his snap count was greater at LB than it was at edge. Bowser is a great all-around talent, and the coaching staff likes to be creative with him, dropping him into coverage and letting him rush the QB. With Bynes’ presence at linebacker, this unit will look to continue the good play going into the second half.
Cornerbacks: Marlon Humphrey (11/117), Tavon Young (86/117), Anthony Averett (108/117)
The secondary has been getting torched all season but Marlon Humphrey has been good all things considered. Besides the Ja’Marr chase game in which Humphrey allowed 227 yards on 7 receptions, the other 7 games he has only allowed 17 catches and two touchdowns. Averett, however is a much different story. Averett has allowed a whopping 62 catches which is second in the league and has allowed 36 catches, tied for 6th. On a more positive note, he has only allowed 2 touchdowns on the season, which is solid considering he has been targeted 62 times. Tavon Young has not had a great season either but has made some huge plays, he has 2 sacks and the interception Patrick Mahomes which sparked a Ravens comeback. All 3 players have had up and down seasons, the injury to Marcus Peters is being felt more than ever. The Ravens will need all 3 players to play better in the second half to have a chance to make a deep post season run. The Ravens have allowed three 400 yard passing performances. Chris Westry should come back shortly after his week one injury and hopefully bolster the secondary group.
Safeties: Deshon Elliott (37/91), Chuck Clark (42/91), Brandon Stephens (70/91)
The highest graded safety for the Ravens, Elliott, will miss the remainder of the season with a torn biceps/pectoral injury. This safety group had a good start but have been reeling over the last few games. Clark has had 3 straight PFF grades of under 55, while Brandon Stephens has had 5 games this season under 60. In Stephens’ case however, when he did start in week 5 against Indy, he had his best game of the year with a PFF grade of 73.4 and a tackling grade of 84. He will be the presumed starter the rest of the way and we will see how the rookie will fare with second half games against Aaron Rodgers, Matt Stafford and two games against the Browns and Steelers. We could also see more of Geno Stone and longtime Raven, Anthony Levine.
Kicker: Justin Tucker (92 PFF grade)
Not much needs to be said here, simply the best kicker in the NFL and maybe NFL history. 16-17 on field goals this season and 19-19 on extra points. An NFL record 66-yard field goal to win the game against Detroit. The guy is as automatic as it gets in the NFL.
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.