With all the losses and additions this offseason, are the Baltimore Ravens a better team than last season? That’s the mark of a successful offseason, especially for a team in the middle of their Super Bowl window like Baltimore. Simply improving upon last year’s roster and patching up their biggest weaknesses should get them closer to their goal of another Super Bowl.
The good news for Ravens fans is that they are, at least one paper.
After getting into the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 1 seed, Baltimore was unceremoniously dismissed in embarrassing fashion thanks to the Tennessee Titans. The Ravens’ vaunted defense allowed Titans running back Derrick Henry to gouge them all game long, to the tune of 195 rushing yards and a 6.5 yard-per-carry average by himself. But it wasn’t the first time Baltimore struggled to defend the run last season. On the year as a whole, they gave up 4.4 yards-per-game on the ground, which was the 12th worst average in the NFL.
With a clear goal in mind this offseason, general manager Eric DeCosta was aggressive in fixing the Ravens’ run defense. Before free agency even began, the Baltimore pulled off a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for defensive end Calais Campbell. Then came the Ravens re-signing Justin Ellis and Jihad Ward to provide more experienced depth. As if that wasn’t enough, Baltimore found their upgrade for Michael Pierce in Derek Wolfe, adding much-needed size and production to their defensive front.
The Ravens have completely revamped their defensive line this offseason, replacing two of their three starters and bringing back valuable experienced depth to perhaps their weakest defensive unit from last season. But not only do they look like a better run defense on paper, but their pass rush has gotten better as well. Wolfe and Campbell bring with them the type of interior pass rush production Baltimore has failed to have over the last five years, hopefully helping outside linebacker Matthew Judon get free more often.
Beyond the defensive line, the Ravens have suffered very few free-agent losses this offseason. For a team that went 14-2 last season, returning 18 of their 22 starters and upgrading at two more starting roles is a pretty massive win.
The only free agents Baltimore has lost have been linebackers Josh Bynes and Patrick Onwuasor along with Pierce and wide receiver Seth Roberts. While Baltimore was in talks with Onwuasor to return, the Ravens seemed fine with the rest of their free-agent losses. Trading tight end Hayden Hurst to the Atlanta Falcons and defensive end Chris Wormley to the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as declining cornerback Brandon Carr’s 2020 option eliminated a bit of depth but it was all at positions where Baltimore was stacked already.
By shoring up their biggest weakness, the team has improved upon their fourth-ranked defense to pair with their league-leading scoring offense that features the best rushing attack in NFL history and the 2019 NFL MVP in Lamar Jackson.
It’s unrealistic to expect the Ravens to go 14-2 or better next season but, at least on paper right now, Baltimore is a better team than they were in 2019. They’ll continue to build up their roster in the 2020 NFL Draft and in the second wave of free agency but the hope is they’ve already done enough to get over the playoff hump and back to another Super Bowl.
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