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We know how the 2019 season ended and now with the first big wave of free agency over, we have a clear look at how teams are shaping up for 2020. With the top free agents now off the market, the NFL pecking order might have changed a little bit from the last time everyone was in pads. For the Baltimore Ravens, they stay about the same.
Mark Schofield of Touchdown Wire put together his mid-free agency power rankings and the Ravens sit in the second spot behind the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s the same second-place they finished the 2019 season with.
Though the power rankings were made when Baltimore still had a deal with Michael Brockers, the change out to Derek Wolfe likely doesn’t impact that very much. As we covered in our look at how Wolfe will impact the defensive line and in our instant analysis of the signing, Wolfe might end up being a better value in the end.
Overall, Schofield pointed out the Ravens made clear moves to shore up their run defense and help out outside linebacker Matthew Judon as a solid strategy to this offseason, especially with how they exited the playoffs last season.
It is always fascinating to see a team take stock of how their season ended and make moves to counteract what did them in. In this case, you can see the Ravens adding reinforcements along their defensive front for one reason: stopping Derrick Henry and the running game. Henry tagged them for just under 200 yards rushing in the Tennessee Titans’ upset victory over the Ravens in the divisional round, and adding Campbell and Brockers on the inside makes this already solid defense even better up front. Now obviously Campbell can also get after the passer, so pairing him with Matthew Judon, who they used the franchise tag on, will enable Baltimore to continue pressuring passers while perhaps relying less on the blitz than they did a season ago.
Baltimore will have to prove they should be in that No. 2 spot when the helmets get buckled back up for the 2020 season. With the NFL’s highest-scoring defense last season and an always stout defense that has gotten better this offseason, teams are going to be gunning for the Ravens come Week 1. If they can handle the initial onslaught, they could jump up that final spot to No. 1 soon enough.
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