The Baltimore Ravens are built for a Coronavirus season

The defense:

Moving on to the defense, I see two positions that are absolutely stacked on this 2020 Ravens team: Cornerback and Safety. In the pass-heavy modern NFL, having a stacked secondary is a massive luxury. That said, the Ravens are also not-to-shabby when it comes to the Defensive line after adding Derek Wolfe and Calais Campbell during the 2020 off-season.

Cornerback:

What a weird scenario the Ravens are in when a former Super Bowl champion that has been a team lifer is your third-string defensive back. However, as luck would have it, that’s exactly where the Ravens are in 2020. Jimmy Smith is down the depth chart behind Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. This is a very welcome position to be in. The Ravens also have Iman Marshall to step in if needed (drafted in the fourth round in 2019, 127th overall), but here’s the real kicker: in 2020 the Baltimore Ravens have a returning, healthy (if reports are to be believed) Tavon Young; perhaps the best slot corner in the game. If Coronavirus struck the Ravens at cornerback there would be plenty of talent to shuffle around and step up.

Safety:

Just as with the cornerback position, the Safety position is loaded with both veteran and young, hungry talent alike. If you count a returning DeShon Elliott, the Ravens have five players that are likely to play either strong or free safety on the 2020 roster: Earl Thomas, Chuck Clark, Anthony Levine, Sr., Geno Stone, and the aforementioned Elliott. Two of the five are veterans with years of tape-as-proof of their skill at the position (Elliott and Levine). One of the youngsters, Chuck Clark, stepped in to become the “quarterback of the defense” in the latter half of the 2019 season. Clark looks to be the next big safety in the league, not just based on his physical play, but he has a football mind so great that Earl Thomas remarked that after being in the defensive back room with Clark he asked: “Why would [the Ravens] bring me in when they’ve got you.”

Defensive line:

Last year, this was a major weakness for the Ravens, made up of patchwork players that weren’t on any other team for a reason. That may sound harsh, but it’s an accurate statement. The Ravens’ d-line didn’t crumble every game during the 2019 season for two simple reasons: frequent blitzes and scheduling (the Ravens didn’t face a lot of run-heavy teams). When the Ravens did face run-heavy teams during the 2019 season, like the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and the Tennessee Titans, they struggled; both before and after the massive roster shift after the week four loss to Cleveland.

However, this year, if rookies Justin Madubuike and Broderick Washington work out to be even decent additions, the Ravens are looking stout on the d-line. Upfront the Ravens will have Calais Campbell, Derek Wolfe, Brandon Williams, Matthew Judon, and Pernell McPhee; backed up by Justin Madubuike, Daylon Mack, Justin Ellis, Broderick Washington, and Jaylon Ferguson. The starters are proven troublemakers, but Jaylon Ferguson was also coming into his own towards the end of the 2019 season. As stated, if rookies Madubuike and Washington can deliver some solid rookie performances, that’s a lot of talent to hold up the line if Coronavirus strikes the front of the defense.

The linebacker position is far more questionable since the high-hopes of the Ravens’ 2020 LB position rely on two rookies, but the defensive end, defensive tackle, and nose tackle positions look well-stocked.

Final Thoughts:

Yes, the Ravens did get thinner at tight end and, as mentioned, are holding out hopes that rookies Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison join L.J. Fort to deliver for the linebacker position, but overall the Ravens have an enviable depth chart at so many positions. I just can’t see any other team as ready for a Coronavirus-laden season as the Baltimore Ravens. When the league as a whole is so QB and pass-reliant, and when the Ravens are specifically so run-reliant, having depth at the quarterback, o-line, Running back, wide receiver, and secondary positions creates a lot of cushion on both sides of the ball for a possible roster hit due to infection. I think barring a complete locker-room Coronavirus attack, the Baltimore Ravens are set up as good as any team to face this uncertain 2020 season; if it does so happen to play out.