Ravens roster ranked as one of the top five in the NFL

The Baltimore Ravens roster is stacked with talent on both sides of the ball. For that reason, it’s no surprise that the squad is ranked as one of the top five rosters in the NFL.

According to Pro Football Focus’ Ben Linsey, the Ravens have the fifth-best roster in the entire NFL going into the 2021 season.

Linsey ranking Baltimore amongst the best rosters in the league is not surprising. Last season, the Ravens had a league-leading seven players voted to the Pro Bowl. Four of them will return with the team in 2021.

Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey is one of those players returning to the squad. Linsey sees Humphrey and his fellow cornerbacks as being the strength of the team this season.

"“There aren’t many cornerbacks in the league who can seamlessly transition from an outside role to the slot and provide high-level play at both spots. Marlon Humphrey has done that better than anyone in recent years, spending more time inside due to a string of Tavon Young injuries. Humphrey is the only cornerback in the league with a PFF coverage grade of at least 80.0 both in the slot and out wide since 2017.”"

A rookie will prove to be the X-factor on the Ravens roster.

The Ravens looked to improve their passing game and assist quarterback Lamar Jackson this offseason.

The team signed former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Sammy Watkins in free agency and added both Rashod Bateman and Tylan Wallace in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft.

Linsey believes rookie receiver Bateman will be the X-factor for the team in 2021.

"“Bateman showed that he could win from primarily wide alignments (2019) and in the slot (2020) by earning grades north of 80.0 in each of the last two seasons at Minnesota. Bateman joined DeVonta Smith and new teammate Tylan Wallace as the only wide receivers in this draft class to average over 3.0 yards per route run in both 2019 and 2020.”"

The weak link on the Ravens roster is at outside linebacker.

The Ravens lost a lot of players on defense this offseason. That could be partially to blame as to why the team isn’t ranked higher on the list.

After the departure of outside linebackers Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue, the team had a huge hole to fill in the front seven. And the position still remains a sizable question mark.

"“It’s not difficult to see the reasoning behind Baltimore’s decision to let Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue walk in free agency. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale does as good of a job as anyone at scheming up pressure with the blitz, reducing the need for elite edge rushers. But those departures do leave the Ravens thin at outside linebacker entering this season.”"

The Ravens are stacked with plenty of talented individuals. This roster could certainly take the team to the Super Bowl.

While we have to wait and see how the season plays out, I look forward to watching what this Ravens roster has to offer.