The Baltimore Ravens are nearing the start of an exciting, yet unknown, era under head coach Jesse Minter. It was a much-needed shift, but in the same breath, no one knows what it has in store. They could reach the highest of highs or the lowest of lows.
The overwhelming majority are showing a ton of belief in Minter and company. It’s hard not to. The defense he’s bringing should remind people of what Baltimore’s defense is truly capable of, and the offense called by offensive coordinator Declan Doyle might have limitless potential. And of course, it’s still a team led by Lamar Jackson; anything is possible.
Some have an extreme amount of confidence in them, though. We’re talking top-five-level confidence. On an episode of The Mina Kimes Show, Kimes and Brandon Perna ranked the Ravens fifth and one spot over the defending AFC Champion New England Patriots.
Baltimore Ravens receive top-five-level praise ahead of highly-anticipated 2026 season
There was a lot that went wrong in Charm City last year. But if you had to pinpoint one specific area that caused their shocking downfall, it was the defense that probably couldn’t even stop a nosebleed if you asked them to. It was that bad.
The pass rush was nonexistent, the play on the second level was poor, and the secondary gave up big play after big play. At the forefront of it all was the frustrating game planning from former defensive coordinator Zach Orr. It was clear that whatever he was drawing up was almost doomed to fail every week. Match that with inept in-game coaching from John Harbaugh, and Baltimore was cooking up a disastrous recipe for failure.
So how does a team with such a horrific showing the year before rank ahead of the Patriots in a power ranking? Well, I guess people are that much bought into Jesse Minter. And they are completely justified in that. On other side of the coin, it's also fair to question if New England can replicate their success from 2025.
I’m not going to bash the Patriots. They’re obviously one of the best teams in football, and have plenty of room to grow under ascending quarterback Drake Maye. There’s a reason that Kimes and Perna placed them at No. 6 in their rankings. However, it’s also true that they had an incredibly easy road all the way to the Super Bowl last season. They had the third-weakest schedule in the league in 2025, and for 2026, it’s set to be the sixth-hardest.
The Ravens might actually be a more talented team than New England, too. Eric DeCosta ordered some star power for his defense in free agency, adding Trey Hendrickson, and with existing high-level talent in the likes of Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith, Nnamdi Madubuike, and others, you can expect the defense to explode under a defensive guru in Minter.
Then on offense, if Lamar Jackson is healthy, he’s almost impossible to stop. Throw in another unstoppable force in Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers who’s blossoming into a star, and an offensive line that should be better, then the offense should be way more efficient, and maybe even return to pure dominance.
Of course, there’s a real chance that this Baltimore team isn’t what everyone thinks they can be. Their talented roster could continue to regress in critical areas, and the new coaching staff that has everyone in Charm City amped could very well fall flat. It’s hard to ignore the blend of up-and-coming and proven talent, though, so whichever way you feel about them, the story of the 2026 Baltimore Ravens will be extremely fun to watch.
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