As the Baltimore Ravens have a few weeks of OTAs before the long offseason, there is plenty of reasons for fans to be excited about what is to come. This will be an important season for the team, and after signing Lamar Jackson to a long-term extension the Ravens will see what the future is about to look like.
If you are a Baltimore Ravens, what are the five reasons you are buying into the team in 2023?
5. Baltimore Ravens will have a healthy offense entering the season
If it feels like it has been a long time since the Baltimore Ravens entered training camp with a completely healthy group of offensive players, that is because it has. In 2019, the Ravens set the world on fire, and their group was mainly healthy.
In 2020, Ronnie Stanley was injured, and he was coming back from it during the 2021 offseason. Then, JK Dobbins went down, then Rashod Bateman went down. Of course, the last two seasons also saw Lamar Jackson banged up.
Stanley and Dobbins missed early portions of 2022 due to recovery from their injuries. So, since early 2020 the Ravens did not even go into the offseason with a chance to reset the deck, they continuously had injuries to rehab.
This year they have no issues as the offseason approaches. Ronnie Stanley and JK Dobbins missed time early but were at their best and healthiest in the playoffs. Lamar Jackson and Rashod Bateman missed the playoff game, but both appear to be healthy to the point where neither will be missing time, and neither is in any jeopardy for week one, unlike Stanley and Dobbins last season.
These four have never put together a full offseason, let alone a full season together. This year, everyone is healthy as they enter training camp for the first time since before Bateman was drafted. The Ravens could not have been cursed by injuries forever, and it appears that the black cloud may finally be gone.
This is very exciting for Ravens fans.
4. Baltimore Ravens are upgrading at offensive coordinator
We have to remember in the praise of Todd Monken this season we cannot forget the emphasis Greg Roman had on the career of Lamar Jackson, and how much praise he saw in 2019. It was rightfully so because his offense was perfect for a young, mobile quarterback to win now with. The issue is that he did not have the counter, or the ability to grow the offense around the evolving talents.
So, the Ravens' offense was right at the time, but now the fit is gone, and the sides had to move on. It does not take away from what Roman did, but at the same time, you have to agree that the offense has a serious shot at getting better this season.
What is great about Todd Monken is that you saw he can adapt his scheme. With Roman, he ran a similar scheme with Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers as he did with Tyrod Taylor and the Bills, and then Lamar Jackson with the Ravens. It did not change much. With Todd Monken, he ran three wide with a spread passing attack on the Bucs, and then he packed things in tight with heavy tight ends on the Georgia Bulldogs.
In both stops the team passed the ball a lot more, and his ability to create excellent passing options with multiple tight ends or big bodies on the field had to be what has the Ravens intrigued by him.
The Ravens also finally have enough wideouts to spread things out a bit more. No matter what, things are going to get different. The Baltimore Ravens are going to let Lamar Jackson throw the ball down the field more, and just more in general. This could help open the run game back up, and make the offense more lethal overall.
If that is the case, it will something fans will be glued to their seats watching every Sunday.
3. This is the best skill group Baltimore Ravens have given Lamar Jackson
The Baltimore Ravens decided to upgrade all around their offense. It starts by getting the familiar names healthy this offseason. Then, the Ravens are hoping that the new offensive coordinator has those guys in a position to succeed. Lastly, the team stacked the board to make sure that even a few injuries should not derail things, unlike in past years.
An old Ravens team would be relying on Rashod Bateman. Then, they would add someone like Nelson Agholor and call it a good off-season. This year, they did not stop with Agholor. First, it was Odell Beckham, and for much more money than fans thought he would get. Next, they drafted Zay Flowers in the first round. This is a much stronger commitment than we have ever seen.
Agholor would usually be their number two, or even last season Demarcus Robinson ended up as the number one. Now, Agholor is the fourth guy, and even if they signed Robinson, he would be competing with Agholor, but likely would only be the fifth wide receiver.
This is not it, though. At tight end, Mark Andrews remains, but they may have found something with Isaiah Likely. He enters year two and appears to be a pass-catching threat. Even second-year tight end Charlie Kolar is in the mix.
At running back JK Dobbins is fully healthy and joined by Gus Edwards. This duo is electric together but it has barely happened. Now, both are entering training camp fully healthy. Even Patrick Ricard is still in the mix, which speaks to how many options Todd Monken has when it comes to his personnel.
From wide receiver to running back and tight end, each room is not only as talented as Jackson has seen, it is also deeper in every area as well.
2. Young Baltimore Ravens defenders are ready to step up
So, the Baltimore Ravens offense appears to be in one of the best spots we have ever seen the unit. It appears you can say similar about the defense, at least in some spots. At the edge rusher position, the team is losing Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul. While they may re-sign one, this will depend on two big names.
Odafe Oweh is now entering year three in the NFL. He is a former first-round pick, and his rookie year had fans thinking he could be an All-Pro type of player. Year two was more up and down, with more profound lows. With that in mind, this is a huge year three. Considering he is a first-round pick there is room to get excited.
Then, there is his running mate David Ojabo. The Baltimore Ravens drafted Ojabo pretty high considering they knew he would miss his rookie season with an injury. They rehabbed him, and he took his time, but he left 2022 ahead of schedule, and now should be starting in 2023. He went in the second round with the injury known, so he probably would have been a first-round lock last season if he was ready to go.
If his presence is that of a first-round pick he could come out of the gates firing. This could free things up for Oweh, and the duo would become legitimate. Beyond that, there has to be excitement for one other first-round pick in Kyle Hamilton.
He was more of a role player last season, but with Chuck Clark gone, he should see a huge role where they can use his versatility all over the field. They can line him up in different spots, and by doing that they can mix and match personnel based on down and distance.
If you consider Ojabo a first-round talent, the Baltimore Ravens have three first-round types of players who all could be getting ready for an explosion at the same time. That could be the boost this defense needs.
1. Baltimore Ravens will get a full season from Roquan Smith
The Roquan Smith trade was so impressive for the Baltimore Ravens because he hit the ground running. He was having an average type of season with the Chicago Bears but still made the All-Pro because his nine games with the Ravens were that of the best player at his position.
This is just the start. Now, he gets a full offseason to work with Mike MacDonald. Roquan Smith will now be wearing the green dot, calling plays, and getting everything in line. That is a lot easier after a summer of studying compared to picking things up on the road with a few days until the next game.
The presence of Roquan Smith makes a lot of people better. We saw that Patrick Queen instantly started to perform with the steadying voice in the middle. It helped Kyle Hamilton and Chuck Clark as well.
This could be coming up as underrated now because the trade happened during a busy period, and it will not be new this season. However, Roquan Smith starting and playing a full season with the Ravens is still new, and this will still be the first type of situation with him engraved in the defense now. Fans should be excited about what Smith can bring, and if he really can stay as the top linebacker in the game through the entire season.