The Baltimore Ravens roster is set, and we are now under ten days until the team takes the field for a brand new season. Fans cannot hide the anticipation enough, so let's crank it up a bit more and get fans excited with some of the biggest notes heading into the season.
5. Everything about the Baltimore Ravens offensive changes have been positive
The offseason had plenty of questions and speculation about what would happen and how all of the pieces would fit. As we head into the regular season, it looks as though everything is coming into place at the right time. Lamar Jackson is here; he is healthy, and he is adjusting to the new offense.
Everything about Todd Monken says that this offense has the chance to be far more explosive, and Jackson is not the only one who has expressed that sort of optimism.
More than that, the team now has better wide receivers than ever before. The Baltimore Ravens drafted Zay Flowers and signed Odell Beckham. With Beckham coming off an ACL and Flowers being a rookie, there were questions about the fit.
Beckham has taken his veteran days off and has not played in the preseason, for good reason. Still, there are plenty of training camp videos surfacing if you want to add some excitement about Beckham.
Zay Flowers did get to play in the preseason, and he looks ready to go and make serious plays. He was beating starts in the Washington secondary, with Josh Johnson throwing him the ball. He should be able to hit the ground running.
The receivers are as good as ever, and the offense is new and potentially more explosive. How can you not be excited?
4. This is the best the offensive line has looked since Lamar Jackson won MVP
The playmakers are one thing, but we know that this all comes down the offensive line. If they can protect Lamar Jackson, we will see Jackson win the MVP. Is it a coincidence that the last time Ronnie Stanley played 16 games, the Ravens were one-seed with Jackson as the MVP? His injuries came right after that, and he has not been able to get healthy since.
This summer, Stanley talked about finally being able to progress this summer and not rehab. So, this could be the best we have seen from him in years. Tyler Linderbaum entering his second NFL season, should also give them the best play of his short career. Those are two key positions.
Kevin Zeitler and Morgan Moses are trusted veterans, so they do not need extra motivation, but they are both in contract years. Also, John Simpson is coming off of a stellar preseason, obviously the best of his career.
This is the best the Ravens offensive line has looked entering the season in a long time. The good news is that they carried nine healthy linemen and have Sam Mustipher as a tenth on the practice squad. They have a backup for every position. The depth, the talent, and the health do not come together often, but they are on the Baltimore Ravens offensive line.
3. J.K. Dobbins is healthy and catching passes
Earlier this offseason, there were plenty of questions about J.K. Dobbins. However, while some fans and the media seem to still think that those exist, Dobbins has spent the last couple of weeks answering them. First, he has been off of the PUP. He has practiced for over two weeks now, so any lingering questions about that should be gone.
More than that, his fit into the new offense appears to be seamless. All reports out of training camp are that Dobbins has been more involved in the passing game than ever before. The Ravens are moving to a more passing-oriented offense. Fans are wondering how that will impact Dobbins, who has not had a large pass-catching profile, as well as Lamar Jackson, who only throws so often.
It sounds like the plan is to give them both some easy ones and turn them into Dobbins' working space rather than Dobbins sorting out the mess behind the line. Dobbins has also shown he can work further down the field on routes, but that is something that we have to wait until the season for more of. Will this become a regular thing for Dobbins? Will he flash everything that we have been rumored to see soon?
2. A full season of Roquan Smith with the Baltimore Ravens
It was fascinating how quickly the Baltimore Ravens' defense clicked into place the minute that they signed Roquan Smith. Smith immediately became the leader of the defense, pushed everyone else down the totem pole, and made their lives easier, and things shifted into place quickly.
You can say that the quarterbacks they faced got a lot weaker as the year went on, but at the same time, if you watched the defense, you saw the impact. Also, this came together on the fly. This was Roquan Smith for half of a season with Mike MacDonald, a first-year defensive coordinator.
There had to be calls, meetings, and text messages discussing ideas, game plans, and changes for the defense when they entered 2023. Now, we are about a week away from seeing how it all unfolds. The first full year of Roquan Smith coming out after an offseason working with MacDonald is huge. MacDonald had the time to plan around Smith as well and now understanding the changes from college to the NFL Is just as big.
1. The Baltimore Ravens second-year safety tandem is about to explode
The Baltimore Ravens defense has even more reasons to be excited. They have their second-year defensive coordinator getting better as well as Roquan Smith adjusting much easier this year. More than that, they have a dynamic safety duo that could creep up toward the best in the NFL.
Last year, Marcus Williams missed a good portion in the middle of the season. Kyle Hamilton did not start at strong safety, and by the end of the year, he was in the slot. When Williams came back, and Hamilton was in the slot, it was the best the defense looked. Now, it could get even better.
These two are pretty perfect for each other. Williams is the rangy player with the speed, while Hamilton is better closer to the line of scrimmage because he can impact the game with quick instincts and size to make up ground quickly in tight spaces. Hamilton flashing in the slot so easily tells you how much this player gets in the game.
Now, he had a whole offseason knowing where he was going to play, and who is going to be next to him. The odds of him improving have gone up substantially. This should be really fun for Ravens fans to watch.