The Baltimore Ravens have a roster with plenty of name talent. Lamar Jackson won an MVP, and Ronnie Stanley has been an All-Pro. All of their wide receivers went first round, and so did Patrick Queen, Roquan, Kyle Hamilton, and Marlon Humphrey on defense.
So, let's go beyond that and think about some of the hidden gems that may make a serious impact this season.
3. John Simpson may be ready to breakout for the Baltimore Ravens
John Simpson may not be so hidden right now, considering the biggest position battle this summer was Simpson against Sala Aumavae-Laulu for the starting left guard. Still, the play of Simpson in that battle to make it nothing close to a battle is what makes things so encouraging entering the season.
Some of that was because Aumavae-Laulu struggled, but a lot of it was because Simpson was playing excellently. Simpson was a former fourth-round pick, and he is only in his fourth NFL season. He has starting experience, and he had potential coming out of Clemson. It was not reached on a poor franchise, but it does look like things came together for him.
He played about as well as you could play in a preseason setting. Now, the question is whether he can translate that to the regular season. It could be that the new setting and the competition brought out the best in him. If that is the case, he puts this offensive line together in a major way.
We know that Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum are big names, and Kevin Zeitler and Morgan Moses are trusted veterans. The one question is whether John Simpson can give them the depth at left guard to have five spots with no real concerns.