Baltimore had legitimate hopes ahead of last season. Last August they ranked fifth in Super Bowl odds and were one of the favourites in the AFC, before an unprecedented injury crisis struck. Despite all of that adversity, they still managed to finish 8-9. That sort of bad luck is unlikely to happen again, and when looking at their chances in 2022 things are looking very promising.
Offseason additions and losses
There have been some big changes to Baltimore’s secondary this offseason. DeShon Elliott departed in free agency and was replaced by Marcus Williams, who signed a five-year, $70 million deal. Jimmy Smith also departed after a decade with the team and has been replaced by Kyle Fuller on a one-year, $2.5 million deal. They also made a point of investing in the trenches, bringing in Michael Pierce back after a year away in Minnesota. Offensively they signed Morgan Moses to a three-year, $15 million deal to lock down the right tackle spot, which was a noticeable weak spot for them in 2021.
As for the departures, there were a couple of big names on their way out. The team shipping Marquise Brown to the Cardinals for a first round pick caught many by surprise, but he had never really felt like a fit in this version of the Ravens offense. The one other name of note was Bradley Bozeman, who had spent three seasons as a starter along the offensive line, who left for Carolina in free agency.
2022 NFL Draft
| Pick | Player |
| 1.14 | Kyle Hamilton – S, Notre Dame |
| 1.24 | Tyler Linderbaum – IOL, Iowa |
| 2.45 | David Ojabo – EDGE, Michigan |
| 3.76 | Travis Jones – IDL, UConn |
| 4.110 | Daniel Faalele – OT, Minnesota |
| 4.119 | Jalyn Armour-Davis – CB, Alabama |
| 4.128 | Charlie Kolar – TE, Iowa State |
| 4.130 | Jordan Stout – P, Penn State |
| 4.139 | Isaiah Likely – TE, Coastal Carolina |
| 4.141 | Damarion Williams – CB, Houston |
| 6.196 | Tyler Badie – RB, Missouri |
Baltimore has earned a reputation as one of the best drafting teams in the NFL and they seem to have landed another outstanding rookie class. If you ignore positional value, both Hamilton and Linderbaum were in the conversation for the best player in the class. David Ojabo looked like a potential top 20 player before his injury. Travis Jones may not have been at a big program, but his tape was far better than his draft stock suggests. They even managed to find talent into the later rounds, with the likes of Jalyn Armour-Davis and Tyler Badie, both of whom could see the field as rookies.
Offense
The Ravens run an offense unlike any other team. Whilst it has certainly got its fair share of critics, you can’t really argue with the results. Even with a roster decimated by injury last season (Baltimore’s 191.2 adjusted games lost to injury is the most in over two decades) they still managed to finish 8-9. They actually started the season 8-3, before Lamar Jackson’s ankle injury derailed their season.
The fact that they even managed to finish near .500 speaks to the talent they have in Lamar Jackson. He proved that he is capable of carrying this team, accounting for 79.8% of the team’s offensive yardage in his 11 games. Over the first half of the season he even managed more total yards than 17 other teams. He’s got a good supporting cast too. The Ravens’ backfield is always reliable and in Mark Andrews he has one of the league’s best tight ends. Couple this with a revamped offensive line and there is plenty of reason to believe that the Ravens can push for the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2022.
The one remaining question ahead of the 2022 season is whether offensive coordinator Greg Roman looks to evolve this offense. He has certainly maximised Jackson’s rushing potential, but his scheme is too reliant on the special talents of his quarterback. This was fully exposed when Jackson went down last season and the team lost six straight games. The Ravens’ passing game is widely recognised as being amongst the most basic in the NFL and if they are to hit their potential in 2022 they will need to do more to keep opponents guessing.
Defense
Whilst it is likely to be more of the same on offense, the Ravens’ defense is likely to look very different in 2022. The team chose not to extend defensive coordinator Don Martindale, who had served in the role for four seasons. Martindale’s defenses are famous for their aggressive man coverage concepts with a variety of exotic blitz packages thrown into the mix. He chose to stubbornly stick by these principles in spite of the injury crisis, and the Ravens were torched. They allowed an explosive play (15+ yards) on 11% of their passing snaps last season. The only team worse than that was the Jets at 12%.
To replace Martindale the team has hired Mike Macdonald. Macdonald spent seven years on the Ravens’ staff, before taking on the defensive coordinator role at Michigan. There he helped the team to go 12-1 and win the Big Ten title. Macdonald will bring a schematic shift to Baltimore, using much more split-safety coverages, the likes of which we have seen dominate the NFL in recent years. With Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton now filling in at safety, this should be a really exciting shift.
It is obviously a case of wait and see as to whether the decision to bring in Macdonald was the right one, but all of the pieces are in place for a really strong season on defense. Their defensive front has more than enough talent to get after opposing quarterbacks, and if the secondary can stay healthy it should be amongst the very best units in the NFL.
Projection
The Ravens have a real shot of going from worst to first in the AFC North in 2022. If Lamar Jackson can avoid injury they have one of the game’s most talented young quarterbacks, and enough offensive firepower around him to do plenty of damage. There are still some uncertainties when it comes to the defensive side of the ball, but if things click they have the talent to be a top five unit in the NFL. That makes for a lethal combination.
