10 Ravens primed to breakout or bounce back in 2024

Players would could become or get back to being household names this upcoming season.

Much has been made, written and talked about as it pertains to all the talent the Baltimore Ravens lost this offseason from a 2023 roster that finished with the best record in the league and top-ranked defense. However, the team has several players returning who are slated to have bigger roles on their respective side of the ball in 2024, those who were hampered by injuries last year but are expected to make full recoveries and those who both apply.

Here are 10 Ravens players who are primed to either break out, bounce back or do some of both.

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CB Marlon Humphrey

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The three-time Pro Bowler had his 2023 debut delayed by four games after he had to undergo foot surgery during training camp but unfortunately, that would not be the end of his injury woes. He also suffered a calf injury that caused him to miss four games including the Ravens divisional round victory of the Houston Texans in the playoffs.

Despite being limited to 10 games due to injury last year, Humphrey still managed to record 26 total tackles including one for a loss, five pass breakups, one interception, one quarterback hit, a career-low opposing passer rating (64.6) and completion percentage (46.7). He also only gave up one touchdown which came in his first game back in which he was still clearly getting his legs back under him.

Contrary to what a recent clickbait article poorly tried to imply, Humphrey’s play hasn’t been slipping as of late and he is only one year removed from being voted to his last Pro Bowl after not allowing a single touchdown in 626 coverage snaps according to Pro Football Focus. The seven-year veteran is among the highest-paid players at his position in the league and with all of his ailments behind him and no new ones to report, he is primed to get back to proving he is worth every penny of what the Ravens are paying him.

WR Rashod Bateman

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The former first-round pick in 2021 missed most of last offseason and was limited in training camp leading up to the 2023 season as he worked his way back from the Lisfranc foot injury that cut his breakout campaign short in 2022 after just six games. Even after the regular season got underway, he still wasn’t quite fully recovered and even when he was healthier down the stretch and consistently getting open, his chemistry with two-time MVP-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson just wasn’t consistent seemingly nonexistent at times.

Bateman eventually began to get more involved in the offense as the season went on and both outsnapped and outproduced three-time Bowl wideout Odell Beckham Jr. down the stretch and during the postseason. While he finished with just 32 receptions on 56 targets for 367 receiving yards and one touchdown, Bateman was a reliable chain mover as a possession receiver with nearly two-thirds of his catches resulting in first downs (20).

Despite his checkered injury history since entering the league, the Ravens proved they still believe in his ability to become an explosive and all-around playmaker by awarding him with an extension this offseason. Bateman is slated to an expanded role as the offense heads into year two under offensive coordinator Todd Monken which means as long as he can stay on the field during offseason practices, private workouts and training camp, 2024 could be the year he puts everything together and finally breaks out.

OLB David Ojabo

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The former second-round pick in 2022 has had a similar start to his career as Bateman in terms of showing promising flashes but has been limited by injuries. A torn Achilles suffered at his Pro day during the pre-draft process not only caused Ojabo to fall out of the first round after being a projected top-15 pick but it cost him to miss most of his rookie season. His second season was cut short after just three appearances by a partially torn ACL that eventually required season-ending surgery.

Nevertheless, Ojabo has flashed disruptive difference-making ability in the limited action he has seen on the field with two strip sacks resulting in turnovers and two quarterback hits in seven career games.

After having a lot of hype and raised expectations last offseason, there isn’t as much pressure on Ojabo heading into a pivotal year three. The Ravens brought back veteran Kyle Van Noy, drafted rookie Adisa Isaac in the third round and have a talented trio of fellow young returners in 2021 first-rounder Odafe Oweh and second-year pro Tavius Robinson and Malik Hamm. As long as he stays healthy and makes a full recovery, carving out a key role as a designated pass rusher could pave the way for a big breakout and bounce-back campaign for Ojabo in 2024.

TE Mark Andrews

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The three-time Pro Bowler was on pace to record the second-best single-season totals of his career in receiving yards (870.4), receptions (72) and receiving touchdowns (9.6) through his first 10 games after missing the season opener but fell victim to variation of the hip drop tackle on a fateful Thursday night in Week 11. Andrews underwent what was initially believed to be season-ending surgery on his injured ankle. Even though it caused him to miss the remaining six games of the regular season and the divisional round of the playoffs, the grizzly veteran worked his way back in time to appear in his first career conference championship.

While the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterbacks Aaron Rogers and Joe Burrow will be the favorites to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year, Andrews should be a strong candidate to give them some stiff competition. The emergence of third-year pro Isaiah Likely during his absence proved to the rest of the league that the Ravens have the best tight-end duo in the league and should draw more attention away from Andrews over the middle, down the seams and in the red zone. Andrews could very well be in store for the second double-digit touchdown season of his career and the first since his initial breakout year in 2019.

ILB Trenton Simpson

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The 2023 third-rounder has arguably the biggest shoes to fill on the entire team while also being poised to make the biggest leap. He is tasked with replacing former Ravens Pro Bowler and second team All-Pro Patrick Queen in the starting lineup next to two-time Pro Bowler and first team All-Pro Roquan Smith. Unlike Queen who was thrust into a full-time starting role as first-round rookie in 2020, Simpson spent the majority of his first season in the league learning behind the best inside linebacker tandem in the league last year while earning his stripes as a nearly exclusively special teams player.

Despite appearing in 15 games and only missing two as a result of a concussion, Simpson only saw the field for 46 defensive snaps as a rookie with the first handful of instances coming in the final minutes of blowouts. His most extensive playing time on defense came in the second half of the Ravens’ Week 18 finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers in which he flashed a tantalizing glimpse of what could be to come once he is inserted into the lineup as a full-time start. Simpson finished his rookie year with 13 total tackles, seven of which came in the finale along with his lone tackle for loss and first career sack.

While Simpson’s jersey number—No. 23 from No. 30—and projected spot on the depth chart have changed heading into his second year, his work ethic and mindset haven’t. According to first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr, both have risen to a new heightened level.

“Trenton’s been great since day one, and nothing has changed,” Orr said. “The things I loved about Trenton when he first got here – and we kind of knew talking to the people at Clemson and people close to him through the draft process – is that this dude is a hard worker. He’s competitive, and he’s going to do whatever he needs to do to continue to get better every single day. He did that. Even last year, when he knew the situation he was in – probably wasn’t going to play a lot, which he didn’t – he came in every day and prepared like a starter. So, when you look at the situation where he’s in a role now where he has a chance to compete for the starting job, he’s working even harder, which is crazy because he was already going 100%. So, I’ve been really impressed with him.”

WR Zay Flowers

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A strong argument could be made that the 2023 first-rounder broke out during his standout rookie season in which he broke several franchise records and quickly established himself as the Ravens’ clear-cut No. 1 receiver. He appeared in the first 16 games of the regular before sitting out of the finale and finished as the team’s leader in targets (108), receptions (77) and receiving yards (858) to go along with six touchdowns from scrimmage.

As impressive as Flowers was in year one, year two has a chance to be exponentially better now that he has a season’s worth of experience and more familiarity with the offense. After only reaching the end zone once in his first 11 career games, he scored at least one touchdown in four of his next six and eclipsed 100 receiving yards for the first in two of his last three games including a career-high 115 yards and a score in the AFC championship game.

Flowers should be favored to become the Ravens’ first 1,000 pass catcher since 2021 when they had two and he could even emerge as one of the best young receivers in the league in 2024 the more acclimated he gets and the stronger his chemistry with Jackson grows.

OLB Odafe Oweh

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The former first-round pick in 2021 has been a disruptive difference maker since entering the league whose impact can’t be encapsulated or measured by sack totals alone. Even though Oweh has yet to come close to reaching double figures in the mainstream stat, he has proved he can be consistently disruptive nonetheless with his high-pressure rates and number of pressures and has reached double figures in quarterback hits in each of his first three seasons.

An ankle injury caused Oweh to miss four games in the first half of the season but upon his return, he recorded a sack in four of his next five games and finished five which tied for the most in his career since he was a rookie. He also recorded two forced fumbles, four tackles for loss and 12 quarterback hits—second most of his career—in 13 games including five starts.

With three-time Pro Bowler Jadeveon Clowney gone back home to play for the Carolina Panthers who he signed with in free agency, Oweh is slated to be the Ravens’ starting RUSH outside linebacker opposite of Van Noy who is the best SAM option on the team. After getting his fifth-year option picked up following this year’s draft, Oweh isn’t heading into a contract year but expect him to play with tenacity and produce as if he were in 2024.

OT Ronnie Stanley

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The former All-Pro has unfortunately been dealing with and battling injuries since before the ink could even dry on the lucrative multi-year extension he signed during the 2020 season. Last season, Stanley fought through a sprained knee he suffered early in the season which caused him to miss four games and be a limited participant in others as the Ravens platooned him with veteran utility lineman Patrick Mekari in seven regular season games and in both playoff games albeit to a lesser degree. When he was healthy enough to play last year, Stanley was exceptional at times with the way he dominated in pass protection and moved in space on run plays and screens.

After agreeing to restructure his deal this offseason which included voiding the final year, Stanley is entering a contract year where he will have to prove he can not only continue playing at a high level but that he can stay on the field. If the eight-year veteran can finally put his injury woes behind him and return to form, the Ravens would likely seriously consider retaining him to continue protecting Jackson’s blindside for the foreseeable future.

OG Ben Cleveland

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The former third-round pick in 2021 has been a solid spot starter when called upon during his first three years in the league but has yet to seize a role as a full-time starter. The only extended action Cleveland saw in 2023 was when Pro Bowl right guard Kevin Zeitler missed the final two games of the regular season with a knee injury and he not only started both games but played exceptionally well. According to PFF, he was lights out in pass protection during that span, allowing just two pressures and no sacks on 64 pass-blocking snaps and he earned a career-high overall grade of 91.1 in the finale.

Heading into the final year of his rookie deal, Cleveland could be the next in a long line of Ravens mid-to-late-round offensive linemen who make the most of a chance to earn a starting job in year four and finally breakout. He played behind the last to do it, Ben Powers, with who he competed and split time as a rookie and lost outright in 2022 but now it’s his turn to maximize an opportunity to become a starter following the departure of both Ravens starting guards in 2023 in free agency.

DB Ar’Darius Washington

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The former undrafted free agent in 2021 is yet another player on this list who has flashed exciting potential when on the field but has also struggled to stay on it since entering the league. Nevertheless, the Ravens remain high on him heading into his fourth season despite having only appeared in nine career games including the playoffs, and no more than three in each of his first three seasons.

In 2023, he played in just two regular season games before suffering a chest injury that required surgery but he was able to return for the AFC title game as well. Washington appeared poised to breakout in the first couple of weeks of last season with 11 total tackles including one for a loss, his first career sack, two pass breakups and two quarterback hits in just two games.

After he went down, it was veteran Arthur Maulet who took over as the top nickel corner and rotated with 2023 All-Pro Kyle Hamilton as they both went on to have career years. Heading into 2024, Washington has a chance to continue providing depth in the slot but also seize the third safety spot vacated by Geno Stone who departed in free agency after breaking out and leading the AFC with a career-high seven interceptions. The Ravens could still and likely will add a veteran free safety between now and the start of the preseason but Washington’s versatility could give him an edge at final cutdown time as long as he stays healthy.