2024 NFL roster rankings: Strengths, weaknesses and X factors for every starting lineup
Jim Wyman & Dalton Wasserman, PFF
Biggest strength in 2023: Ground Game
The Ravens’ ground attack was scary enough when defenses had to deal with Lamar Jackson and any slew of middle-of-the-pack running backs Baltimore decided to feature. Now, they have to account for Derrick Henry as well. While Henry is getting up there in age, (he will be 30 years old when the season starts), he showed last season he still has something left in the tank, as his 90.1 PFF grade was the second-highest mark of his career. Jackson, on the other hand, continued to prove he’s the most exciting player in the league, as his 90.8 rushing grade and 975 rushing yards helped lead him to his second MVP award in 2023.
Biggest weakness in 2023: Wide Receiver
Aside from second-year receiver Zay Flowers, the Ravens have zero playmakers at the wide receiver position. Rashod Bateman hasn’t developed the way the team hoped, and Deonte Harty is more of a return specialist than an actual receiving threat. While the Ravens will likely continue to rely on the ground game, having a receiver who can keep opposing defenses honest will make things run much more smoothly. Don’t rule out the team adding at the position before the season, though, as they added Odell Beckham Jr. late in the process last offseason.
X-factor for 2024: G Andrew Vorhees
Andrew Vorhees is an interesting story, as despite tearing his ACL during the NFL combine, he still elected to do the bench press anyway and put up 38 reps, the most among offensive linemen in attendance. Despite being projected to go as early as Day 2, Vorhees fell to the seventh round (231st overall) thanks to the injury. His misfortune may be Baltimore’s gain, though, as the Ravens were able to stash him away while he recovered, and he now appears set to take over the starting left guard job. Vorhees’ recovery is critical, as outside of Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum, the Ravens are pretty thin on the offensive line and will be relying on some unproven commodities in other spots.
Rookie to watch: WR Devontez Walker
Due to how thin the Ravens’ receiving room is, there is ample opportunity for someone to step up and steal a starting role and Devontez Walker seems most primed to make that leap. At one point considered a first-round prospect, Walker fell to the fourth round after an inconsistent 2023 that saw him miss time due to NCAA eligibility issues. Walker ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash so he has the speed to take the top off defenses and make plays for this Ravens offense.
Ranking the NFL’s Backup QBs of 2024: Nos. 32–1
Gilberto Manzano, Sports Illustrated
29. Josh Johnson, Baltimore Ravens
Johnson has played for 14 NFL teams and is currently in the midst of his second stint with the Ravens. Johnson has had his fair share of impressive games, but at age 38, he might not have much left if he’s needed to step in for Lamar Jackson this season.
Revisiting Dane Brugler’s initial 2024 NFL Draft top 50 board
Dane Brugler, The Athletic
12. Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
Final ranking: No. 24
Where he was drafted: No. 30 (Baltimore Ravens)
With his elite speed and fluid movements, Wiggins earned a sky-high grade in my initial rankings. That outlook changed slightly throughout the season because of my concerns that Wiggins’ skinny, underpowered body type might become more of a problem versus NFL-level physicality. Even so, Wiggins has the athletic tools to quickly become a blanket corner in the NFL.
Ravens Sign Two Veteran Defensive Linemen
Matt Ryan, BaltimoreRavens.com
Baltimore is adding some size. The Ravens have signed defensive tackle Deadrin Senat and nose tackle Josh Tupou to their 90-man roster.
Senat, 6-foot-1 and 305 pounds, was a third-round pick by the Falcons in 2018. He spent three seasons in Atlanta before being released. He signed with the Buccaneers in 2022, where he was on the practice squad and active roster for two seasons. In 37 career games, Senat has 52 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery.
After playing six seasons for the Bengals, Tupou is staying in the AFC North. The 6-foot-3, 340-pound lineman signed with Cincinatti after going undrafted in the 2017 draft. He has played every season since, besides 2020 when he sat out due to the pandemic. He has 23 starts in 65 games, with 86 tackles, six quarterback hits, two sacks and one forced fumble.
Ravens, still bitter over AFC title-game loss vs. Chiefs, will let it fuel 2024 season
Chris Bumbaca, USA Today
“We don’t forget for sure – and try to improve,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. “It’s always going to be part of (us).”
The Ravens drew the Chiefs in the NFL’s opening game of the 2024 regular season.For Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, the 2023 league MVP who was 20-for-37 with a touchdown, interception and fumble against the Chiefs, it didn’t matter who the Ravens had on the schedule. He knows that true revenge is only possible in the postseason.
The Ravens scored their lone touchdown of the championship game in the first quarter and managed a fourth-quarter field goal the rest of the way. Baltimore’s defense kept Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs off the board in the second half.
“We just have to finish,” Jackson said. “We have to find a way to move the ball in the right direction and put points on the board because our defense did their thing the whole night.”
Wide receiver Zay Flowers still thinks about the game.
“Honestly, I still haven’t gotten over it,” he said.