Breaking down the integral roles and starting jobs up for grabs and who is in contention for them heading into the 2024 season.
While veterans still have a little over a week before they have to report, the Baltimore Ravens 2024 training camp is officially underway. The rookie class was the first in the league to report on Saturday which means it’s time to go over the top position battles to watch for ahead of the upcoming season.
Training camp is where not only roster spots are earned but where starting jobs and integral replacement roles are won as well. The Ravens are firm believers in competition and players who dominate or at least consistently perform in practice and exhibition contests over the next month and a half will be the ones who start and see the field regularly.
With all the above in mind, here are the top five position battles to watch for in the Ravens 2024 training camp.
Offensive Guard
Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images
After letting veterans John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler walk in free agency and sign with other contenders, the Ravens have vacancies at both starting spots next Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum heading into camp. The only notable addition they added to the competition for one or both spots during the offseason was versatile veteran John Simpson who has been at his best at tackle. They showed their faith in the young in-house options by opting not to prioritize taking an interior lineman early in the 2024 NFL Draft although they did select rookie Nick Samac who will serve as the backup center in the seventh round.
The top candidates to replace Zeitler at right guard are 2021 third-rounder Ben Cleveland who is the presumptive favorite heading into the final year of his rookie deal, Jones and perhaps one of their developmental linemen currently being cross-trained or have experience at both guard and tackle.
Meanwhile, the top candidates who will be competing to replace Simpson in the lineup in addition to Jones are a pair of late-round picks from last year’s NFL Draft who possess a lot of potential and show promise. Seventh-rounder Andrew Vorhees is viewed as the presumptive favorite but he missed his entire rookie season recovering from a torn ACL whereas sixth-rounder Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu competed with Simpson for this spot last year. Even though he ultimately didn’t win the spot as a rookie, he got to spend the whole 2023 season on the active roster as a reserve, getting the developmental time many believed he needed after being viewed as a very raw but moldable prospect coming out of the University of Oregon.
While skill players on both sides of the ball can begin turning heads and building momentum during the Organized Team Activities in the offseason, jobs in the trenches are earned once the pads come on in training camp. Neither guard spot will be won in the first two weeks of the full team being together. However, throughout training camp and the preseason, one or more candidates can begin separating themselves with their consistency in practice and preseason games as Simpson did last year and Ben Powers did before him to win the left guard spot. Whoever wins the starting right guard spot will have big shoes to fill given how much of a leader and stabilizing force Zeitler was for the past three years.
Right Tackle
Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images
The Ravens traded veteran stalwart Morgan Moses as part of their effort to rebuild the offensive line this offseason and he will be joining Simpson as a member of the New York Jets. After being an Iron Man for most of his career, Moses began dealing with injuries last year, missing two games and having to rotate in six others as a result of dealing with a torn pectoral. In an effort to get younger up front and free up some cap space to make other moves, the Ravens decided it was time to move on even though Moses was on a steal of a deal for the leadership and high level of play he provided when healthy.
Heading into training camp, the top two candidates in contention to replace him along with Jones who can play every spot but center are third-year pro Daniel Faalele and rookie Roger Rosengarten. Both players possess alluring physical and athletic traits that they will be able to showcase fully in their battle to win a starting job.
Faalele is the most experienced of the two although not by much as he only has one career start under his belt and it came at left tackle in his rookie season. However, the 2022 fourth-rounder has seen the field in NFL regular and postseason games as both an extra blocker in heavy formations and as in a rotation with Moses in the second half of last season.
Rosengarten was selected in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Washington where he played right tackle but was essentially the blindside protector of left-handed quarterback Michael Penix. He has the potential to be the left tackle of the future depending on what happens with former All Pro Ronnie Stanley after this upcoming season but winning the starting right tackle job is his quickest and clearest path to playing time in year one barring injury. While Faalele is by far the larger and more physically imposing of the two of them, Rosengarten is the more athletic and agile, making him a better scheme fit for offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s scheme.
Unless one of these two youngsters can comfortably separate themselves with consistent performances while the other struggles to do so, this competition will likely go down to the wire and won’t be decided until the preseason finale or later.
No. 3 Safety
Perry Knotts/Getty Images
The Ravens have what many pundits believe is the best starting safety tandem in the league with First Team All Pro Kyle Hamilton and veteran ballhawk Marcus Williams. However, their depth chart behind them is shallow and unproven following the loss of the 2023 team and AFC interceptions leader, Geno Stone, in free agency.
Replacing him with as close to a comparable talent is paramount to the continued success and diversity of the Ravens’ scheme under first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr. When Stone was able to come onto the field for three safety packages or start in place of Williams when he was out with injury, it freed up Hamilton to emerge as the most versatile and disruptive defender in the league.
Thankfully this year’s free agent surplus position ahead of training camp is at safety so the Ravens don’t have to put all of their eggs in the in-house basket but they will give their young players the first crack at earning this integral rotational role.
The leading candidate as it currently stands heading into camp is fourth-year pro Ar’Darius Washington. A former undrafted free agent in 2021, he has flashed exciting and physical playmaking potential every time he has seen the field but his struggles to stay healthy have held him back from emerging as another dangerous hybrid safety and slot defender.
Proving he can stay on the field is more important for Washington than making the occasional splash play in practice or games because the team knows he possesses the talent to play at this level, durability is his only concern. If he can’t seize this opportunity, it will open the door for a pair of undrafted rookies with local ties to potentially usurp him. Beau Brade played at the University of Maryland and Jordan Toles played at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Corner Depth
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
After doubling down with a pair of top 50-100 in the 2024 NFL Draft with the selections of Nate Wiggins in the first round and T.J. Tampa in the fourth, the Ravens have the deepest cornerback depth chart not just in the division but arguably the entire league. Unfortunately for those who were already heading into pivotal offseasons and training camps, greater depth makes earning a roster spot let alone a role outside of special teams even more difficult.
With that in mind, the four players with the best odds or earn the last one or two spots left on the depth chart to give the Ravens six or seven include the following: third-year pros Jalyn Armour-Davis and Damarion Williams and veterans Ka’dar Hollman and Trayvon Mullen.
As has been the case with Washington, injuries have prevented Armour-Davis and Williams from cementing themselves as key depth pieces and even earning significant roles on defense after being taken in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. They each have shown promise when available but neither has been able to stay healthy enough to make a name for themselves.
During last year’s training camp, Armour-Davis was in the running for the starting spot opposite of three-time Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey and Williams for the starting nickel spot but both weren’t able to stay on the field and couldn’t remain in contention. Instead, both Brandon Stephens and veteran Arthur Maulet went on to have career years serving in those exact roles.
Mullen is the cousin of starting quarterback Lamar Jackson and the most experienced of the bunch with 31 starts in 46 career games from 2019-2022. A toe injury caused him to miss the entire 2023 season but when healthy, he is capable of being a quality depth piece and special teams contributor. Meanwhile, Hollman has primarily played special teams during his career with just two starts in 35 career games and 426 snaps in the third phase of the game compared to just 213 on defense during that time.
Outside of health, preseason performances on special teams and going up against wide receivers they aren’t accustomed to lining up across from and competing with every day could wind up being the ultimate deciding factor in this battle.
Edge Depth
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
The top five spots on the Ravens’ outside linebacker depth chart are locked up by veteran Kyle Van Noy, fourth-year pro Odafe Oweh, third-year pro David Ojabo, second-year pro Tavius Robinson and third-round rookie Adisa Isaac. This likely leaves just one more spot up for jobs if they opt to keep six and not be content with just five. Battling out for the sixth and likely final spot on the depth chart at this position is a pair of undrafted free agents, second-year pro Malik Hamm and rookie Joe Evans.
After balling out in training camp, joint practices and the preseason as a rookie last year, Hamm was one of two undrafted rookies to make the Ravens’ initial 53-man roster. He was placed on injured reserve shortly after that and would remain there for his entire first season despite briefly being allowed to practice during a 21-day before reverting to season-ending injured reserve.
Evans hails from a more prestigious college program and was a prolific pass rusher for the University of Iowa defense. He led or tied for the lead in sacks for the Hawkeyes in the past three years and totaled 28 in his career including a career-high 9.5 last season. He also possesses not just positional but two-way versatility as a fullback. Even though the Ravens are all-set with four-time Pro Bowler Patrick Ricard, being able to contribute in all three phases if needed could only further bolster Evans’ case when the final cutdown rolls around.
This competition will also likely go down to the wire and be decided by who can prove to be the most complete player on the edge against both as a pass rusher and edge setter in the run game in addition to special teams prowess.