Baltimore Ravens Depth Chart 2018 Ravens Depth Chart

Preseason Analysis: Ravens Starters Will Be Tested

Baltimore’s offense has been in a rut for a few years now, and they have made a few offseason additions hoping they can fix it. It feels more like a band aid at the moment, but a receiving core of Michael Crabtree, John Brown, Willie Snead, and Chris Moore have a higher ceiling than the 2017 core of Mike Wallace, Jeremy Maclin, and Breshad Perriman. If Brown can stay healthy, him and Crabtree are not a bad duo to have as wideouts. Crabtree should lead the team in targets after being cut by the Raiders. After Crabtree, Brown should step in see a steady dose of targets, but injuries have plagued him in the past. Willie Snead moved on from New Orleans, and there isn’t much faith in him heading to Baltimore. Drafting Lamar Jackson was an interesting move this year, and while he won’t start ahead of Joe Flacco, it leaves us pondering for the future. The Ravens continue to have these nightmare fantasy scenarios at tight end and running back. That likely will be the case this season, as Kenneth Dixon and Alex Collins battle each other for snaps. Javorius Allen would likely get in the mix too. Baltimore went on to draft two tight ends, Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews. Hurst is a talented offensive weapon, but snaps and targets could be scarce.

The 2018 NFL season will be a very interesting one for the Baltimore Ravens. While the Ravens have been one of the most successful franchises over the past 15 years, which included two Super Bowl wins, the Ravens have struggled the past three years while failing to make the playoffs each season. During 2017, the Ravens finished 9 and 7 and lost the Wild Card tiebreaker to the Buffalo Bills after losing the last game of the season on a final second touchdown. As the 2018 season approaches, there is plenty of reason for optimism with the Ravens with several interesting storylines going on. One of the most interesting storylines that the Ravens will be facing during the season is the possible transition of the quarterback position. Joe Flacco has been the starting quarterback for the team for the past 10 years and is also a Super Bowl champion. However, he has struggled over the past few years and the team is apparently looking to transition the position.

During the NFL Draft this offseason, the Ravens ended up trading up in the draft to select quarterback Lamar Jackson with the number 32 overall pick. Jackson is a former Heisman Trophy winner and is a very athletic player with the ability to move out of the pocket. This is much different than Flacco who is more used to passing out of the pocket. While Flacco is likely to be the starter at the beginning of the season, Jackson will likely get some playing time and could take over the starting duties if Flacco struggles. The signing of Jackson was just one of several moves made that show the team is gearing up to be more athletic on offense. Earlier in the first round of the draft, the Ravens selected tight end Hayden Hurst out of South Carolina. Hurst was considered one of the top tight ends in the country last year and he has the ability to either lineup next to a tackle or in a slot position. The Ravens also went out and invested heavily in wide receiver Michael Crabtree, which will help the team to open up the field and move the ball quickly. The Ravens traditionally have been very well known for their defense. This year, the team plans to be more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball in the hopes of forcing more bad passes and getting more turnovers. Veteran Terrell Suggs, who has been one of the top defenders in the league for a long time, will once again lead the revamped defense.