NFL Team Preview: 2020 Baltimore Ravens

BY ADAM GREENE

Key Additions: DE Calais Campbell (free agent), DE Derek Wolfe (free agent), RG D.J. Fluker

2020 NFL Draft: LB Patrick Queen, LSU (round 1), RB J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State (round 2), DT Justin Madubulke, Texas A&M (round 3), WR Devin Duvernay, Texas (round 3), LB Malik Harrison, Ohio State (round 3), OG Tyre Phillips, Mississippi State (round 3), OG Ben Bredeson, Michigan (round 4), DT Broderick Washington, Texas Tech (round 5), WR James Proche, Southern Methodist (round 6), S Geno Stone, Iowa (round 7)

Projected Offensive Starters: QB Lamar Jackson, RB Mark Ingram, WR Marquise Brown, WR Willie Snead, WR Miles Boykin, TE Mark Andrews, LT Ronnie Stanley, LG Bradley Bozeman, C Matt Skura, RG D.J. Fluker, RT Orlando Brown Jr.

Projected Defensive Starters: LDE Derek Wolfe, NT Brandon Williams, RDE Calais Campbell, WLB Matthew Judon, LILB L.J. Fort, RILB Patrick Queen, SLB Jaylon Ferguson, LCB Marlon Humphrey, RCD Marcus Peters, SS Chuck Clark, FS Earl Thomas III

PK: Justin Tucker

P: Sam Koch

Head Coach: John Harbaugh

2019 Record: 14-2, 1^st place AFC North

A Look Back: While plenty of people thought the Baltimore Ravens would be good in 2019, even a playoff team, no one expected them to finish 14-2 and take home field advantage in the AFC. Of course, that did them little good as they were ousted by the upstart Tennessee Titans in the divisional round.

On the way to that record, second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson picked up the NFL’s MVP award and has now landed on the cover of Madden 21.

2020 Projection: Alright. Before you start Tweeting at me incensed at my evaluation of the most exciting player Baltimore has had on its football team since Ray Lewis, please understand something. I am not Bill Polian. I am not invested in Lamar Jackson failing as an NFL quarterback. He seems like a good and likable guy. He had an elite all-around season last year and, I said it before the 2018 NFL Draft; He’s the guy that makes every scout’s “QB ceiling” predictions meaningless because there was no quarterback, or player in that draft, with a higher ceiling than Lamar Jackson. And I’m one of the few prognosticators that even had him as a first round pick.

But in spite of all his physical tools, which are elite, Jackson has regularly made a habit of not showing up in big games. It happened in his three years at Louisville and now, in back to back playoff runs, it’s happened in the NFL. At Louisville, in spite of pocketing a Heisman Trophy, Jackson was 1-8 against ranked teams. He went 1-2 in bowl games with his only win came against an unranked Texas A&M team as a freshman. And he went 0-3 against Clemson.

The Ravens were a significant favorite over the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round and the game should not have been close. And it wasn’t. The Titans won 28-12 and the Ravens only reached double digits once the game was already realistically over.

The film is out now not only on what Jackson can do, but how you can stop it. Every “new” offense runs into this. It happened with Sean McVay in Los Angeles just last year. You must be able to adapt and grow as a team and as a player.

There’s no reason Jackson and the Ravens can’t do that and he can’t move past the big game problems, but it’s not going to happen this year. This is the year they have to grind and figure it out.

Projected 2020 final record: 9-7. Right now their over/under is at 11.5 with a -115 payout on either side. A 5-9 win bet pays at +140. 

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