NFL
By: Joey MacDonald
The Baltimore Ravens had the 1st-ranked offense in the NFL in 2024. By average closed to 425 yards pregame on both running and passing the ball, while having a two-headed monster with Quarterback Lamar Jackson, and Running Back Derrick Henry leading the way.
Now, here are the Ravens players who will lead the way in trying to duplicate that same number of yards or be better in 2025.
Quarterbacks:
Lamar Jackson
Cooper Rush
Devin Leary
The quarterback position is a no-contest by a long shot, with 2 time MVP Lamar Jackson leading the way. As long as Lamar Jackson is leading the way as quarterback for the Ravens, they will be in contention for the Super Bowl every year. But the backup quarterback situation goes like this: Cooper Rush signed a 2-year deal, will most likely back up Lamar Jackson, and he can be a solid backup for this team as well. And Devin Leary will most likely be placed on the Practice Squad.
Running Backs:
Derrick Henry
Justice Hill
Keaton Mitchell
Rasheen Ali
Patrick Richard (FB)
The Baltimore Ravens are an old-school football team when running the ball. This led them to lead the league in rushing yards per game with 187.6 yards per game on the ground. Led by Derrick Henry, who ran for over 1900 yards, while Justice Hill, who is a very underrated running back, can both run and catch the ball. Keaton Mitchell, who is looking like the 2023 version of himself after trying to get healthy back from 2023. Rasheen Ali will likely be a special teams ace.
The Fullback position is set with Patrick Ricard coming back for his 9th season with the Ravens as a bruising Fullback who can block, run, and catch the ball out of the backfield.
The Ravens will continue to be a dominant running football team, with Derrick Henry showing no signs of slowing down, and with Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchel, the Ravens will prove to the league that they are the best running team in the NFL.
Wide Receivers:
Zay Flowers
Rashod Bateman
DeAndre Hopkins
Devontez Walker
Tylan Wallace
LaJohnty Wester
The Receiving core, to me, is the strongest it has ever been since Lamar Jackson’s arrival back in 2018. Starting with the top 2 receivers in Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. Zay Flowers is coming off a season where he became the first wide receiver in Franchise history to go to the Pro Bowl as a receiver, while Rashod Bateman is coming off a career year in receiving yards with 756 yards and earned himself a 3-year contract extension. The Ravens added veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to boost their offense, giving Lamar more throwing options. Devontez Walker had an excellent preseason game against the Cowboys, which could provide OC Todd Monken with ways to get Devontez Walker involved in the offense this season. At the same time, Tylan Wallace will be the primary slot receiver in this offense and will get chances to catch some passes from Lamar Jackson in 2025. And I believe that the Ravens will keep six wide receivers on the roster and LaJohnty Wester will be the 6th and will be the primary kick-off and punt returner on special teams.
With this receiving core, Lamar Jackson can continue to show that he will be a candidate for his 3rd MVP of his career. Even if he is not a big-time name receiver on this team, the fans can be excited about the players who could catch passes from Lamar Jackson this season.
Tight Ends:
Mark Andrews
Isiah Likely
Charlie Kolar
The Tight End position on this team has three solid tight ends who can help this team win games in 2025. Mark Andrews will still lead the tight end on this team. Last season, he had a brutal drop against Buffalo that ended the Ravens’ season, but he has moved on from it and will continue to help this offense win games in 2025. Isaiah Likely, who is a very underrated tight end in the NFL, is likely going to get an extension from the Ravens before or during the season, and is a solid #2 option behind Mark Andrews. Charlie Kolar, when on the field, is an excellent blocking tight end who will get his chance on offense to get the ball in the offense and will be an asset in terms of blocking defenders.
Offensive Line:
Ronnie Stanley
Tyler Linderbaum
Roger Rosengarten
Andrew Vorhees
Daniel Faalele
Ben Cleveland
Carson Vinson
Corey Bullock
Emery Jones Jr
The starting Offensive Line is a lock with the starting 5 of Stanley, Vorhees, Linderbaum, Faalele, and Rosengarten. Now the Ravens will have to decide which players will be backups and which ones could be placed on the practice squad to start with. The most likely scenario will be either 9 or 10 Offensive linemen. One name that could be a practice squad candidate is 7th-rounder Garrett Dellinger, so if someone goes down, he could go right in and fill in when needed.
