Analyst Targets Ravens Biggest Areas of Improvement

The Baltimore Ravens are a different team than they were last year, for better and for worse.

Nov 25, 2023; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers cornerback Nate Wiggins (2) smiles after breaking up a pass to South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor (8) during the fourth quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Clemson won 16-7. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

Like every other team in the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens have seen their fair share of change over the offseason. Some of that change is for the better, some of it is for the worse, but the bottom line is that the Ravens are a different team than this time last year.

With training camp just around the corner, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic decided to take a look at where the Ravens have gotten better, gotten worse and stayed the same compared to last season.

In the first category, he identified just two position groups, being cornerback and running back. The former even earned the title of Baltimore's "most improved position group" thanks to the addition of rookies Nate Wiggins and T.J. Tampa to complement Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens.

"The Ravens will miss [Ronald] Darby, but they needed to add high-end talent to their cornerback room — Wiggins should do that. They will need their young corners to grow up fast and Humphrey to regain his Pro Bowl form. The pieces, though, are in place," Zrebiec writes.

On the other hand, Baltimore has taken a step back at several key position groups, including inside linebacker, outside linebacker, safety and offensive line. While the offensive line has been a constant question throughout the offseason, but Zrebiec believes the state of the outside linebacker room could be even more concerning. The Ravens led the league with 60 sacks last year, but their losses on the edge could result in a noticeable step back.

"It’s a production business and the Ravens don’t have a double-digit-sack outside linebacker on the roster. For [Jadeveon] Clowney’s departure not to loom large, [Odafe] Oweh needs to graduate into an eight-to-10-sack guy and one of the young outside linebackers has to become a weekly threat. If it appears neither of those things will happen, [Eric] DeCosta will be looking at the available edge rushers before the trade deadline."

With the changes the Ravens have made over the offseason, it's fair to say that their roster is in a worse spot overall. It's still a roster capable of competing for a Super Bowl on paper, but getting there will require a lot fof things to go right.

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