Tag: football

Ravens 2025 Draft Preview

With the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in the super bowl last Sunday, it means fans can now officially look forward to the 2025 draft. What better way to start looking forward to next year, then analyzing the top three positions that the Ravens should focus on when evaluating draft prospects. The Ravens have 11 picks between April 24th-26th, which means they will have plenty of opportunity to bring in quality young starters and depth to compete with their young returning players.

  1. Tackle:
    Ronnie Stanley, Patrick Mekari, and Josh Jones are all pending free agents once the league year officially starts. If both Stanley and Mekari opt to sign a contract elsewhere, that means the Ravens will have two fifths of their starting offensive line to replace. With a team so heavily focused on running the football, finding quality starters to play tackle in the draft should be a major point emphasis. These players can all come in day one and compete to start on the offensive line next season:
    • Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota-The Ravens love their senior bowl players which Ersery participated in last week, and they have a history of drafting players from Minnesota. Being as Ersery fits both of these categories that the Ravens have a history with, coupled with the fact that he’s one of the top tackles in the draft who should be on the board when the Ravens draft at pick number #27, it could make sense to draft the 6’6 331 pound offensive lineman to be a plug and play day 1 starter.
    • Ozzy Trapilo, Boston College-Eric Decosta loves his Boston College players as he hails from the area so we can bet that he’s paying a close eye on Ozzy Trapilo. Trapilo has played both left tackle and right tackle during his time in college, which shows his ability to move about on the line and play multiple positions. Trapilo has been projected to be drafted between the 3-5th rounds so it could make sense for the Ravens to gain great value by drafting him in the middle rounds.
    • Jonah Monheim, USC– Monheim is projected to be drafted between the 3rd and 5th rounds and I’ve termed him the swiss army knife of the offensive line prospects. During his college career he hopped around the offensive line starting at tackle, guard, and center. Monheim could be a viable depth piece for the ravens to draft if Patrick Mekari signs elsewhere.
  2. Safety
    Ardarius Washington and Marcus Williams are both pending free agents going into the offseason. In all likelihood, Marcus Williams will not be on the Ravens roster next year. Despite the strong end of the year that Ardarius Washington had, he still has some question marks give his size. It could be a smart move to draft a player to rotate in with him during games where they need size in the secondary because they are going against a bigger wide receiver. These three players could all be worth taking a look at:
    • Kevin Winston Jr, Penn State-Winston is a local product who spent his high school years at Dematha. He’s projected to be a late first round pick to second round pick. He could be a great rotational piece to have in the secondary to put in certain packages where his size could make all the different when compared to Washington. He could be a solid starter and what better way to be a starter than for your hometown team.
    • Dante Trader, Maryland-Dante Trader is going to be a late round pick who could be a solid option for the Ravens to take with one of their multiple 6th round picks. Trader played Football and lacrosse at Maryland and is a very athletic and versatile player who could rotate in at secondary and be great on special team. As someone who watched a lot of Maryland football this past season, and saw him fly around the field I think he fits the Ravens mold.
    • Jonas Sanker, Virginia-Jonas Sanker is projected to be drafted between the 3-5th rounds of the draft and could be a great depth piece for the safety group. Sanker started every game at safety for the Cavaliers the past two season and has the ability to fly to the ball and break up passes. He could be a player similar to what they had in Deshon Elliott or Chuck Clark who comes in for a season and learns and eventually becomes the starter opposite Hamilton.
  3. Linebacker
    Linebacker should be a position the Ravens should invest in to find someone to compete with Trenton Simpson for the starting role next season. Malik Harrison is a free agent, and if he signs elsewhere, Simpson didn’t prove himself enough last year to be automatically penciled in as the starter besides Roquan. These three players could be solid options to target.
    • Jihaad Campbell, Alabama- Jihaad Campbell is projected to be a late first round pick or early second round pick in the draft in April. With Alabama great Ozzie Newsome still helping in a behind the scenes role, you can bet he’s brought Campbell up to Eric Decosta. Campbell, is very quick and athletic and can do everything form rushing the passer to dropping back into coverage. He’s very raw as he’ll be 21 during his rookie season but he could be a great player to draft to learn under Roquan Smith
    • Jack Kiser, Notre Dame-Jack Kiser was a centerpiece for the Notre Dame defense this past season. He’s a very athletic player who can be put in different spots on the field. Kiser could be valuable competition to bring in if they want to rotate a snaps with Simpson as they did with Malik Harrison towards the tail end of this past season.
    • Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon-Bassa is a physical run stuffer who could be great to put in packages in which the Ravens know their opponent will be running the ball more that game. He’s quick to get to the line of scrimmage and would be a great late round value pick to plug and play alongside Roquan Smith as they would both be intimidating and physical run stuffers.

Ravens Stories To Watch In Lead Up To Sunday

The Ravens take on their AFC North Rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Accrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. The game has many stakes as the Ravens are one game behind the Steelers in the AFC North standings. Keep an eye on these headlines this week in the lead up to what will be a very important game with playoff implications.

  1. Will we see new Cornerback TreDavious White make his Ravens debut?
    Even with the victory last week, make no mistake about it the Ravens secondary is the weakness of the team. Marlon Humprey went as far as to call them the “little brothers” when compared to the offense. The Ravens made a mid-week trade right before the deadline for Rams cornerback Tredavious White. White is a former pro bowler who’s been hampered with injuries the past few seasons. Now that White has a full week of practice, be on the lookout for him as the Ravens take the field on Sunday.
  2. Will Kyle Hamilton Play?
    Kyle Hamilton was injured last week against the Bengals which definitely hurt the defense. Hamilton is one of the Ravens best players on defense having him out this Sunday would be a big cause for concern. The Ravens had some good news today as Hamilton didn’t practice, but he was running on the side of the field with trainers for a lengthy duration today. Be on the lookout for the injury report on Friday as that will show major news on his status for Sunday.
  3. Trash Talk Between Former Teammates
    The Ravens and Steelers are going to have a family reunion of sorts as the Ravens will see their former teammates Deshon Elliot, Patrick Queen, and Jeremiah Moon and the former Steeler Diontae Johnson will be returning to Heinz field for the first time since leaving in free agency. Deshon Elliott was on Marlon Humphrey’s podcast this week and started the ball rolling to give the Ravens some bulletin board material. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any more social media smack talk in the lead up to the game on Sunday.

Storylines to Watch in Lead Up to Thursday

As the Ravens start their preparation for their Thursday night football matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, keep a close eye on these storylines prior heading into Thursday

  1. Will there be Another Trade?

The Ravens are already on the board with one trade, as they traded for Diontae Johnson last week to add another weapon to the offense. Many fans are left wondering if the team is going to make another move to bolster up their defense before the 4pm trade deadline today. It would make sense to move a draft pick to bolster up their defense for the second half of the season.

2. The Potential Return of Keaton Mitchell

John Harbaugh mentioned on Monday that “there’s a chance” running back Keaton Mitchell could be healthy in time for play on Thursday. The Ravens hit the practice field today, so if Keaton Mitchell practices that’s a very good sign that he’ll be suiting up for his 2024 debut on Thursday. Mitchell had an impressive rookie season that was cut short by injury but he should be a nice compliment to Derrick Henry in the run game.

3. Who’s Playing For the Bengals?

The Bengals are coming into this game with a plethora of injuries to starters on their offense and defense. Sam Hubbard, Geno Stone and BJ Hill were limited in practice on Monday for the defense and Tee Higgins and Orlando Brown Jr were both inactive on Sunday due to injuries. As the Bengals take the field for practice today, keep a close eye on who they have out there just two days before game time.

Perfect Day Leads to Ravens Win

After a slow first quarter, the Baltimore Ravens woke up in the late 2nd and 3rd quarters in route to a 41-10 thumping of the Denver Broncos at M&T Bank stadium yesterday.

The first quarter started out slow, as both teams offense exchanged a possession. However the Ravens eventually found the end zone first as Derrick Henry (who ended the game with 106 yards on 23 carries) punched in a touchdown with just over two minutes left in the first quarter. The Broncos responded with a long drive of their own in which was capped off by a Bo Nix Touchdown reception with 7 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.

After the Bo Nix touchdown, The Ravens defense stepped up and made the stops they made it and the offense took over the game. Lamar Jackson led the Ravens offense down the field and ended that on a Zay Flowers 10-yard touchdown reception to put the Ravens up 17-7 with 4 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. After the Broncos tacked on three more points to narrow the score to 17-10 with 58 second left in the half, Zay Flowers and Lamar Jackson were able to connect again on another touchdown. Zay Flowers used his shifty skills and speed to get in the end zone and extend the Ravens lead to 24-10 going into halftime.

The Ravens carried that momentum into the third quarter as Derrick Henry led the charge and capped off the opening drive of the third quarter with an 8 yard touchdown run to go up 31-10. After the Ravens defense stopped the Broncos offense, the scoring continued as they marched down the field and ended the next drive on a Patrick Ricard touchdown reception to go up 38-10. The Ravens starters on offense had one more drive after the Ricard touchdown and ended that next drive and the ended the scoring for the day on a Justin Tucker field goal to go up 41-10.

The Ravens (6-3) have a short week as the Cincinnati Bengals (4-5), who are riding a three game win streak, come to M&T Bank Stadium in a primetime matchup on Thursday Night Football.

Ravens Trade for Diontae Johnson

The Baltimore Ravens made a move today trading a 5th round pick in the 2025 draft to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for WR Diontae Johnson and a 6th round pick in the 2025 draft.


The move comes as a little bit of a surprise as Johnson, 28, is in his first year playing for the Panthers after spending the first five years of his career playing for their AFC North Rivals in Pittsburgh. Johnson was brought in to Carolina to put some weapons around Bryce Young and so far this season has hauled in 30 receptions for 357 yards while catching three touchdowns


For the Ravens, this trade brings in a productive receiver who’s been a reliable target every year since he was drafted. Johnson is familiar with the physical AFC North defense that Ravens will face down the stretch, and will be yet another weapon for the Lamar that will keep opposing defenses on their toes.

Ravens Storylines to Watch This Week

As the Ravens start preparing for the Denver Broncos, below are three storylines keep your eyes on this week leading up to Sunday:

  1. Health of defensive lineman: Brent Urban (concussion) and Michael Pierce (Calf) both went down last Sunday and couldn’t return. Those are two big bodies that are going to be day by day when it comes to practicing his week. The Ravens made a practice squad signing yesterday as they signed Josh Tupou, who spend time with them during the offseason. The fact that they made him a practice squad signing as opposed to the roster is a positive as it may mean he would be an emergency elevation if either Urban or Pierce isn’t ready to go
  2. Status of Cornerbacks: The status of Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins are both up in the air in terms of practicing this week. In his press conference on Monday, John Harbaugh didn’t mention that Nate Wiggins is dealing with an illness that may sideline him from practice. If the Ravens make an elevation involving one of the cornerbacks on the practice squad (Anthony Kendall and Bump Cooper) then it may not be a good sign for our secondary going into Sunday.
  3. Potential Trade: Marcus Williams was a healthy scratch on Sunday due to a “personnel decision”. John Harbaugh said after the game that Williams would be playing some good football for them this season. Although they’re not making a story out of the decision, Williams is highly paid and could be a solid trade option to send him and his contract in exchange for a pass rusher. This would also free up space for the team to bring in a free agent cornerback currently on the market like Xavien Howard.

The Ravens have the day off today and will get back to the practice field tomorrow as they prepare to face a young Denver Broncos team 1pm on Sunday.

Ravens Drop an Ugly Game in Cleveland

Ravens struggle on defense, suffer tough loss to Browns 29-24

Drops.

If we’re finding one word to sum up the Ravens 29-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns yesterday, that one word alone can sum up the whole game. Drops on offense, big drops on defense, which culminated in the Ravens dropping the game.

The day started out as with Lamar Jackson commanding the offense down the field until Derrick Henry was stopped on a 4th and 1 on the Browns 10 yard line off a running back direct snap. The Browns used that momentum to propel their offense down the field and end the drive with a field goal to take the lead. The rest of the first half was back in forth, both offenses being stopped and while tacking in a field goal for each respective side. The first touchdown of the game came with 24 seconds left in the first half as Kyle Hamilton sacked Jameis Winston and forced a fumble on the Browns own 20. This led to a Lamar Jackson to Nelson Agholor 10-yard touchdown pass to help the Ravens take a 10-6 lead going into halftime.

The second half saw the Jameis Winston led Brown drive down the field and end it with a David Njoku 25-yard touchdown catch. A play in which he wrestled the ball away Ravens safety Eddie Jackson (who had a day to forget). The Ravens followed up as they had a long drive of their own ending in a Mark Andrews touchdown to put the Ravens up 17-13 with 4:33 left in the third quarter. After the Browns followed with a score drive of their own to take the lead back 20-17, this is where missed opportunities became the story of the day.

Rashod Bateman dropped a ball off a 60 yard throw by Lamar Jackson that would have been a big swing in the game. Eddie Jackson had two dropped interceptions that were even highlighted by the announcers. Despite the Ravens having so many missed opportunities, they still had a 24-23 lead with less than three minutes left in the game. But just as Ravens fans were beginning to think the mistakes couldn’t get any worse, Kyle Hamilton dropped game ending interception with a minute on the clock. But as is the story of the game, the drop lead to a Browns touchdown on the very next play and led to the Ravens dropping the game 29-24.

The Ravens have some soul searching to do this week as the Denver Broncos (5-3) led by rookie Bo Nix come to Baltimore next Sunday at 1pm.