Leading up to kickoff of the 2026 NFL season, TeamFB7 went in-depth on each team from its strengths and weaknesses to breakout players, intriguing rookies and overall predictions. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the Baltimore Ravens.
Lamar Jackson is already a two-time NFL MVP and finished second in the voting another year. He’s already the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback (6,522 and counting entering 2026). Quite simply, he’s must-watch entertainment every week.
But there is still a major missing piece to his resume.
Jackson is just 3-5 career in the playoffs in eight seasons and has only been past the divisional round once (losing in the AFC championship game to the Kansas City Chiefs after the 2023 season, while throwing an interception and fumbling in that defeat).
Jackson is as a talented as any quarterback in the league and not just for his dual-threat abilities. He enters 2026 with 187 passing touchdowns and 56 interceptions — a stellar ratio — and has led the league in yards per passing attempt, passer rating and QBR two seasons ago.
But ultimately, his legacy will be judged in large part on his postseason resume, which means the pressure is mounting each year.
Last season was a lost year for Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. An early-season hamstring strain and late-season back injury limited him to 13 games and sapped his rushing output as Baltimore missed the playoffs entirely.
The team fired head coach John Harbaugh after 18 seasons, 180 wins and a Super Bowl title (from the 2012 season) and hired Jesse Minter, a former Ravens assistant coach who was excellent as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator the last two seasons. The Ravens then pried young offensive coordinator Declan Doyle away from the Bears.
The new-look Ravens couldn’t have looked much better in their debut, a 41-23 win at the Colts in which they held a 506-251 advantage in offensive yards, forced 2 turnovers, Jackson threw for 324 yards and a TD and rushed for 40 yards and a score and Derrick Henry rumbled for 144 yards and 3 TDs.
Is this the season the Ravens and Jackson breakthrough in the playoffs? There’s plenty of reason to see that potential.
Baltimore Ravens Reset
2025 Finish: 8-9, missed playoffs
Head Coach: Jesse Minter, first season (Chargers DC last two seasons)
Hot Seat Meter (0-10): 0
Offensive Coordinator: Declan Doyle, first season (Bears OC last season)
Defensive Coordinator: Anthony Weaver, first season (previously DC for Texans and Dolphins)
Best Offseason Move: Signing EDGE Trey Hendrickson
The Ravens went into the offseason prioritizing the need to upgrade their pass rush after ranking 12th in sacks (45) last season.
First, they pulled off a trade for Raiders star edge rusher Maxx Crosby before (somewhat controversially) backing out of that deal over concerns about Crosby’s surgically repaired knee after his trade-mandated physical exam.
Baltimore then quickly pivoted to signing Trey Hendrickson to a four-year, $112-million contract with $60 million guaranteed.
The former Bengals star also has some injury concerns after being limited to seven games in 2025 due to a hip/pelvis injury that required core muscle surgery. But no player in the NFL had more sacks over the 2023-24 seasons than Hendrickson’s 35, and he finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024.
Because of the clunky handling of the Crosby matter, Hendrickson is now set to be compared against the Raiders star this season and moving forward.
But either way, the Ravens made a major move to upgrade an already solid defense.
Worst Offseason Move: Not having a better plan to replace Pro Bowl C Tyler Linderbaum
It’s understandable that the Ravens didn’t match the Raiders’ free agent offer for the three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, as Las Vegas gave him a three-year, fully guaranteed $81-million contract that set a new record for the position.
That’s a lot of money to pay a center.
The criticism here is that Baltimore had no obvious plan to replace Linderbaum.
The Ravens didn’t sign a mid-level free agent, nor did they draft one of the notable center prospects available in April.
Instead, they enter the season relying on Jovaughn Gwyn, a seventh-round draft pick of the Falcons in 2023 who played 18 games with 0 starts over his first three seasons. Behind Gwyn is Ethan Pocic, who didn’t sign with the team until late July. He sustained a torn Achilles tendon in Week 14 last season for the Cleveland Browns, but he was healthy enough to compete for the job in camp, losing out to Gwyn.
Baltimore Ravens Roster Breakdown
Biggest Strength: QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry
When Jackson is a factor with his legs as well as his arm, the Ravens are one of the toughest teams to scheme for in the league.
They already have a potent rushing attack led by the ageless Henry, who enters 2026 as the NFL’s active leader in career rushing yards by a wide margin with 13,018 (10th all-time) and 122 rushing TDs. In fact, he’s the only active running back in the top 40 on the career rushing list,
Henry may be 32 years old (ancient by RB standards), yet he still finished a narrow second in the NFL last season with 1,595 rushing yards (and 16 TDs).
(Update: Henry added 144 rushing yards and 3 TDs in the season opener.)
When Jackson is also a threat to take off with the ball, the Ravens’ offense goes to the next level. The big question for the team in 2026 is whether he will return to his former rushing volume and clearly looking hesitant to run last year after his early hamstring injury. He finished with only 67 attempts for 349 yards and 2 TDs in 13 games after rushing lines of 148-821-5 in 2023 and 139-915-4 in 2024.
(Update: Jackson rushed 7 times for 40 yards and a TD in the opener — an encouraging sign).
Biggest Weakness: EDGE and WR depth
We the addition of Hendrickson to provide a boost on the edge, but the depth there is still underwhelming — especially if Hendrickson doesn’t return to his pre-injury form.
The Ravens’ other top edge rushers are Tavious Robinson (9 sacks over his first three seasons), second-round draft pick Zion Young (out of Missouri; listed as a second-teamer) and Mike Green (3.5 sacks as a rookie second-round pick last year).
There’s talent and untapped potential there, but just not a lot of bankable proven production behind Hendrickson.
As for wide receiver, it looked like the Ravens addressed their need for better upside behind WR1 Zay Flowers with two potential draft steals in third-round pick Ja’Kobi Lane out of USC and fourth-rounder Elijah Sarratt out of Indiana.
But Lane fractured his wrist in the season opener and Sarratt was a healthy scratch.
That leaves sixth-year veteran Rashod Bateman as the WR2 after an underwhelming 2025 campaign in which he had just 19 catches for 224 yards and 2 TDs in 13 games. He then went catch-less with just 1 target in the opener.
Flowers was electric in his season debut with 5 catches for 150 yards and a TD, but he’s now day-to-day after tweaking his hamstring and the only other WR with multiple catches Sunday for the Ravens was LaJohntay Wester (2 catches for 15 yards).
Most Intriguing Rookie: RG Vega Ioane
Vega Ioane, out of Penn State, was widely considered the top true offensive guard in the draft (although the Giants drafted Miami left tackle Francis Mauigoa and turned him into a guard). The Ravens picked him at No. 14 to fortify their run-blocking and play to their strengths with Henry and Jackson, and he opens as the team’s starter at right guard.
The early returns are encouraging.
Lane would have shared the headline at this spot after a terrific preseason if not for the unfortunate Week 1 injury.
Breakout Player: EDGE Mike Green
We called the depth at edge rusher one of the Ravens’ weaknesses, but that perspective would change greatly if Green has the kind of breakout season many in and around the team believe is possible.
Green led all FBS players in sacks with 17 in 2024 at Marshall, and he may have been considered a fringe first-round draft prospect if not for two sexual assault allegations — in high school and again at Virginia, which led to his transfer to Marshall. Green denied any wrongdoing, was never formally charged and the Ravens said they did a thorough investigation of their own before selecting him with the No. 59 overall pick.
Weaver, the Ravens’ new defensive coordinator, believes Green has the potential to be a force for the team in his second NFL season.
If that happens, that assuages one of Baltimore’s major roster concerns.
MVP Pick: QB Lamar Jackson
Jackson is absolutely one of the preseason favorites to win what would be his third MVP award and put him in historic standing as only six players have achieved that feat.
It’s a regular-season award so it’s not predicated on Jackson having his long-awaited postseason breakthrough either.
2026 Baltimore Ravens Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) |
| Week 1, Sept. 13 | at Indianapolis Colts | 1 p.m. |
| Week 2, Sept. 20 | vs. New Orleans Saints | 1 p.m. |
| Week 3, Sept. 27 (in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) | vs Dallas Cowboys | 4:25 p.m. |
| Week 4, Oct. 4 | vs. Tennessee Titans | 1 p.m. |
| Week 5, Oct. 11 | at Atlanta Falcons | 8:20 p.m. |
| Week 6, Oct. 18 | at Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m. |
| Week 7, Oct. 25 | vs. Cincinnati Bengals | 1 p.m. |
| Week 8, Nov. 1 | at Buffalo Bills | 1 p.m. |
| Week 9, Nov. 5 (Thursday) | vs. Jacksonville Jaguars | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 10, Nov. 16 (Monday) | vs. Los Angeles Chargers | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 11, Nov. 22 | at Carolina Panthers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 12, Nov. 29 | at Houston Texans | 1 p.m. |
| Week 13 | BYE WEEK | |
| Week 14, Dec. 13 | vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 15, Dec. 20 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 16, Dec. 27 | vs. Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m. |
| Week 17, Dec. 31 (Thursday) | at Cincinnati Bengals | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 18, TBD (Flex Game) | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | TBD |
Baltimore Ravens Season Prediction And Parting Thoughts
Season Prediction: 13-4
While some may have been surprised by the move to fire Harbaugh after 18 seasons, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti had clearly been thinking about it for some time and also perhaps rued not making a move earlier to promote former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald before he left to take over the Seahawks, leading them to the Super Bowl last year.
Minter was on staff with Macdonald from 2017-20, working his way up to defensive backs coach before joining Jim Harbaugh as DC at Michigan (winning a national title) and then following him to the Chargers.
The Ravens probably did need a fresh start and reset, and Minter was an excellent hire who can elevate a still-talented defense that fell to 24th in the NFL last season (354.5 YPG) and 18th in scoring (23.4 PPG allowed).
Baltimore signed 40-year-old defensive lineman Calais Campbell (still productive with 43 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 9 TFLs last season in Arizona) to pair with two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnambdi Madubuike and veteran nose tackle Travis Jones on the interior of the defensive line.
Linebacker Roquan Smith is a four-time Pro Bowl and three-time first-team All-Pro (two-time second-team) selection who felt he had a down season in 2025 and is motivated to reassert himself this year.
Versatile hybrid safety/nickel Kyle Hamilton has made three straight Pro Bowls and earned his second first-team All-Pro honor last season with 105 tackles, 7 TFLs, 9 passes defended and 2 forced fumbles. He pairs with free agent safety addition Jaylinn Hawkins, who was excellent for the Patriots last year with 71 tackles, 4 interceptions and 6 PDs, and 2025 first-round pick Malaki Starks to lead that unit.
And cornerback is anchored by returning starters Marlon Humphrey, a four-time Pro Bowl and two-time first-team All-Pro selection (as recently as 2024) who has 10 INTs, 28 PDs and 4 forced fumbles over the last season, and Nate Wiggins (76 tackles, 3 INTS, 14 PDs last year).
The Ravens have the talent to finish as both a top 5 defense and offense in 2026 if everything comes together.
There’s a reason Baltimore has the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl (+900, per DraftKings Sportsbook), as updated after Week 1.
