Pundit Puts Ravens at No. 1 in Both Offense and Defense Rankings

The Ravens are so loaded on both sides of the ball that SB Nation’s Joseph Acosta ranked them as the No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense heading into the regular season.

“The more and more I thought about who would be in the top spot, every answer led me back to the Ravens,” Acosta wrote about the offense. “Not only were they one of the most explosive and efficient offenses in the NFL last year, they retain all of their critical pieces of the pie. The union between QB Lamar Jackson and OC Todd Monken has been insane since 2023, and last year the Ravens’ offense led the NFL in EPA per play and EPA per pass.

“They get back all their stars, such as RB Derrick Henry, WR Zay Flowers and TEs Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, plus paid starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley to retain his services. On top of that, their entire stable of backs are fully healthy now with RB Keaton Mitchell fully back from his knee injury, making the offense much more dynamic.”

Regarding the defense, Acosta wrote: “They’re getting a second year with coordinator Zach Orr, who really found his groove in the second half of the season. This team has incredible depth in the front seven, with ageless wonder Kyle Van Noy and DT Nnamdi Madubuike leading the pass rush and LB Roquan Smith behind them. The secondary loses S ArDarius Washington, but in his place steps rookie Malaki Starks, someone I had highly rated entering the 2025 NFL Draft. They also added CB Jaire Alexander in free agency, allowing for Marlon Humphrey to play in the slot and give them a formidable trio of Alexander, Humphrey and Nate Wiggins”

The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia also revealed his team defense rankings, and he slotted the Ravens at No. 5.

“From defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike to linebacker Roquan Smith and safety Kyle Hamilton, the Ravens have premier talent at all three levels of their defense,” Kapadia wrote. “Having said that, the Ravens’ depth is likely to be tested more than it was last year when they had the best injury luck of any defense. Overall, though, I trust Baltimore’s infrastructure, and I trust the talent.”