Last year, the Ravens had arguably the NFL’s best player. Now, after an offseason of notable additions (and one obvious subtraction), they have arguably the league’s best roster, too.
A cupboard stocked with potential Pro Bowl picks won’t guarantee a trip to Super Bowl LX, but it’s a good start. Quarterback Lamar Jackson headlines the 2025 Ravens, who’ll enter this season with up-and-coming standouts and established playmakers on both offense and defense.
Ahead of the start of training camp this month, The Baltimore Banner ranked the top players on the Ravens’ roster based on their projected impact this season. The order was determined by the consensus vote of reporters Jonas Shaffer and Giana Han, columnist Kyle Goon and “Banner Ravens Podcast” co-host Paul Mancano.
Here are Nos. 20-11, with the top 10 coming Thursday.
20. RT Roger Rosengarten
Offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten takes questions from reporters following the Ravens’ organized team activities on June 10. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
Rosengarten was beaten for a strip sack on his first career snap and didn’t start until Week 4. But by year’s end, the second-round pick was one of the NFL’s better first-year offensive linemen. He was named to the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie Team after allowing just one sack and 29 pressures in over 900 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. As a run blocker, he graded out as average on PFF and as elite on ESPN.
Rosengarten’s next step? Winning more with less help. Mindful of the star edge rushers on the Ravens’ 2024 schedule, offensive coordinator Todd Monken tried to lighten Rosengarten’s load in pass protection with the help of a chipping tight end or running back. Only a handful of starting tackles were left on an “island” less often last season.
19. WR DeAndre Hopkins
DeAndre Hopkins (10) smiles after completing a catch on June 17 during the team’s mandatory minicamp. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
Hopkins is just two years removed from a 75-catch, 1,057-yard season with the offensively challenged Tennessee Titans. He’s also just a half-year removed from tallying three catches for 29 yards in three postseason games with Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs. At age 33, will Hopkins look more like Anquan Boldin or Michael Crabtree did in their late-career Ravens stints?
The answer could depend as much on Hopkins’ athleticism — he hit a top speed of 20 mph during one day of organized team activities, outracing most of the Ravens’ roster — as it does on Jackson’s trust in the five-time Pro Bowl selection. Hopkins has never been a downfield burner. He wins late with his route-running savvy and ball skills. As a newcomer in a receiving corps full of established contributors, Hopkins has to show Jackson that “when you can put the ball in the vicinity … that guy is going to make a play,” quarterbacks coach Tee Martin said last month.
18. CB Jaire Alexander
Jaire Alexander tries on his new helmet on June 18 during the team’s mandatory minicamp. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
Alexander, a two-time Pro Bowl pick, might be the most talented outside cornerback in the Ravens’ secondary. He’s also a perennial injury risk. Alexander, 28, missed 13 games in his age-24 season, 10 games in his age-26 season and 10 games last year. Now, entering what should be his physical prime, Alexander is on a one-year, prove-it deal worth up to $6 million.
Even if injuries have sapped him of some athleticism, Alexander can still contribute to the Ravens’ pass defense. He has the fearlessness to match up with receivers in press coverage, the awareness to take away throwing lanes in zone coverage and the versatility to play on either side of the field. All Alexander has to do now is stay available.
17. FB Patrick Ricard
Patrick Ricard walks across the field during the team’s mandatory minicamp on June 18. (Florence Shen/The Baltimore Banner)
Running back Derrick Henry had never played with a ground game force multiplier like Jackson until he arrived in Baltimore last season. But he’d never had an escort as good as Ricard, either. With the five-time Pro Bowl pick on the field, Henry piled up nearly as many yards (1,324) and first downs (68) on the ground as the Las Vegas Raiders did in the 2024 regular season. He also rushed for more touchdowns (15) than 14 teams and for more yards per carry (6.2) than every team.
Ricard, 31, played just 435 offensive snaps last season, his fewest since 2020, but Monken knew where to pick his spots. With Ricard lined up in the backfield or near the line of scrimmage, the Ravens could dictate to opponents out of 21 (two backs, one tight end and two wide receivers) or 22 personnel (two backs, two tight ends and one wide receiver). The 300-pound Ricard is still capable of bullying linebackers in the “A” gap and holding off star edge rushers on drop-backs, and his partnership with Henry should be even stronger in Year 2.
16. DL Travis Jones
Travis Jones (98) completes a drill with teammates on June 17 during the team’s mandatory minicamp. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
With the offseason retirement of nose tackle Michael Pierce, Jones could be the defense’s next big thing. He was already one of the Ravens’ top run stuffers last year, when he started 15 games, played over half of the defensive snaps and tied for third on the team with 17 run stops (tackles that constitute a “loss” for the offense, according to PFF).
But with the hulking 6-foot-4, 341-pound Jones’ rare strength and movement skills, there’s still more to unlock as a pass rusher. Pass rush coach Chuck Smith said last month that Jones, who had one sack last season and has 3.5 over his three years in Baltimore, is “getting ready to be one of the best interior rushers in the game.” If defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike continues to attract double teams inside, Jones could have a clear runway to a breakout season in the final year of his rookie contract.
15. OLB Kyle Van Noy
Kyle Van Noy (53) returns to the locker room on June 18 following the team’s mandatory minicamp. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
Few pass rushers ever age as gracefully as Van Noy. At age 33 last season, he set career highs with 12.5 sacks, fourth-most in the NFL, and 21 quarterback hits. His 18% win rate on what PFF calls “true pass sets” (drop-backs that exclude plays with less than four rushers, play-action, screens and throws that are released in under two seconds) was also a career high during the regular season.
Van Noy finished with 631 defensive snaps last season, just behind Odafe Oweh for the most among Ravens outside linebackers, but his efficiency didn’t wane as the mileage added up. Van Noy had 4.5 sacks in the Ravens’ final four regular-season games and was their most effective edge rusher in the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. This year, he’ll have to hold off Father Time — again — and a deeper group of outside linebackers.
14. TE Isaiah Likely
Isaiah Likely (80) makes a catch on June 6 during organized team activities. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)
With wide receiver Zay Flowers sidelined for the playoffs last season, it was Likely who emerged as Jackson’s top receiver. He led the Ravens in yards (126) and yards after the catch (41), finished tied for first in catches (seven) and was second in targets (nine). Jackson’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Likely late in the failed comeback against Buffalo showcased their brilliance as improv partners in the red zone.
The challenge for Likely is finding a bigger role in the offense. Over each of his three seasons in Baltimore, Likely’s receiving yards (477 in 2024), receiving touchdowns (six) and yards per route run — a measure of his efficiency as a receiver — have all steadily improved, along with his blocking ability. But Likely’s most productive stretch came in 2023, when tight end Mark Andrews was unavailable because of late-season injuries. John Harbaugh said in May that he sees All-Pro potential in Likely, but the Ravens’ depth of receiving talent will make that difficult to realize in 2025.
13. CB Nate Wiggins
Nate Wiggins speaks to the media on June 6 following organized team activities. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)
Wiggins is about 10 pounds bigger entering Year 2, weighing in around 185 pounds during OTAs, and he should be better, too. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, he led the Ravens’ secondary as a rookie in average target separation (the average distance between a defender and a targeted receiver when a pass arrived). That translated to a completion percentage of just 47.8% when Wiggins was targeted, one of the NFL’s best marks last year.
With Alexander’s signing, Wiggins will have to earn his place as an every-down option once more. The 2024 first-round pick should start as an outside cornerback in the Ravens’ nickel (five defensive backs) and dime (six defensive back) looks, but Alexander could push to start opposite Marlon Humphrey in the team’s base personnel groupings (four defensive backs). If Wiggins starts 2025 like he finished 2024, though, when he allowed just 11 catches for 135 yards and no scores over his final five regular-season games, it’ll be hard to keep him off the field.
12. WR Rashod Bateman
Rashod Bateman at organized team activities on June 5. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)
After a frustrating start to his career in Baltimore, Bateman finally looked like a first-round talent last season. He set career highs in receiving yards (756), touchdowns (nine), targets (72), first downs (35) and, perhaps most important, games played (17). Despite mix-ups on a couple of interceptions, Bateman was still one of the NFL’s most efficient receivers when targeted.
He also averaged 16.8 yards per catch, the highest mark among the Ravens’ regular contributors. Bateman’s surprising emergence as a downfield threat (eight catches of 20-plus air yards, tied with Flowers for most on the team) highlighted his development as an “X” receiver and growing chemistry with Jackson. No Raven was targeted more often after lining up as an isolated receiver, according to Sports Info Solutions. And if Hopkins’ arrival frees up Bateman to play more inside, his route-running talents could be lethal in the slot.
11. OLB Odafe Oweh
Odafe Oweh takes reporter questions following the first day of organized team activities on May 28. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
Like Bateman, taken four picks before him in the 2021 draft, Oweh had the best season of his career in 2024. He finished with 10 sacks, double his previous career high, and 23 quarterback hits, eight more than his previous best. But Oweh’s room for improvement was still as obvious as his actual development: He let quarterbacks slip out of his grasp, struggled to win against high-end offensive tackles and was too light at times to withstand power running games.
With a bigger, stronger frame and the promise of a potentially lucrative contract powering Oweh in 2025, this could be the year he puts it all together. He finished 17th among qualifying edge rushers last season in ESPN’s pass rush win rate but just 34th in PFF’s pressure rate, suggesting he was unlucky to not be more disruptive. If Oweh can continue to refine his arsenal of moves and maintain his speed at his projected playing weight of 265 pounds, he’ll be a handful for opponents.
Honorable mention: S Malaki Starks, OLB Mike Green, OLB Tavius Robinson, TE Charlie Kolar, RG Daniel Faalele