{"id":849887,"date":"2026-04-02T19:47:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/849887\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T19:47:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:47:42","slug":"ranking-baltimore-ravens-positional-needs-on-scale-of-minimal-to-maximum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/849887\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking Baltimore Ravens\u2019 Positional Needs on Scale of Minimal to Maximum"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Baltimore Ravens have become well known for their ability to regularly restock each season after losing a ton of talent seemingly every offseason..\u00a0<\/p>\n

They have their work cut out for them this year.<\/p>\n

Baltimore will need to replenish a team that not only saw a handful of key contributors walk in free agency, but was also carrying the team\u2019s thinnest roster in years to begin with. Here are the Raven\u2019s positional needs, ranked from least to most urgent, less than a month away from the NFL Draft:<\/p>\n

Quarterback<\/p>\n

The position of less worry for Baltimore is at quarterback, naturally, where Lamar Jackson is an elite player<\/a>. There might not be a better backup available in the NFL for Jackson than Tyler Huntley, so the Ravens look set at the most important position on the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cornerback<\/p>\n

The Ravens are better off at cornerback than most people care to admit. The starting trio Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins and Chidobe Awuzie provide reliability and stability. Backup T.J. Tampa has a lot of room to grow as a possible successor to one of the outside spots. .\u00a0<\/p>\n

Safety<\/p>\n

Kyle Hamilton is another elite presence on the Ravens roster, and the team has already placed its bet on former first rounder Malaki Starks as his long-term partner on the back end. Newcomer Jaylinn Hawkins will be a key contributor, as well, replacing Alohi Gilman.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Running Back<\/p>\n

Derrick Henry will still be effective, even at 32 years old. Justice Hill has been reliable in a backup role for a number of years, but the Ravens need to add more depth to their backfield after losing Keaton Mitchell. The loss of fullback Patrick Ricard will sting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Defensive Line<\/p>\n

Travis Jones had a breakout year in 2025 at the nose, and he should be well flanked by Nnamdi Madubuike and Broderick Washington Jr., assuming they both return from season ending injuries from last year. B<\/p>\n

ackup John Jenkins is adequate at providing depth at this stage of his career, but Baltimore needs to add bodies to this rotation after watching the departures of Taven Bryan and Brent Urban.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Linebacker<\/p>\n

Roquan Smith is still one of the most productive off-ball linebackers in the league,\u00a0 even after a 2025 that some could point as a down year for the four-time Pro Bowler. Teddye Buchanan started 13 games last year and almost hit the century mark in tackles as a rookie, but he needs to create more splash plays. He\u2019s a work in progress. Trenton Simpson provides nice depth, but again, adding another \u2018backer with experience shouldn\u2019t be discarded.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Offensive Line<\/p>\n

There is no available one-on-one substitute out there for Tyler Linderbaum, who went on to sign a record-breaking deal with the Ravens, so the center position is a big question mark. <\/p>\n

Guard John Simpson returns to the team, presumably taking Daniel Faalele\u2019s position at right guard, but Andrew Vorhees at the left guard spot seems like a vulnerability as well. Both tackle starting spots are set with Ronnie Stanley on the left side and Roger Rosengarten on the right, but they need to step up their game. Depth behind the tackles is also suspect, after losing Joseph Noteboom in free agency. <\/p>\n

Mocking Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane to the Ravens in the first round has become pretty popular lately.<\/p>\n

Edge Rusher<\/p>\n

After backing out of the Maxx Crosby deal and signing Trey Hendrickson, one of the outside linebacker spots is taken, but the other one looks like it\u2019s still up for grabs. The team lost edge rushers Dre\u2019Mont Jones, Kyle Van Noy and David Ojabo in free agency, so there\u2019s a serious need for depth and a chance for youngsters like Adisa Isaac or Mike Green to step up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tight End<\/p>\n

Mark Andrews\u2019 slide is noticeable after eight years in the league, and the team let Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar walk in free agency. For one of two teams using multiple tight end sets on over 50 percent of their offensive snaps, that could spell trouble. <\/p>\n

30-year old Durham Smythe, who\u2019s never caught more than two touchdowns nor reached 400 receiving yards in a season is the only other tight end on the Ravens\u2019 roster.<\/p>\n

Wide Receiver<\/p>\n

It seems like every year, Baltimore has a pressing need to add a playmaking wideout. <\/p>\n

So, why would 2026 be any different? Jury\u2019s still out on whether Zay Flowers is a genuine WR1<\/a> in this league after three seasons and two Pro Bowl nods, while Rashod Bateman keeps constantly underperforming. DeAndre Hopkins\u2019 stint with the team last year can\u2019t be characterized as a successful one, even if he\u2019s open to a return. <\/p>\n

The team also let dynamic return specialist Tylan Wallace walk. Devontez Walker is currently penciled in as the team\u2019s WR3, which isn\u2019t cause for optimism. Baltimore needs fast reliable pass-catchers in a hurry, if they dream of lining up an NFL-level offense on Sundays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Baltimore Ravens have become well known for their ability to regularly restock each season after losing a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-849887","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116336846628197024","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}