Eyes of the Guru IDP Info, Part 12: Baltimore Ravens

Photo: Imagn Images

The Ravens' defense was nothing short of spectacular in 2023. The dominating performance included a league-leading 60 sacks and 31 turnovers, which tied for first. No one allowed fewer yards per pass attempt, and most importantly, no one allowed fewer points. The closest thing to a negative was the rush yardage allowed, and even that ranked in the top half of the league. Two problems come on the heels of such a performance. It is tough to keep the band together, and there is no place to go but down.

Baltimore enters 2024 without four starters from last year's team. Patrick Queen was the team's second-leading tackler, Jadeveon Clowney was second on the team in sacks, Geno Stone led the team with seven interceptions, and Ronald Darby started nine games at corner. The Ravens were not players in free agency but were not completely unprepared for these losses. They will, however, have to rely on several young guns to fill the holes. 

Defensive Linemen

The Ravens are predominantly a 3-4 team and have been for a long time, but there was something a little different about them in 2023. As far back as can be remembered, Baltimore's interior linemen were given 2-gap responsibilities. They were asked to control the line of scrimmage by occupying space and blockers as opposed to penetrating and disrupting. That approach and the fact that they rotated several guys to keep everyone fresh, killed any chance of useful production from the tackle positions. In 2023 they took the muzzles off and let the guys play.

The schematic change seemed minor but the results were not. With 2-gap responsibilities, Baltimore's tackles combined for six sacks in 2021 and eight and a half in 2022. With the scheme tweak allowing those players more opportunity to penetrate and disrupt, Justin Madubuike alone racked up a team-leading thirteen while the rest of the tackles added seven and a half more.

It was an unexpected leap for Madubuike who jumped from 42 total tackles and 5 sacks with a rank of 28th among tackles in 2022, to 38 tackles, 18 assists, 13 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles with a rank of 4th last year. When a player breaks out like this, there is always some concern that it could be a fluke and an outlier. That concern is lessened with Madubuike since we can identify the reason. It will take another season or two of quality production before we can call him a proven commodity but it feels like he is poised to become a regular in the top ten.   

Broderick Washington tops the depth chart at the other outside tackle spot with Michael Pierce as the starter at nose tackle. Madibuike logged 850 plays last year but the Ravens still like to rotate guys at the other two spots. Washington, Pierce, Brent Urban, and Travis Jones all played at least 310 snaps in 2023 with none of them reaching 700. After Madubuike's breakout, we will want to keep an eye on these guys but so far, there is no reason to think one of them will be IDP-relevant.

When last season started, the Ravens were not expecting Clowney to be their lead edge defender. Early season injuries to Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo left the coaching staff short on options. Oweh missed four games before returning to finish with a respectable five sacks on 492 snaps. Ojabo missed the rest of the season with a torn ACL.   

Looking at the Ravens' pass rushers, it is hard to see them reaching 60 sacks or leading the league again in 2024. They have some young guys with potential but are way short on star power or even proven starters. With Clowney out of the picture, the team will rely on Oweh and Ojabo to start with last year's fourth-round pick Tavius Robinson and third-round rookie Adisa Isaac behind them.   

Oweh led the team's edge defenders with just 666 snaps in 2022. This was not a matter of missing time due to injury, but rather a result of the multi-player rotation the Ravens like to use. Clowney had 749 last year and that was with two of the team's top three at the position missing time. Until someone steps up like Madibuike did and makes it hard for the coaching staff to take them off the field, we are not likely to see another 750-snap edge defender or one with serious IDP relevance in Baltimore.

Oweh was a first-round pick in 2021 and could be that guy, but thus far he has not shown signs of it. He has 13 sacks over three seasons with no more than five in any of them. As the lead man at the position, that number should go up this year but will it go high enough to make him an option for us? Some prognosticators believe so, but I am not so sure.

Ojabo could be the guy to break out here but we have nothing to go on to make the case. He was good enough at Michigan to get drafted in the second–round even though he was recovering from an injury and would not be ready for the 2022 season. Ojabo made it back to play 23 snaps as a rookie. He lasted 83 plays before the knee injury last year, so both his health and production potential are sketchy.

Rookie Adisa Isaac has the potential to develop into that guy but he is not going to get there this year. He has a lot of good traits, physical talent, and a great motor, but is a bit undersized and raw. While a year or two in the league could bring out the potential, he seems destined for a rotational/backup role for now.  

Kyle Van Noy is sort of the duct tape of the Ravens' defense. He is the utility player who is not great at any position but can play most of them well enough in a pinch. Van Noy saw most of his action on the edge last year because that is where he was needed. He managed to turn 563 plays into 30 total tackles, 9 sacks, and a couple of forced fumbles. He is the experienced veteran of the front seven and will be a factor in the Ravens' success, but not a big enough factor to help us win championships.

• Edge Kyle Van Noy – Marginal IDP value
• Edge Odafe Oweh – Sleeper with a low floor and unknown ceiling  
• Edge David Ojabo – Injury risk outweighs the upside
• Edge Adisa Isaac – Dynasty watch list
• Edge Tavius Robinson – Marginal impact expected
• DT Justin Madubuike – Solid if unproven DT1 with elite potential
• DT Broderick Washington – Marginal value at best
• DT Michael Pierce – Marginal value
• DT Brent Urban – No impact
• DT Travis Jones – No impact