Getty All-Pro OT Ronnie Stanley is one of the Ravens key non-quarterbacks per PFF.
The hopes and dreams of any championship-contending team in the NFL aside from the San Fransisco 49ers, begin and end with the quarterback and even they needed more than just a warm body in the second half of last year’s NFC title game after losing both Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson to injuries.
In Baltimore, there is no more important player to the Ravens‘ success not just on offense but as a whole than former unanimous league MVP Lamar Jackson. While the two-time Pro Bowler is undoubtedly the straw that stirs their drink, they have some other key ingredients that will play vital roles in their quest to win the third Super Bowl title in franchise history in the first since 2012.
Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness highlighted three of the most important non-quarterbacks to the Ravens’ success in 2023 in a recent article. Unsurprisingly. it included a pair of First-Team All-Pro players and one of the biggest question marks heading into training camp at the end of the month.
Ronnie Stanley’s Presence Key to Solidiying Offensive Line
When healthy, the seven-year veteran is arguably the best blindside protector in the game. As the season went on last year, he began to look more and more like his old self prior to the gruesome ankle injury that he suffered midway through the 2020 season. His setback caused him to miss the rest of the season that year and all but one in 2021 which came in the season opener.
“Stanley’s importance is likely to grow in a Ravens offense that is expected to rely more on the passing game this year under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken,” McGuinness wrote. Before a devastating injury in 2020, Stanley had developed into one of the premier pass-blocking tackles in football.”
In his 2019 breakout year, Stanley allowed just 10 total pressures across 543 pass-blocking snaps per PFF and he told reporters at mandatory minicamp in June that he feels as good as he does since the year following his transcendent season.
“Being able to build and really build off what I did last season and get better,” he said. “I really feel a big difference from the last couple years.”
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McGuinness believes that having Stanley back on the field and playing like his old self will bring stability to not only his position but the rest of the Ravens’ offensive line depth chart as well.
“Patrick Mekari can be the top reserve across the line and fill in where needed rather than being needed to start at either tackle spot and force the Ravens to dig deep into their reserves pending any injuries,” he wrote.
Roquan Smith Will Continue Being Heartbeat of Defense
McGuinness believes that the former first-rounder coming to Baltimore via trade was the best thing that could’ve happened for either party as it worked out fabulously almost immediately and he went as far as to call it a ‘perfect match’.
“Before Smith’s arrival in Baltimore, the Ravens defense was allowing 0.041 EPA per play through the first eight weeks of the season, the ninth-worst mark in the league,” he wrote. “From Week 9 through the playoffs, the Ravens had the fourth-best defense in the league in that regard (0.080 EPA per play).”
Not only did he help turn around his team’s defense, but they also helped Smith record the best marks of his career according to PFF metrics.
“The former Chicago Bears linebacker earned an 85.9 PFF grade over the second half of the season with the Ravens —he never earned a full-season grade over 67.2 in his time with the Bears,” McGuinness wrote. “Smith has been good in coverage throughout his career though, earning 69.0-plus PFF coverage grades in three of his four years with the Ravens and coming in at 75.8 with the Ravens last year. His play really changed for the Ravens last season was when defending the run, where he earned an 89.3 PFF run-defense grade — his career best with the Bears comes in at 53.0.”
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He also gave some credit for Smith’s swift acclimation and ascension to defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald who began “finding his feet” in the second half of the season in his first year on the job.
Search for New Nickel Will be ‘Vital’
One of the most innovative moves that Macdonald made from a schematic and personnel standpoint down the stretch last year was the utilization of 2022 first-rounder Kyle Hamilton as a hybrid defender that played the majority of his snaps in the slot.
Now that he is transitioning into being a safety full-time after taking over for stalwart veteran Chuck Clark at the strong spot next to Marcus Williams, his unit needs a new nickel defender.
“Right now, it is the biggest issue the Ravens face on the defensive side of the ball,” McGuinness wrote. “If the season were starting today, I think this would be Damarion Williams, but he struggled as a fourth-round rookie, earning a 41.0 PFF coverage grade.”
The Ravens have a lot of players competing for depth spots on the perimeter but don’t have nearly as many candidates in the running with experience or ideal traits to play in the slot.
During mandatory minicamp, 2021 undrafted free agent Ar’Darius Washington looked impressive and made plays, Williams is expected to be healthy and back in the mix by training camp, and undrafted rookie Corey Mayfield Jr. is a dark horse in the race who showed he possesses all the traits to excel at the position in college.
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McGuinness believes that Hamilton will still spend some time in the slot when Geno Stone comes onto the field in their multiple safety looks but he doesn’t see it as a “realistic option” for the whole season and wouldn’t be surprised if the team added a veteran nickel at some point.
“As things stand, Marlon Humphrey is the best slot cornerback on the Ravens roster,” he wrote. “Over the past four seasons, his 84.4 PFF coverage grade when lined up in the slot is the best in the league among players to play at least 1,000 snaps in that spot.”
While the three-time Pro Bowler is elite playing inside and out, McGuinness thinks by moving him into the slot, it “leaves them with an even bigger hole on the outside”. He has a feeling might be a “disaster waiting to happen” in an AFC North division where the Ravens have to go up against the Cincinnati Bengals and arguably the best wide receiver tandem in the league in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins twice a year.