The Baltimore Ravens may not have finished the season how they would have wanted to, but they can still stake claim as one of the best teams in the league.
Sports Illustrated writer Conor Orr conducted his end-of-season power rankings and placed the Ravens at No. 5 on his list.
“Another thought that, like suggesting the Bills need cornerback help, feels redundant. Baltimore has to retool its offensive line again and while the team did a masterful job last year of building a gutting ground game despite needing a handful of new starters, each season provides its own unique challenges,” Orr writes.
“Not having Todd Monken get a head coaching job may have been the biggest boost to Baltimore’s offseason, though evolving a third time within the confines of this offense could be his biggest challenge yet. I’m done wondering if Derrick Henry can still be great. It’s everything else that must fall into place.”
The only teams that ranked ahead of the Ravens were the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The Ravens have a long offseason ahead where they can correct some of these mistakes that were made previously. Baltimore is still one of the best-built rosters in the NFL, but the offensive line will look very different next season, and that’s a position group that can completely make or break an entire team, even though it doesn’t show up in a box score very frequently.
It won’t be easy for the Ravens to either re-sign Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley and maneuever money on the roster or find a replacement, but Baltimore has to adapt if it wants to remain where it is, or better yet, improve from its current state of affairs.
