Predicting the Baltimore Ravens final 53-man roster
The 2020 NFL season is less than two weeks away and but before the Baltimore Ravens welcome the Cleveland Browns to town for a divisional matchup to open the season, they must first trim down their roster. As training camps league-wide come to a close later this week, here is a prediction for who I think does and doesn’t make the cut for the two-time defending AFC North champions as well as some practice squad candidates.
Quarterbacks: Lamar Jackson, Robert Griffin III, Trace McSorley (3/53)
The Ravens traditionally have rolled with just two quarterbacks during the John Harbaugh era but have kept three on the roster for the last two seasons. This year that new trend will most likely be extended to three straight not just because they like the guys they have or that their style of offense opens the door for greater injury risk to reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson, but because the shroud of uncertainty that COVID-19 has cast over the upcoming season has made it almost mandatory to have some extra insurance at the most important position in all of sports.
Jackson is the unquestioned starter heading into his third season and Griffin III has had his best camp since joining the team two years ago and continues to be a great mentor to all the young players. As for the battle for the third and final spot, while both McSorley and undrafted rookie Tyler Huntley have both had up and down camps, the Ravens will likely try to stash Huntley on their practice squad. Since there isn’t any film of him for other teams to look at since there was no preseason this year whereas McSorely was one of the stars in last year’s preseason, they might go off that and try to claim him off of waivers if he is cut.
Running Backs: Mark Ingram, J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill (7/53)
The Ravens are committed to running the ball better than anyone else once again in 2020 and have maintained their desire to have a four-headed monster in the backfield carry the load this season. While there has never been a shred of doubt of who those four will be, the biggest question looming is how Offensive Coordinator and reigning Assistant Coach of the Year will divvy up touches while still keeping Jackson as an integral part of the rushing attack.
With the exception of Justice Hill who has missed time with an injury, all of the backs have looked good and explosive in training camp according to reports with Dobbins standing out the most and generating the most hype heading into the season.
Tight Ends: Mark Andrews, Nick Boyle, Jerell Adams, [FB] Patrick Ricard (11/53)
The top two spots at tight end are solidified with Andrews and Boyle but the departure of Hayden Hurst this offseason left a hole at the third spot on the depth chart which gets a lot more run than on most teams. Converted defensive lineman turned Pro Bowl fullback, Patrick Ricard is expected to help offset some of the loss of Hurst and Boyle will have an expanded role as a pass-catcher but the battle for the third tight end job hasn’t yielded a clear frontrunner.
The Ravens have liked what they have seen from undrafted rookie Eli Wolf when he’s been on the field but he missed a week of practice with an undisclosed injury and tweaked a muscle in practice which caused them to delay the release of 2019 practice squaddie Charles Scarf who was scheduled to be released on Monday. Roman has liked what he’s seen from Adams in spurts and since Scarf is only on the roster as a camp body at this point, if Wolf isn’t ready to go to start the year then that leaves Adams as the default victor for the time being.
Wide Receiver: Marquise Brown, Miles Boykin, Willie Snead IV, Devin Duvernay, James Proche, Jaleel Scott (17/53)
The Ravens top five spots are already solidified with second-year pros Brown and Boykin, the veteran Snead IV and rookies Duvernay and Proche who have looked good in camp considering their lack of experience and a having endured a virtual offseason. That leaves just one spot up for grabs and the only reason that Chris Moore doesn’t make the initial cut is that he has missed all of training camp with a broken finger but he could be a candidate to be carried on to the active roster past the cut deadline just so that the team can place him on the injured reserve designated to return list.
Moore’s absence has opened the door for Scott to undrafted rookie Jaylon Moore to take his place and Head Coach John Harbaugh noted that Scott has shown a greater presence on special teams in camp this year, he gets the nod in this prediction exercise.
Offensive Tackle: Ronnie Stanley, Orlando Brown Jr, Tyre Phillips (20/53)
Following the release of James Hurst early on in the offseason and the opt-out of veteran Andre Smith before camp even opened up left a void at the swing tackle position serving as the primary backup to starting bookends Ronnie Stanley and Orlando Brown Jr.
While Phillips, a rookie third-rounder out of Mississippi State, has been competing and projects better at the pro level as a guard, his experience at tackle gives him the nod here over Will Holden who has looked solid when taking snaps at tackle in camp this year but has been underwhelming in regular-season games when called upon in his seven career starts that came with the Arizona Cardinals.
Interior Offensive Line: Matt Skura, Bradley Bozeman, DJ Fluker, Patrick Mekari, Ben Powers, Ben Bredeson (26/53)
The fate of the interior of the offensive line was one of the top storylines heading into training camp and specifically the competition at right guard following the retirement of future Hall of Famer Marshal Yanda earlier this offseason. However, veteran D.J. Fluker started camp running with the first-team offense and hasn’t yielded any ground to the rest of the competition since.
I’ve seen Powers left off some people’s final roster predictions and even though he didn’t win a starting job this year, it doesn’t mean the Ravens are willing to cut bait on the 2019 fourth-rounder. Bredeson possesses some positional flexibility to play both center and either guard spots and he has a high football IQ in addition to solid technique and fundamentals.
Bozeman appears to be inline to retain his starting job at left guard where started every game last season. The Ravens have been bringing Skura along slowly and cautiously as he returns from a season-ending knee injury. He hasn’t suffered any setbacks since being activated off the PUP (physically unable to perform) list and appears on track to be active for the opener. If the team is not quite confident in letting him start right away, Mekari, who has had a nice camp per reports, can step in for him as he did down the stretch last season.
Outside Linebacker: Matthew Judon, Tyus Bowser, Jaylon Ferguson, Pernell McPhee (30/53)
The Ravens opted not to bring in any additional players at the position through the draft or free agency outside of resigning McPhee. They are hoping that their young players like Jaylon Ferguson and Tyus Bowser step up and that their interior defensive line additions create more one-on-one opportunities for them to shine on the edge. There is also the presence of Jihad Ward who serves as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker and can generate pressure up the middle and off the edge.
Inside Linebacker: Patrick Queen, L.J. Fort, Malik Harrison, Chris Board (34/53)
The top three spots are set in stone with rookie draft picks Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison who have both had good camps according to reports and veteran L.J. Fort who is the most experienced of the bunch and made such a good impression on the Ravens after they signed him midway through last season that they signed him to an extension before the regular-season finale.
That likely leaves one just one spot left up for grabs between Board, Otaro Alaka, and undrafted rookie Kristian Welch. Since the top three are considered starters and prime rotational options, the fourth spot will likely boil down to special teams. Board was in line for a starting job entering last season before a concussion knocked him out of contention, but he has been one of the better special teams contributors over the last two years and gets the edge here.
Interior Defensive Line: Brandon Williams, Calais Campbell, Derek Wolfe, Justin Madubuike, Jihad Ward, Justin Ellis, Broderick Washington Jr (41/53)
The Ravens reshaped and reloaded the interior of their defensive line this offseason by four athletic specimens. Two are of the veteran variety in Campbell and Wolfe who will be starters and two came via the draft in Madubuike and Washington who will be key role players. With Williams returning to his natural position at nose tackle, Ellis backing him up, and Ward providing additional interior pass rush depth, Baltimore is looking scary in the trenches from top to bottom.
Cornerback: Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, Tavon Young, Jimmy Smith, Anthony Averett (46/53)
The Ravens top four corners are locks and the season-ending injury to Iman Marshal pretty much cemented Averett a spot as the fifth. While they believe a team can never have enough good corners, this might be the position they go a little lighter than usual since they are determined to keep four running backs and three quarterbacks.
Safety: Chuck Clark, DeShon Elliott, Geno Stone, Anthony Levine (50/53)
The Ravens are confident in their homegrown safety tandem of Clark and Elliott heading into the season following the release of Earl Thomas last week. Levine is the best nonspecialist special teams player and a great dime linebacker in sub-packages. Stone will likely take over Elliott’s previous role as the third safety that comes in to assist in covering the deep middle in obvious passing situations.
The one wildcard is undrafted rookie Nigel Warrior who if Wolf isn’t healthy to start the season as the third tight end, could be the one to extend the streak of a first-year undrafted free agent making the team’s Week One roster to 17 years. He’s been had a quality camp per reports where he has flashed on defense and special teams. If Warrior were to make the cut, I could see the team letting go of Ellis and going with six defensive linemen which would still be an adequate amount for a healthy rotation.
Specialist: Justin Tucker, Sam Koch, Morgan Cox (53/53)
Not much to say here. The Wolf Pack is coming back fully intact as they approach nearly a decade of working together. Future Hall of Famer Justin Tucker is still the most accurate placekicker of all-time and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, the underrated technician in punter Sam Koch has as many different punts as Tiger Woods has golf clubs and the always reliable long snapper Morgan Cox will be back as well.
Practice squad candidates:
- TE Eli Wolf: (explained above)
- QB Tyler Huntley: (explained above)
- CB Josh Nurse: the undrafted rookie out of Utah has had a solid camp per reports and is a prime practice squad candidate since the team is going to have just five corners on the active roster according to this prediction.
- S Nigel Warrior: (explained above)
- P Tommy Townsend: was signed on Aug.25 to serve as a camp leg behind Koch and could be brought back on the practice squad to do the same.
- OLB Chauncey Rivers: the undrafted rookie out of Mississippi State could be a good developmental prospect and could take reps in practice on veteran off days for Judon and Mcphee.
- ILB Kristian Welch: the undrafted rookie out of Iowa could develop into a solid special teams contributor and compete for a spot next year.
- OLB John Daka: the undrafted rookie out of James Madison who was waived on Monday could be brought back on the practice squad for the same reason as Rivers.
- C Trystan Colon-Castillo: the undrafted rookie out of Missouri could help fill out the offensive line that will go up against the first-team defense in practice.
- CB Khalil Dorsey: the undrafted rookie out of Northern Arizona flashed a little in camp with the second and third-team defense and could be brought back to serve a similar role as Nurse.
- G/T Will Holden: (explained above)
- TE Charles Scarf: the 2019 undrafted free agent made a few plays in camp, is familiar with the system, and could spend a second straight season on the practice squad.
