Baltimore Ravens 2024 Predictions and Odds:

Lamar Jackson started every important game for the Ravens last season. Make no mistake, Baltimore was a really good team and there is nothing fluky about going 13-4, but that was a luxury not afforded to any other AFC North team with regards to the starting quarterback. 

Kenny Pickett, Joe Burrow, and Deshaun Watson all missed varying amounts of time, and while Pickett and Watson are nowhere near Jackson’s level, the Ravens ran really strong on the health front aside from the Mark Andrews absence in 2023. If they do the same in 2024, they may very well navigate the AFC North gauntlet again and head into the postseason, hoping to end a 12-year title drought.

 

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Offense

This was about as solid and balanced an offense as there was in the NFL last season. The Ravens were third in Rush EPA, one of three teams on the plus side of 0 per rbsdm.com, and they ranked sixth in Dropback EPA. That was quite a feat, given Andrews missed seven regular-season games. What the Andrews injury did was showcase Isaiah Likely as a legitimate threat and forced Jackson to spread it around to the team’s many veteran WRs.

Nelson Agholor is the only one who stuck around and the running back room looks a lot different without Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins, but Derrick Henry will step in to share carries with Justice Hill. Year 2 of Zay Flowers has a lot of upside and fourth-rounder Tez Walker would have been a Day 1 or Day 2 pick if the NCAA hadn’t screwed around with his eligibility.

The one area of concern is the offensive line, where the starters and the depth took hits with the losses of Kevin Zeitler, Sam Mustipher, John Simpson, and Morgan Moses.

Defense

The Ravens will turn to 32-year-old Zach Orr as the defensive coordinator this season. Orr has been with the Ravens every year but one since 2017 when he retired from the league. He was the inside linebackers coach the last two years. Baltimore found tremendous success with another young up-and-comer in Mike Macdonald, who also joined the Ravens at 27 and worked his way up to DC.

This was an elite unit last season that ranked second in EPA/play and trailed only the Browns in Dropback EPA. This was a league-average run defense, but their game state featured a lot of leads and it was way more important to defend the aerial assault than the ground game. There are more losses than additions on defense, including Jadeveon Clowney, Geno Stone, and Patrick Queen, but few orgs reload like the Ravens.

Outlook

The depth for the Baltimore Ravens looks a little iffy this season with so many losses in free agency, but the starters on both sides of the ball look very solid. They’ll need to be against a brutal schedule that features all six division games, plus the AFC West, NFC East, Houston, Buffalo, and Tampa Bay.

Tough schedule or not, I don’t see myself in a hurry to pick against the Ravens. I wouldn’t bet this, but if I had to pick for a pool or contest, it would still be an Over 10.5.

Baltimore Ravens Pick: Over 10.5 Wins

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