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An Overview of the Baltimore Ravens Defense
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. In some ways, 2024 was just another chapter in the same book. Baltimore had another strong defensive showing, although the numbers slipped slightly in some categories.
The Ravens fell to number eight in points allowed. They gave up a lot of yards through the air, which was largely due to facing the third-most pass attempts. Baltimore allowed the third most completions of 20+ yards at 57, but only 6 of 40+. While they were second with 54 sacks, the turnover total dropped by nearly half, to 17. There were six teams with fewer. The team went into last season looking to improve against the run. Mission accomplished there. They were number one at 3.6 yards per carry. The 1361 yards allowed were 278 fewer than anyone else, and the three runs of 20+ yards ranked first.
The focus this offseason was on the pass defense. Baltimore invested their first-round selection on safety Malaki Starks and took two more at the corner position on day three. Free agency landed Chidobe Awuzie, who, when healthy, is still an excellent coverman. The pass rush was reinforced in round two with edge Mike Green, and the thin linebacker corps got some help with Teddye Buchanan in round four. It may not be enough to push them back to 2023 status, but this team will play good defense again in 2025.
Baltimore Ravens Defensive Linemen
The Ravens' defensive line has traditionally provided marginal IDP value. They have had players with good sack totals over the years. The holdback is always in the tackle columns. Last season was no exception. Kyle Van Noy led the team with 12.5 sacks, and Odafe Oweh finished second with 10. Van Noy had 26 tackles and 15 assists, while Oweh had 25 and 14. Neither player cracked seven points per game, while both finished just outside the top 30.
As is often the case with edge players, the marginal tackle numbers have more to do with opportunity than any lack of talent. Van Noy and Oweh were on the field for fewer than 640 plays. Tavius Robinson had 485, and David Ojabo was on pace for about 50 fewer had he not missed four games. Rookie Mike Green will likely replace either Ojabo or Robinson in the rotation. The Ravens are solid and deep on the edge, but there is no reason to believe that any of these guys will see 700+ snaps or be more than depth with limited upside for fantasy managers.
Tackle Nnamdi Madubuike broke the mold in 2023 when his 38-18-13 and 2 forced fumbles put him in the top ten. At the time, it felt like a breakout season for the 2020 third-round pick. He came crashing back to earth last year at 21-22-6 with a forced fumble, to rank 22nd. With those numbers much more in line with the rest of his career production, it now looks as if 2023 will remain an outlier for Madibuike.
There is at least some hope for Madibuike. Baltimore rotated five players at tackle last year, with all of them logging at least 210 snaps. Madibuike, however, led the way at 810. He played 850 in 2023, so it is fairly safe to expect that he will continue to have enough opportunities. He ranked 28th in 2022 and 22nd last year. That makes him a good target as a second starter or quality depth with the potential to blow up.
Broderick Washington and Travis Jones fill out the rest of the starting lineup. Washington works at the other outside tackle spot with Jones at nose tackle. Both are wide-body space eaters that are tough to move, but they don't have much to offer as pass rushers. Jones has one sack in each of his three years as a pro. Washington has six career sacks with no more than two in any of his four seasons.
With Michael Pierce and Brent Urban moving on, Baltimore brought in eleven-year veteran journeyman John Jenkins to join rookie Aeneas Peebles as the rotational backups at tackle. Jenkins has seen starting reps at most of his seven previous stops, but has never made a ripple in the fantasy pool. Peebles has a chance to develop into a starter down the road.
- Edge Kyle Van Noy – Bye week depth with a touch of upside
- Edge Odafe Oweh – Bye week depth
- Edge Mike Green – Dynasty watch list
- Edge David Ojabo – No impact
- Edge Tavius Robinson – No impact
- DT Nnamdi Madubuike – Decent DT2 with upside
- DT Broderick Washington – No impact
- DT Travis Jones – No impact
- DT Aeneas Peebles – Developmental rookie
- DT John Jenkins – No impact
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