Two weeks into one of the most scrutinized training camps in recent memory, the Ravens haven’t made much news. That’s a good thing. And maybe a little concerning.
The good: Entering Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans, the Ravens haven’t lost any projected starters to significant injuries. Rookie center Tyler Linderbaum’s foot injury will sideline him for at least another week, but coach John Harbaugh has indicated that the first-round pick should be ready for the Sept. 11 season opener against the New York Jets. Other than reserve outside linebacker Vince Biegel (torn Achilles tendon) and rookie tight end Charlie Kolar (sports hernia), the Ravens have kept their wear and tear to a minimum.
The concerning: The Ravens still don’t have a deal done with quarterback Lamar Jackson, and just one of the rehabilitating standouts from their decorated group of 2021 injuries, running back J.K. Dobbins, has returned to practice. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley, running back Gus Edwards, outside linebacker Tyus Bowser and cornerback Marcus Peters are all waiting for the green light.
With camp winding down, the preseason kicking off and roster cuts looming, here’s what Baltimore Sun reporters Childs Walker and Jonas Shaffer make of the Ravens’ roster picture and Thursday’s opener at M&T Bank Stadium.
Two weeks into training camp, who’s been the Ravens’ most pleasant surprise? And the biggest disappointment?
Childs Walker: “Pleasant surprise” probably isn’t the exact phrasing for what we’ve seen from Odafe Oweh. He showed immense promise as a rookie, and Ravens coaches had not been shy about forecasting a leap to stardom in Year 2. But Oweh has outperformed the rosiest projections, flashing as the team’s most dominant defensive player one repetition after another. You’d think he was a member of the offensive backfield for how much time he spends there after beating would-be blockers. The Ravens remain perilously thin at outside linebacker, but if Oweh looks this good against other teams, he’ll mask that roster deficiency.
Most of the disappointments have been structural (the absence of a receiver to compete with Devin Duvernay and James Proche II for starter’s reps) or health-related (the foot injury to Linderbaum). But plenty of fans and analysts assumed Ben Cleveland would be the team’s starting left guard in his second season. Instead, he’s third on the depth chart after a series of failed conditioning tests delayed his camp debut until the second week of practice. Cleveland was already behind Ben Powers and Tyre Phillips. Now it’s difficult to envision his path to meaningful snaps in 2022.
Jonas Shaffer: Proche didn’t want to talk much about his camp performance last week, but the numbers speak for themselves. With injuries sidelining Rashod Bateman for a few recent practices and Duvernay for a week, Proche sure seems like the Ravens wide receiver with the most catches in camp. He’s torched cornerbacks in one-on-one drills and caught balls at every level in team drills and still made time for droves of fans after each practice. Proche’s smaller frame will always make him an imperfect fit in coordinator Greg Roman’s “medieval” offense, but it’s hard to imagine him going weeks without seeing the ball this season, as was the case in 2021.
On the other end of the receiver spectrum is Tylan Wallace. His trajectory entering camp was promising: As a fourth-round pick, he made a quick impact on special teams and found some momentum on offense late in a quiet rookie season. At the NFL owners’ meetings, unprompted, Steve Bisciotti gave Wallace a vote of confidence (”I think he’s going to emerge as a good player this year”). At mandatory minicamp, he scored long touchdowns on consecutive days.
But after a solid start in camp, Wallace has been mostly anonymous, his production almost indistinguishable from that of the Ravens’ on-the-bubble receivers. He’s struggled in one-on-ones. He’s infrequently targeted in team drills. And he’s had inopportune drops, including one in the end zone that denied Jackson a highlight-reel score. Wallace’s special teams ability and draft pedigree should be enough to secure his job, but expectations were higher.
We know Lamar Jackson and a bunch of other starters will not play against the Titans. Of those who will suit up, who has the most to gain?
Walker: Any running back or receiver who can make a dynamic play. Other than Jackson and tight end Mark Andrews, the Ravens are short on skill players who can be penned in for big-time production in 2022. They hope Bateman will be a worthy No. 1 wide receiver and that Dobbins will be healthy enough to pick up where he left off at the end of his rookie season. Beyond those two, who will step up as the Ravens search for the sizzle they lacked on offense late last season? Could it be rookie tight end Isaiah Likely? Or draft classmate Tyler Badie out of the backfield? Perhaps a true dark horse such as 6-foot-4 undrafted-free-agent wide receiver Shemar Bridges? Auditions are wide open.
Shaffer: The best answer here is probably a running back, but Phillips’ stock is worth watching. With Cleveland seemingly a distant third in the left guard competition, Phillips should get significant work Thursday, maybe even some snaps against Tennessee’s first-team defensive line. Roman called Powers the favorite early in camp, but a lot can happen over this next month. If Phillips can show the athleticism and power that the Ravens crave from their linemen, it might not be long before the 2020 third-round pick catches up to Powers. Phillips’ ceiling at the position is higher, even if his floor might be lower, too.
Linderbaum, David Ojabo and Kolar are out with injuries, but of the Ravens’ other draft picks, whom are you most eager to watch Thursday?
Walker: Nose tackle Michael Pierce cannot stop gushing about new teammate Travis Jones and his rare combination of mass, power and agility. Jones’ technique is a work in progress, but you see him win some practice reps with overwhelming force, the same blunt impact that Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz described when reflecting on the young defensive tackle’s performance at the Senior Bowl. How will that translate against enemy combatants in the preseason? Jones will have plenty of snaps to show us.
Shaffer: There are no bad answers here. My head says Jones, who can finally get after a quarterback without worrying about friendly fire, and cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams, who’s always buzzing around the ball in camp. My heart says punter Jordan Stout, because he kicks the ball very high and very far. And if the Ravens want to preserve Justin Tucker’s leg for the regular season, the fourth-round pick might just line up for field-goal attempts.
The Ravens remain short on established players at several positions. A month from the season opener, which group is most concerning?
Walker: Wide receiver and outside linebacker were areas of concern going into free agency and the draft; they remain so with the start of the season now in sight. Given Oweh’s performance and the return of Justin Houston as a reliable presence, you might think the Ravens are fine on the edge. But they’re staking a lot on Tyus Bowser’s return from a torn Achilles tendon, suffered at the end of last season. Though reports on Bowser are promising, he has not yet returned to practice, and the Ravens don’t have a fill-in with his all-around skills. Biegel was supposed to offer some early-season insurance, but then he tore his Achilles. Ojabo, a second-round pick, could help as a pass rusher, but probably not until late in the season. The Ravens need Bowser on the field in peak form to feel good about this group.
Shaffer: Until Ronnie Stanley’s cleared to play, the left tackle situation will remain a minor headache for Ravens coaches. And it could turn into a migraine, fast. If Linderbaum needs a month, not just two weeks, to recover from his foot injury, the Ravens’ Week 1 starting center could be Patrick Mekari. If Stanley isn’t back by then, and if Ja’Wuan James hasn’t fully settled into his new left tackle job — the early returns in camp, as expected, have been uneven — the Ravens wouldn’t even have Mekari available as a stopgap. What then? Rookie right tackle Daniel Faalele? David Sharpe? Phillips?
It’s a lot of hypotheticals, of course, but the Ravens have to prepare for the worst. If Jackson doesn’t feel protected in the pocket, he probably won’t look comfortable in the offense.
With Dobbins just resuming practice and Gus Edwards on the PUP list, the running back competition is wide open. Who will lead the Ravens in carries in Week 1?
Walker: Dobbins, but probably not as the clear No. 1 option that fantasy owners would hope to see. It’s difficult to say where he stands based on the few individual drills we’ve observed. Dobbins’ talent and determination are beyond question, but an ACL recovery is no joke for a player so dependent on explosive changes of direction. Mike Davis is coming off a disappointing season, but he’s an established NFL running back whose receiving skills will help him get onto the field. If Dobbins progresses slower than the Ravens hope, the 29-year-old Davis would be the safest bet to pick up carries.
Shaffer: Dobbins. Coming off a season-ending knee injury, he’s the Ravens’ most volatile option, but also the most talented. He wouldn’t be practicing if the team’s medical staff didn’t feel he was progressing. If Dobbins can make it through these next two weeks safely, if his surgically repaired knee responds well to football movements, he’d have another couple of weeks to get into the kind of football shape required of a starter. Dobbins was never featured as a workhorse back in his rookie year, and it’s hard to imagine his load growing in Week 1. But if he’s available, the Ravens won’t ignore him.
Will the Ravens’ odd and much-ballyhooed preseason winning streak end against Tennessee?
Walker: We know the Titans relish winning in Baltimore. Could this spite extend to the preseason, where the Ravens have ruled? It’s not a question worthy of serious analysis, but the guess here is that the Ravens’ roster depth, with so many pass catchers and running backs fighting to show off their skills, will carry them through at home. The streak could fall 10 days later in Arizona, but not yet.
Shaffer: If quarterback Tyler Huntley can channel his 2021 form, they should be in good shape at home. This is a team with obvious holes at key positions, but the Ravens have won 20 straight preseason games largely on the strength of their backups and on-the-bubble players. The Ravens’ depth on offense is far from overwhelming, especially at the skill positions, but this defense is talented enough to keep the streak going another year. Not a lot of preseason offenses will see a collection of backups as solid as defensive tackle Broderick Washington, cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis and safeties Tony Jefferson and Kyle Hamilton.
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