The Baltimore Ravens begin their Organized Team Activities (OTAs) today at the Under Armour Performance Center. With an offseason filled with free-agency losses and signings along with the 2019 NFL draft, the Ravens roster looks dramatically different than it did just a year ago.
As Baltimore looks to make the postseason for the second-consecutive year, it all begins with OTAs this summer. But what should fans and the Ravens themselves be on the lookout for?
Wide receiver battle
The Ravens went from not having enough wide receivers on the roster to it being one of the more interesting battles this offseason. Though Marquise Brown is expected to miss OTAs following Lisfranc surgery on his foot and Miles Boykin has been dealing with a hamstring injury, there will still be plenty of talent on the field.
Seth Roberts and Michael Floyd are likely competing for one roster spot. Jordan Lasley and Jaleel Scott have to step up in their second year. Which UDFA begins to make a case for a roster spot here? Is Chris Moore getting reps with the first-team offense?
With 13 wide receivers currently on the roster and likely only six or seven spots available, this is a battle that is wide open right now.
Lamar Jackson’s mechanics
The biggest story from the offseason was how Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson was working specifically on his mechanics. After a rookie season that showed promise but ultimately not enough accuracy, Jackson has been putting in work to improve. With OTAs set to start, we’ll see just how much help Jackson’s offseason training regiment actually paid off.
Jackson has weapons all around him now and a strong arm to take advantage of them. But if he continues to rush his mechanics on the field at a time when no one is going to be hitting him, it’ll mean he has a lot more work to do. If Jackson shows great improvement, it’s a step in the right direction and a reason for fans to be excited this year.
Linebacker depth
There’s no contact in OTAs, meaning we won’t get the full picture of how the defense actually looks without stalwart veterans like C.J. Mosley and Terrell Suggs. But it is the first chance we’ll have of seeing the entire defense on the field at the same time.
Inside linebacker remains one of Baltimore’s biggest needs following the 2019 NFL draft. Though it’s expected Patrick Onwuasor and Kenny Young will take the starting roles, there’s no experienced depth behind them. That’s something the Ravens could try to fix with another free-agent signing but first they’ll see if they need to.
If the young depth they have at inside linebacker look a little lost or aren’t getting the playbook down fast enough, expect Baltimore to hit free agency once again. But if players like Alvin Jones and Otaro Alaka show some promise, the Ravens might feel like they can hold off on any more additions there.
UDFAs can make serious impressions now
Baltimore has been the king of finding diamonds in the rough over the years. They’ve done an excellent job of finding and signing undrafted free agents that make major impacts quickly. From guys like Bart Scott and Priest Holmes in the past to Justin Tucker and Onwuasor now, the Ravens likely have a new undrafted free agent on the roster that will make the team and offer serious upside quickly. The question is which player will it be?
I pointed out four UDFAs that are most likely to make Baltimore’s roster with defensive tackle Gerald Willis at the top of the list. But that’s the promise that comes with UDFAs — you never know who will step it up.
Offensive wrinkles
While it’s only OTAs right now and it’s not very likely we’ll see even a half of the Ravens’ new offense, we should start to see some of what offensive coordinator Greg Roman has been working on. Roman spent all offseason talking about building the offense from scratch and it’ll be our first time seeing it be implemented.
Though I wouldn’t expect to see all the offensive wrinkles on the field in OTAs, we should get a sense of the style of offense Roman plans on running. Things like if the offense is going to have a quick-strike passing attack or if they’ll look to hold onto the ball for a little longer to take more deep shots? Will we see more runs outside the tackles than in previous years? How incorporated into the passing game will the running backs be? Will designed runs with Jackson still be a big part of the offensive scheme?
We’ll begin to get some answers on what type of offense Baltimore will be utilizing this season starting today.
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