The Baltimore Ravens have set their 53-man roster and practice squad, and their PR staff released a depth chart for Week 1 of the season. Though the depth chart isn’t official since it’s not created by the coaching staff, it does give us a look at where those closest to the team believe players are sitting right now.
From guys getting the nod as a starter to players who find themselves deep down their position group, several players either love or hate what Baltimore put out.
Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the Ravens’ first depth chart.
Winner: WR Jaleel Scott
Scott finds himself in the second spot at wide receiver behind Seth Roberts. For a guy that wasn’t a lock to make the Ravens’ 53-man roster in the first place, sitting in front of rookie Miles Boykin is a huge step.
But Scott earned it, stepping up big throughout the preseason. Scott led all of Baltimore’s wide receivers in every major category, catching 11 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
If the depth chart holds up, Scott will get some meaningful reps on the field this season. If he can step his game up as he did in the preseason, Scott has a real shot at becoming an impact player for Baltimore. That could put him in line for a starting role later with several wide receivers set to hit free agency after this season.
Loser: TE Hayden Hurst
Hurst has had a tough start to his NFL career. He began his rookie season with a foot injury that required surgery to insert a screw, causing him to miss the first four games and ultimately set him back all year. Now he’s healthy, but the emergence of Mark Andrews and the re-signing of Nick Boyle put Hurst at the bottom of the tight end depth chart.
That placement is a disappointment even if it ultimately doesn’t matter very much. As a solid blocker and receiving option — and with a chip on his shoulder — Hurst will still see the field plenty this season. He’ll also have a chance to put himself at the top of the Ravens’ depth chart by Week 17.
Winner: LG Bradley Bozeman
Coach John Harbaugh wasn’t willing to reveal who would be starting at left guard for Week 1. But with few options at the position, it’s likely not so much a complete shot in the dark as an educated guess. After starting one game at left guard as a rookie last season, Bozeman is the front-runner for the job.
That’s important for a guy in his second season with plenty of competition for the job. Bozeman is ultimately battling Ben Powers, Patrick Mekari and even James Hurst for the starting left guard job. To be in the starting role, on what was one of the best offensive lines last season, is an accomplishment.
Loser: DL Patrick Ricard
Ricard finds himself a backup at both defensive tackle and defensive end. While I certainly understand not supplanting Brandon Williams as the starter at defensive tackle, I’m not sure I agree with Ricard being behind Chris Wormley.
I went into this offseason saying Ricard wasn’t guaranteed a roster spot. I believed he had to step up as a defender in order to lock himself onto the 53-man roster — and boy, did he. Ricard was easily the MVP of the preseason for Baltimore, seemingly making plays everywhere on both offense and defense. Over three preseason games, Ricard accounted for six tackles, three sacks, two tackles for a loss, five quarterback hits, one pass defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Ricard found himself as the real starter at defensive end this season, outpacing Wormley on snaps each week, even if he wasn’t the named starter. You can’t keep a guy that produces like that off the field for long, at least not if you want to win.
But starting the season behind Wormley seems almost like a slap in the face to how improved Ricard looked this preseason.
Winner: OLB Tim Williams
Williams needed to step up entering his third season. Though it wasn’t what many had been hoping for, Williams showed enough to earn himself a spot on the 53-man roster.
But with Baltimore’s depth chart release, Williams actually finds himself as the primary backup to Pernell McPhee and ahead of rookie Jaylon Ferguson. Some might see that as a loss considering McPhee was a late free-agent signing who hasn’t produced much over the last three years. But with McPhee stepping into the starting role at the start of training camp, Williams likely wasn’t going to edge him out barring a monumental preseason.
Still, Williams was on the roster bubble until the day of cuts. For him to be second on the depth chart means he’ll likely see a bump in his playing time this year. Considering he was only active for 15 games over the last two years, that’s a massive jump and makes him a winner here.
Loser: WR Marquise Brown
For the same reason Scott is considered a winner on this list, Brown is a loser. He’s in the last spot at WR1, behind both Willie Snead and Chris Moore. In spite of Harbaugh saying Brown is a “full go” for Week 1, he finds himself at the bottom of the depth chart.
It’s doubtful he stays there for very long, but it’s definitely not where he or the Ravens hoped he’d be right now. It took him quite some time to recover from offseason surgery on his Lisfranc injury, causing him to miss the offseason program, several preseason games and most of training camp because of it.
Winner: CB Anthony Averett
Averett’s placement on the depth chart isn’t really that remarkable. Marlon Humphrey was guaranteed a starting spot. What makes Averett a winner is that there’s no one behind him.
The Ravens defense is counting on Averett to handle his business in his second season. If Humphrey goes down or Jimmy Smith doesn’t play up to par, Averett likely will be the next man up.
That’s very much the same path Humphrey took in his second season, and it saw him develop even faster. If Baltimore has that type of confidence in Averett, it could mean he’s on the same track as Humphrey and is in store for a Pro Bowl-caliber season.
Winner: OL James Hurst
Much like Averett, Hurst isn’t a starter. Though he’s paid like one and it’ll be something the Ravens review closely at the end of the season, Hurst is a winner for being a backup. On the first depth chart release, Hurst is really a backup everywhere on the offensive line.
Hurst is in the second spot at left tackle, right guard and right tackle. He’s realistically in the same spot at left guard for that matter, even if the depth chart doesn’t have him there formally. That versatility is why Hurst got paid in the first place and could be what saves his job over the next two years.
