In the history of the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens are a relatively new franchise. Created in 1996 when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore, the Ravens are set to begin their 24th season in 2019.
In spite of their relatively short history, Baltimore has been home to Hall of Famers, record-setting players, two Lombardi Trophies and plenty of amazing games along the way. To celebrate the NFL’s 100th season and the 24th year of purple and black, I’ve picked out the 24 best players to ever wear a Ravens uniform.
24-21 :: 20-17 :: 16-13 :: 12-9 :: 8-6 :: 5-1 :: TOP
24. C Mike Flynn (1997-2007)
We start off this list with Flynn. How could we epitomize Ravens football any better than kicking things off with someone in the trenches doing the dirty work?
Flynn bounced around the league to start his career after going undrafted in 1997. He actually started with Baltimore, who released him before the season started. He had the same thing happen with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars before being re-signed by the Ravens and making his debut in 2008. Flynn wouldn’t actually start a game until 2000, when he earned the right guard job. When center Jeff Mitchell left in free agency the next year, Flynn was moved to center and stuck there for the next seven seasons.
Flynn was known for his gritty and consistent play that helped pave the way for the rest of the offense. He was one of the first true leaders the Ravens had, both on and off the field, earning him respect not only in Baltimore but around the league. Because of that play and respect, Flynn played in 134 games — tied for the 12th-most in Ravens history.
23. DB Lardarius Webb (2009-2017)
No matter what was asked of him, Webb did it with a Baltimore-first mentality. He started his career at cornerback and kick returner but was moved to safety and punt returner at various points, and he excelled at it all.
In spite of missing 17 games over nine seasons due to injuries that included multiple torn ACLs, Webb had a strong career. He notched 15 interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, 91 passes defensed, three forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, five sacks and 480 combined tackles. He added 547 yards and one touchdown on punt returns with another 985 yards and a touchdown on kickoff returns.
22. LB Adalius Thomas (2000-2006)
Thomas was a rare player and incredibly difficult to actually rank. He was such a freakish athlete that he could line up at defensive end and rush the quarterback on one play, line up at cornerback and cover a wide receiver on the next, only to bounce to inside linebacker and play the run on the very next play. A chess piece in defensive coordinator Rex Ryan’s “organized chaos” defense, Thomas found himself not tasked with doing any one thing more than the other. Because of that, Thomas’ stat sheet is about as spread out as it gets.
In six seasons in a major role, Thomas brought down six interceptions, returning two for touchdowns, and had 13 passes defensed. He had 13 forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries, including three for touchdowns. He also added 38.5 sacks and had 371 combined tackles.
Given how he played in New England to end his career, there are questions as to whether Thomas was simply a system player who created big plays because of those around him. Still, Thomas ended his career with more touchdowns than quite a few offensive players the Ravens drafted higher. That type of production makes him one of the best Ravens of all time.
21. WR Torrey Smith (2011-2014)
Smith played just four seasons in Baltimore but he was incredibly productive over that time. Having deep speed and playing in the Ravens’ “heave-and-pray” passing attack under quarterback Joe Flacco, Smith routinely made big plays down the field.
Smith’s 3,591 receiving yards rank third in Ravens history, and his 30 receiving touchdowns rank second, making him easily the most productive wide receiver the Ravens have drafted. Smith’s speed and style of play earned a large number of pass interference penalties, which doesn’t add to his stat sheet but would undoubtedly push him over the top to be Baltimore’s most productive wide receiver ever.
The bar might be set pretty low when it comes to Ravens wide receivers, but Smith was an asset in Baltimore.
24-21 :: 20-17 :: 16-13 :: 12-9 :: 8-6 :: 5-1 :: TOP
20. DT Brandon Williams (2013-present)
Williams continues a great legacy for Baltimore defensive linemen. Though he’s listed as a defensive tackle, Williams has played all over the line depending on what the Ravens need him for. What Williams brings to the team isn’t really defined by individual stats, as with most other defensive linemen. But without him, the rest of the defense would undoubtedly suffer.
Williams is most often used to clog up the run game. He’s got a combination of size, agility and power that forces opposing offenses to use two players to keep him from blowing up plays. That helps keep Baltimore’s linebackers clean from blockers so they can scrape down the line and make the play. Even still, Williams often gets into the backfield, whether against the pass or run.
As a support player in the Ravens’ 3-4 defense, Williams is never going to lead the team in sacks or tackles, but he’s been paramount to Baltimore’s defensive success since joining the team in 2013.
19. LB Bart Scott (2002-2008)
The Ravens have been well known for finding and developing undrafted free agents. The example cited most frequently is Scott, and for good reason. Though Scott spent seven years in Baltimore, his first three were almost exclusively on special teams. But after getting his first start in 2005, Scott never looked back.
For four years, Scott was the No. 2 in the Ravens’ one-two punch at inside linebacker next to Ray Lewis. The pair created the most fearsome linebacking duo in the league as part of some of Baltimore’s best run defenses.
Scott finished his career in Baltimore with 433 combined tackles, 16 sacks, three interceptions, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. That’s not the greatest spread over seven years. But when you consider almost all of that occurred in just four as a starter, it tells a completely different and more impressive story.
18. TE Todd Heap (2001-2010)
Heap is really where the Ravens’ love of tight ends starts. You can practically hear the “HEEEEEAP” chant in your head right now. Who could blame you? Heap replaced Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe following his short time with Baltimore and set the tone for two decades of Ravens tight ends.
Heap finished his career in Baltimore tied for the most targets (768) in Ravens history, second in receiving yards (5,492) and first in receiving touchdowns (41). That’s even more impressive considering Heap battled injuries throughout his career in Baltimore; he missed 27 games over 10 years. Had Heap been able to stay on the field more often, there’s little doubt he’d hold every major Ravens receiving record by a wide margin.
Heap wasn’t just a glorified receiver but an impressive blocker as well. He had to be in Baltimore’s run-first offense, and it’s largely why his career lasted as long as it did.
The Ravens’ history at tight is a deep one, but Heap has been the prototype Baltimore has been trying to replicate for nearly a decade.
17. RB Ray Rice (2008-2013)
Rice was one of the best all-around running backs in the league for a short time. For a few years, Rice was essentially Baltimore’s offense both on the ground and through the air. He will forever be known for the infamous domestic violence incident that led to the end of his career, but for this list we are judging on-field criteria only.
Rice took over for Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain in his second year and never looked back. That season, Rice ran the ball 254 times for 1,339 yards and seven touchdowns while adding another 702 yards and a touchdown on 78 receptions. While Rice comes in second on Baltimore’s all-time career rushing yards list, he’s arguably the franchise’s best running back when considering his receiving yards. Rice’s 3,034 career receiving yards rank fifth all-time for the Ravens.
24-21 :: 20-17 :: 16-13 :: 12-9 :: 8-6 :: 5-1 :: TOP
16. DT Kelly Gregg (2000-2010)
This one probably shocks you, and I totally get it. Gregg was never the face of Baltimore’s defense and he was criminally underrated by the rest of the league. But that doesn’t stop Gregg from being a near irreplaceable force in the center of the Ravens’ defensive line during his tenure.
Gregg was the quintessential Baltimore player for so many reasons. Drafted in the sixth round and considered too short and not talented enough to make a 53-man roster, Gregg just went to work every day, got better and got the job done. He bounced around the league before landing on the Ravens’ practice squad in 2000, even playing a bit in NFL Europe.
Gregg’s stat sheet isn’t very impressive, just like most other space-eating defensive tackles. But his 509 combined tackles over nine seasons on the 53-man roster show where his production counted. Gregg caused opposing offenses to spend extra men on blocking him and was near impossible to move once he rooted himself to a spot, making Baltimore’s defense difficult to run against.
In a large way, guys like linebacker Ray Lewis likely don’t have the same type of success without Gregg doing the dirty work in the trenches.
15. CB Chris McAlister (1999-2008)
McAlister brought aggression and swagger to the Ravens’ cornerback group, and he backed it up too. For quite a few years, McAlister was considered to be one of the best cornerbacks in the league and deadly with the ball in his hands.
Over 10 years with the Ravens, McAlister came down with 26 interceptions, returning them for 486 yards and five touchdowns. In 2000, McAlister actually led the league in interception return yards. In 2002, McAlister set the NFL record for the longest play when he returned a missed field goal 107 yards for a touchdown, though it’s since been beaten.
McAlister had his off-field issues, though, including enjoying the party scene a little too much, That got him on the bad side of coaches Brian Billick and John Harbaugh. That same swagger and aggression that made him so great at times was problematic on the field as well, drawing penalties and letting receivers get into his head occasionally.
But when McAlister was on fire, he was a lockdown cornerback and a critical part of the historic 2000 defense.
14. LB C.J. Mosley (2014-2018)
Sadly, Mosley left in free agency in the 2019 offseason, heading to the New York Jets on a record-setting deal. But for five years, Mosley was the heir to Ray Lewis in Baltimore. That alone deserves some placement on this list but just how good Mosley was has him ranked so highly.
Mosley finished his tenure with the Ravens with 597 combined tackles. That average of 119 tackles per season is right on pace with Lewis’ 120 tackles-per-season average. Considering Lewis is one of the leading tacklers in NFL history, that’s quite the achievement.
Mosley was smart, had great instincts, could fight through blocks and had the right combination of speed and size to play a lot of different roles in Baltimore’s defenses. Not only did Mosley come down to stop the run, but he was also frequently thrown into coverage and tasked with covering some of the best running backs and tight ends in the league.
Mosley is a rare combination of physical talent and smarts. Though he was never as vocal as Lewis, he was equally important to the most recent era of Baltimore football.
13. K Matt Stover (1996-2008)
Stover was one of a very few players to stick around for some time after owner Art Modell brought the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. As a holdover, Stover has a special place in Ravens history. He doesn’t make this list for nostalgic reasons, however, but because of his consistency, length of career and how important he was to Baltimore.
The Ravens would not have their first Super Bowl ring without Stover. While all the attention goes to Baltimore’s historic defense that season, Stover provided the only points the Ravens scored in six games that season, including as Baltimore failed to score a touchdown in five straight contests.
In 13 seasons in Baltimore, Stover connected on 354 of his 418 field goal attempts and missed just one extra point. He finished his career sixth all-time in field goals made and points scored, hitting 471 total field goals and 591 extra points over 19 years for 2,004 total points.
24-21 :: 20-17 :: 16-13 :: 12-9 :: 8-6 :: 5-1 :: TOP
12. WR Derrick Mason (2005-2010)
Baltimore has not been known for their wide receivers. They’ve struggled to draft and develop talent at the position, often using free agency to find production. Mason is the perfect example of doing it right, though.
After spending eight years with the Tennessee Titans, Mason joined the Ravens and stuck around for the next six. In that time, Mason set franchise records for targets (768), receptions (471) and receiving yards (5,777) that still stand.
What’s more impressive is Mason managed to do all that while playing with no-name quarterbacks. He was the lone constant on Baltimore’s offense for many of those years and showed that good receivers will find a way to make plays.
11. OLB Michael McCrary (1997-2002)
Known for his nonstop motor, McCrary might not have been the most physically gifted player on this list. But when you think of Ravens football, McCrary is the definition. If you watched McCrary during his time in Baltimore, you undoubtedly remember him literally crawling to the quarterback because he never knew the definition of quit. He also played through pain and injuries, especially at the end of his career. Sadly, knee injuries would end his career prematurely, so he never got the chance to rack up the type of numbers that would rank him higher on this list.
Though McCrary started his career with the Seattle Seahawks, he spent most of his time with the Ravens. McCrary finished his career with Baltimore with 51 sacks, 300 combined tackles, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
10. RB Jamal Lewis (2000-2006)
No list of the best Ravens is complete without Lewis. He leads the franchise in rushing yards (7,801), attempts (1,822) and rushing touchdowns (45).
But even without taking his whole career into account, Lewis should make this list simply for his performance in 2003. Lewis’ 2,066 rushing yards that season were just shy of Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. Lewis 295 yards on the ground against the Cleveland Browns that year were a record until Adrian Peterson bested him by a single yard in 2007.
Whether it was running inside, outside of catching the football out of the backfield, Lewis’ combination of power, choppy steps, driving legs and surprising bursts of speed made him dangerous. Defenders didn’t want to square up on the 245-pound monster, and trying to tackle him low was often a recipe to be shaken off or dragged down the field.
9. OLB Peter Boulware (1997-2005)
Both as a pass rusher and run defender, Boulware was a major contributor on Baltimore’s early-2000s defenses. Though he’s often forgotten by Ravens fans given their extensive history at linebacker, Boulware was another of then-general manager Ozzie Newsome’s impressive first-round picks in the early years of the franchise.
Boulware was setting a solid pace as a pass rusher prior to a knee injury that ended his 2004 season and ultimately his career. Before the injury, Boulware had put up 67.5 sacks over seven seasons. That’s a rate higher than franchise sack leader Terrell Suggs, which is impressive when considering offenses didn’t throw nearly as often as they do now. Boulware held Baltimore’s single-season record at 15 sacks in 2001 until Elvis Dumervil broke it in 2014.
24-21 :: 20-17 :: 16-13 :: 12-9 :: 8-6 :: 5-1 :: TOP
8. QB Joe Flacco (2008-2018)
Flacco became somewhat of a meme, with fans and pundits questioning if he’s “elite” or not. But regardless of your feelings on Flacco, there’s no questioning the Ravens don’t even get to their second Super Bowl without him at quarterback, much less win it. His historic postseason run in 2012 — 11 touchdowns to no interceptions — was on par with Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana.
While the rest of Flacco’s career never matched that lone postseason, he still is Baltimore’s most productive quarterback by a wide margin. Flacco sits atop the Ravens’ franchise leader lists at every notable passing stat — 38,245 passing yards and 212 touchdowns.
Flacco was the first real franchise quarterback the team had. He brought stability to an offense that had bounced from quarterback to quarterback, starting 14 players. In a list of the best players in franchise history, Flacco deserves respect.
7. K Justin Tucker (2012-present)
Whoa! A kicker making the top 10 best players of any franchise is surely going to turn some heads. But I’d love to see someone argue that Tucker should be further down this list.
In seven seasons, Tucker has cemented himself as the best kicker in the NFL and one of the best in league history. He’s ranked No. 1 in field goal success rate, hitting on 90.1% of his kicks. Tucker is almost perfect on extra points, connecting on 241 of 242 attempts, with a fluke miss coming in 2018 against the New Orleans Saints.
But Tucker isn’t just knocking through chip-shot field goals. He has one of the strongest legs in the league, regularly hitting on kicks of 50-plus yards and holding a career long of 61. In a league that sees far too many kickers struggling to consistently hit short kicks, Tucker is about as automatic from anywhere on the field as you can get.
If Tucker can continue playing at this level, he should find his way into the Hall of Fame. That’s deserving of a top-10 finish on this list.
6. DT Haloti Ngata (2006-2014)
Ngata is the prototype for current defensive linemen. When Ngata came into the league, defensive tackles were often short, stout and made to eat up space. The former rugby player turned the NFL on their heads, bringing that same space-eating ability with raw power and speed to knife through the offensive line and absolutely destroy quarterbacks and running backs. Ngata even had the physical talent to drop back into coverage, a tactic defensive coordinator Rex Ryan utilized in his “organized chaos” scheme.
Ngata’s stat sheet might not stand out on this list, posting up just 449 combined tackles, 25.5 sacks and five interceptions over nine years in Baltimore. But his presence was felt on the field and in meeting rooms, both for the Ravens and their opponents. Without Ngata in the lineup, Baltimore very likely doesn’t pick up their second Lombardi Trophy.
24-21 :: 20-17 :: 16-13 :: 12-9 :: 8-6 :: 5-1 :: TOP
5. G Marshal Yanda (2007-present)
Yanda is one of the most likely players to end up as the Ravens’ next Hall of Famer. Offensive linemen never get the same love as skill-position players, but Yanda is universally respected and feared.
Yanda is one of the few offensive linemen that can both pass-block and maul defenders in the run game at an extremely high level. A gentle giant off the field, Yanda has been able to completely shut down the best defensive linemen in the league every year. Even entering his 13th season in the league, Yanda still remains one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. His 2018 season is among the best seasons he’s had, showing he still has plenty left in the tank.
4. OLB Terrell Suggs (2003-2018)
Suggs joins Yanda as one of the longtime Ravens most likely to end up in the Hall of Fame next. Though he left this offseason to join the Arizona Cardinals, Suggs leaves a lasting legacy in Baltimore that will be difficult for future pass rushers to live up to and near impossible to beat.
While Suggs has certainly been adept at getting to the quarterback, notching 132.5 sacks over 16 years in the NFL, he’s one of the best all-around linebackers in the game. Suggs made his living not only hitting quarterbacks but playing the flats in the passing game, stopping the run and setting the edge. That sets Suggs apart from other edge defenders who either only rush the quarterback or only play against the run.
Suggs’ 132.5 sacks are tied for No. 13 all-time with the likes of New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor. If Suggs plays even one more season at the level he’s displayed over his entire career, he could move well into the top 10.
3. S Ed Reed (2002-2012)
Reed is the Ravens’ newest entrant into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, joining in the 2019 class. It’s easy to see why when you look at his list of accomplishments.
For quite a few years, Reed was arguably the best player in the league. He was feared by opposing quarterbacks and coaches; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a note on his armband to watch for Reed. No matter where Reed lined up, he could seemingly teleport to where the ball ended up. And once he got his hands on the ball, he turned it into a glorified punt return.
Reed holds the league record for most interception return yards, bringing back picks for 1,590 yards. He’s ranked seventh in NFL history in interceptions at 67. He has the longest interception returns in NFL history — 106 and 107 yards. And he’s ranked fifth in non-offensive touchdowns, finding the end zone 13 times in his career.
It’s not for lack of talent that Reed sits third in Ravens franchise history. Had he played a little longer or at a higher level at the end of his career, he could have easily ended up in the top spot.
2. LT Jonathan Ogden (1996-2007)
The Ravens’ first-ever draft pick, Ogden became one of the best left tackles to ever play the game. He stonewalled Hall of Fame pass rushers and bullied defensive linemen throughout his career, all with a smile on his face.
For his dominance, Ogden was a fixture in the Pro Bowl, playing in 11 of his 12 seasons. He was selected as a first-team All-Pro four times as well. Perhaps the stat that will shock fans the most is Ogden was targeted twice in the passing game throughout his career, catching both for touchdowns.
There’s an easy case to be made that Ogden is Baltimore’s best player ever. Had Ogden been that dominant for that long at any skill position, there’s little doubt he’d be No. 1 on this list. But as it stands, Ogden is one of a few offensive linemen to make his way to the Hall of Fame and an even smaller number to do so on their first ballot.
1. LB Ray Lewis (1996-2012)
There’s none greater than Lewis, especially when it comes to the Ravens. From day one, Lewis played at a higher level than anyone around him, and he continued that until his final game.
Lewis finished his career with 2,055 combined tackles, 41.5 sacks, 19 forced fumbles, 20 fumble recoveries and 31 interceptions for 503 yards, including three returned for touchdowns. He was voted to 13 Pro Bowls and had seven first-team All-Pro nods. He was the 2000 and 2003 Defensive Player of the Year and the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV.
When you think of the Ravens, your mind immediately goes to Lewis. That alone means he’s at the very top of this list.
