The Baltimore Ravens had an excellent 2019 season, putting an NFL record 13 players in the Pro Bowl and six players on the All-Pro roster. So with player rankings set to come out this offseason, the Ravens are expected to be featured heavily once again.
Pro Football Focus released their list of the top-101 players of the 2019 season and Baltimore was well represented. The list featured five Ravens players, including two in the top-16.
Ravens on PFF’s top-101 players of 2019:
| No. | Position | Name |
| 7 | QB | Lamar Jackson |
| 16 | T | Ronnie Stanley |
| 57 | G | Marshal Yanda |
| 63 | CB | Marcus Peters |
| 66 | TE | Mark Andrews |
Though having five players on the list is impressive, the biggest takeaway should be that four of the players are under contract for the next few years and are young. All four actually have room to improve next season, which would be insane for Baltimore given their 14-2 record in 2019 and a far more manageable list of opponents in 2020.
Check out the next pages to see what PFF had to say about each of these players and some analysis on where they may have gotten right or wrong with each one.
Jackson / Stanley / Yanda / Peters / Andrews
No. 7 – QB Lamar Jackson
“It’s hard to overstate just how impressive Lamar Jackson was in 2019, even when you include the disappointment of his team’s playoff loss against Tennessee. He transformed his game this season, moving from arguably the league’s most inaccurate passer to one well capable of excelling while throwing the football, a fact backed up by him leading the league in passing touchdowns. Jackson’s passer rating when kept clean was 118.5 and it was an impressive 97.7 when pressured, as teams struggled to contain the playmaking ability he so obviously possesses. As a ball-carrier, Jackson averaged a monstrous 3.7 yards before contact per carry, making 42 players miss on his way to breaking the all-time single-season rushing record for quarterbacks.”
It’s worth noting that while Jackson is the highest-rated Ravens player on this list, he’s the third-best quarterback according to PFF. Both Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson and Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes rank higher than Jackson in spite of him having a higher passer rating and being a more dynamic player on the ground.
PFF notes the little help around Wilson as the defining factor that has him the highest-rated quarterback from 2019. But that could just as easily be said about Jackson, who had a pretty lackluster group of wide receivers, looking to his top tight end most often last season. In spite of Baltimore’s offense scoring the most points in the NFL, Jackson was forced to carry the team on his back at times, keeping drives alive with his legs when everything else failed.
But being the third-best quarterback in the league is pretty impressive, regardless of who was in front of him. His performance in 2019 should have Ravens fans excited about the future of the franchise with Jackson at the helm.
Jackson / Stanley / Yanda / Peters / Andrews
No. 16 – T Ronnie Stanley
“Ronnie Stanley had one of the greatest statistical pass-blocking seasons we have ever seen at PFF, surrendering just six total pressures and no sacks in the regular season before surrendering four more in the playoffs as the Ravens chased the game for 73 passing snaps. Any way you slice the numbers, Stanley’s pass protection was incredible, but there is no way of quantifying the effect that Lamar Jackson’s unique skill set, threat and the offense that it allowed the Ravens to run, on his numbers. Stanley has been an excellent pass blocker dating back to college and now looks like the gold standard at the position.”
Stanley was already one of the best left tackles in the NFL coming into the 2019 season. But he elevated his game to historical levels and made a great case for arguably being the best tackle in the league. Yet they have Stanley as the third-ranked tackle from last season, which is a huge slight.
New Orleans Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (No. 9) was noted for allowing just 20 pressures and handling top pass rushers. Stanley allowed fewer pressures and also completely negated top pass rushers like San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa.
Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz (No. 15) had his postseason performance called out specifically, seemingly weighing those performances over a solid but unspectacular regular season. That seems to unfairly skew things for a team’s accomplishments.
Jackson / Stanley / Yanda / Peters / Andrews
No. 57 – G Marshal Yanda
“Marshal Yanda is one of the best offensive linemen of his generation, and he has a very real Hall of Fame case when he finally decides to hang up his cleats. The development of Lamar Jackson and the transformation of the Ravens’ offense allowed him to have a renaissance in 2019 at 35 years of age. Yanda allowed just 10 total pressures all season long and was a solid run blocker over the course of the season. At his best, Yanda was the top guard in football, and while he is no longer quite at that level, he is still good enough to make the PFF Top 101 for the eighth time.”
Every offseason people are left wondering if and when Yanda will begin to show his age. And every season, we’re reminded that Yanda is one of the best linemen in the NFL, regardless of his age. Last season was once again another great one for Yanda, stacking more on what is already a Hall of Fame resume.
Yanda is still undecided on whether he’ll retire this offseason, which puts Baltimore in quite the bind until they know. But eventually trying to replace Yanda will prove to be the toughest task of general manager Eric DeCosta’s early career in charge of the franchise.
Jackson / Stanley / Yanda / Peters / Andrews
No. 63 – CB Marcus Peters
“Marcus Peters was traded midway through the season, but produced some strong play both before and after that trade, first for the Rams and then later for the Ravens as they pushed into the playoffs. Peters is the perfect ballhawk for a Ravens’ secondary that is loaded with coverage talent because he can freelance a little and make plays while others remain disciplined and lock down their assignment. Peters had five interceptions and eight pass breakups over the season, but he did surrender five touchdowns.”
Peters earned himself a contract extension with his play over nine games for Baltimore, which proves just how well he played in 2019. In fact, the Peters trade might just be the best move in the entire league last season with the Ravens easily winning considering how little they had to give up to get the All-Pro cornerback on their roster for a serious playoff run.
Peters joining Baltimore is widely considered the team’s real turning point. Prior to Peters’ addition, the Ravens struggled defensively, having far too many blown coverages and not enough big plays in favor of Baltimore. Well, Peters immediately helped in that regard, taking a Russell Wilson pass the other way for a pick-six in his first game with the Ravens.
Peters lived up to his billing as an aggressive cornerback that is either boom or bust in coverage. He might have hauled in five total interceptions and returned three for touchdowns last season but he gave up some big plays as well. Still, he’s the perfect option opposite the more dependable Marlon Humphrey and is a threat opposing quarterbacks have to keep an eye on from before the snap until the whistle.
Jackson / Stanley / Yanda / Peters / Andrews
No. 66 – TE Mark Andrews
“Mark Andrews saw 104 targets this season, including the team’s lone playoff appearance, catching 65.4% of them (68) and scoring 10 touchdowns. He was Lamar Jackson’s go-to receiver and ended the regular season ranked fifth in targets, but with the heavy tight end formations they Ravens run, he ranked just 39th in snaps. Andrews was one of the best receiving weapons in the league and did it while being reserved specifically for that role from a deployment point of view. His grade suffered a little from a strange case of the drops, three of which came in one game in the rain against Seattle, but “overall, he was a real force this season.”
Andrews was Baltimore’s passing offense at some points last season, with Jackson targeting the tight end the most by a wide margin. Even with defenses keying in on Andrews, his size and speed combination proved to be a huge mismatch that still got him open and into the end zone. If the Ravens can continue to put talent at receiver to force defenses off double-teaming Andrews, he should really explode in 2020.
As noted, Andrews got dinged a bit thanks to his seven drops, which picked up in frequency over the season. But considering Andrews was dealing with injuries last season, I have to wonder if that improves with him being healthy again.
