The 2022 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, April 28. As a lead-up to the draft, we’ll be giving a team-by-team breakdown for positional needs. For each team, we’ll give an overview of the current depth chart and how big of a need each position is in the upcoming draft. You can find the rest of the team needs (as they’re updated) and the rest of our draft content in the 2022 NFL Draft hub.
What Picks do the Baltimore Ravens have in 2022
The Baltimore Ravens have 10 picks.
Round 1 (14)
Round 2 (45)
Round 3 (76)
Round 3 (100)
Round 4 (110)
Round 4 (119)
Round 4 (128)
Round 4 (139)
Round 4 (141)
Round 6 (196)
Baltimore Ravens Top POSITIONS OF NEED
OL, WR, pass catching TE depth, defensive depth
Baltimore Ravens Strength of Schedule, 2022
The Baltimore Ravens have the 14th easiest NFL strength of schedule for the 2022 NFL season.
Baltimore Ravens Offense
By Rich Hribar
QUARTERBACK
Lamar Jackson
Tyler Huntley
Lamar Jackson is currently playing under the fifth-year option as Jackson reportedly won’t discuss an extension until after the season. While Jackson could be attempting to hit the open market, the Ravens still have multiple franchise tags at their disposal if things go off the rails.
Jackson is coming off a season that was a mixed bag, posting the highest interception rate (3.4%) of his career while his touchdown rate (4.2%) was his lowest since starting as a rookie. His completion percentage (64.4%) stayed the same as 2020 while his yards per pass attempt (7.5 Y/A) increased from the 7.3 Y/A he had in 2020.
Jackson also missed five games outright while only playing 10 snaps in another game.
Without Jackson on the field, the Ravens dropped from 5.6 yards per offensive play (which would have been mid-pack over the full season) down to 5.1 yards per play (which was a bottom-10 offense). Baltimore was also 7-4 in games that Jackson played in full compared to 1-5 in the other six games, although just one of those losses was by more than three points.
Both Jackson and backups Tyler Huntley and Josh Johnson played behind a skeleton crew on the offensive line on top of things.
The Ravens got an extended look at Huntley, who showed he is a viable backup in their system despite the drop in production offensively. Huntley is in the final year of his contract, but will be a restricted free agent after 2022.
The Ravens have some elements hanging in the air you would prefer to be settled big picture but holding the keys to the rights for Jackson via franchise tag and what type of RFA designation they can play in Huntley after this season still give them some leverage in not needing to panic and look for insurance for worst-case scenarios via this draft class.
RUNNING BACK
J.K. Dobbins
Gus Edwards
Justice Hill
Nate McCrary
Ty’Son Williams
Patrick Ricard (FB)
The Ravens were completely snakebit in their backfield a year ago as all of Dobbins, Edwards, and Hill suffered season-ending injuries in the preseason.
Forced to scramble at the position, the Ravens leaned on veteran backs Devonta Freeman (133 carries) and Latavius Murray (119) as their primary ball carriers. From a success rate stance, both Freeman (59%) and Murray (58%) ranked second and third in the league among backs with over 100 carries, but both backs pretty much just did the baseline job as Freeman was -11 yards below rushing expectation and Murray was +5 yards. There were hardly any explosive runs from this group, something both Dobbins and Edwards can provide when healthy.
Dobbins still has tremendous upside in this scheme. Dobbins showed plenty of electricity with 6.0 yards per carry and 6.1 yards per touch as a rookie.
Edwards is just one of two running backs in league history to average over 5.0 yards per carry on over 100 attempts in each of their first three seasons in the NFL.
Both Dobbins and Edwards are signed through 2023, the only backs on the roster signed beyond this season. The Ravens will likely look to add a back on day three as depth.
WIDE RECEIVER
Marquise Brown
Rashod Bateman
Devin Duvernay
Tylan Wallace
James Proche
Jaylon Moore
Binjimen Victor
The Ravens have already picked up the fifth-year option on Marquise Brown this offseason.
Brown turned in his best season to date in 2021, catching 91-of-146 targets for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns.
We were finally seeing the emergence of Brown as a lead wideout until the injury to Lamar Jackson torpedoed things.
With Jackson under center, Brown caught 67.3% of his targets for 12.7 yards per catch, 8.5 yards per target, and averaged 2.03 yards per route run compared to catching 52.1% of his targets for 6.8 yards per catch, 3.6 yards per target and 0.80 yards per route without Jackson.
The Ravens took Rashod Bateman in the first round last season. He gave us a couple of hot spots as a rookie, but ultimately his playing time never consistently materialized while he was still extremely behind both Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown on the pecking order. Bateman only commanded a 10.6% target share in his games played.
Behind those two lead wideouts, the Ravens have a depth chart filled with middle-to-late round draft picks that have provided next to nothing to this point.
All of Devin Duvernay, Tylan Wallace, and James Proche still have multiple years on their rookie deals. Duvernay is at least a special teams contributor (he led the NFL with 13.8 yards per punt return in 2021), but he has averaged a pedestrian 8.9 yards per catch through two years in the league.
I would not call this position a “need” for the Ravens, but it does make sense that they keep swinging on day three.
TIGHT END
Mark Andrews
Nick Boyle
Josh Oliver
Ben Mason
Tony Poljan
The Ravens gave Mark Andrews a four-year extension in September last year and he paid off immediately with his best NFL season.
We finally got to see what Andrews could do with volume as he set career-highs playing 75% of the offensive snaps (10% higher than his previous high) while running 623 routes (273 more than his previous high). That helped Andrews post a gaudy 107-1,361-9 line on 153 targets. He is now the only tight end to score seven or more touchdowns in each of the past three seasons.
Nick Boyle is still on the books for the next two seasons as the only other tight end here signed past this season. Baltimore could potentially need a better pass-catching option as part of their depth as insurance for Andrews, but the Ravens are in strong shape here at the position.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LT: Ronnie Stanley /Jaryd Jones-Smith
LG: Ben Powers/Tyre Phillips/Brandon Knight
C: Patrick Mekari/Tyrstan Colon-Castillo/James Murray
RG: Kevin Zeitler/Ben Cleveland/Khalil McKenzie
RT: Morgan Moses/Ja’Wuan James
This is another area that limited and contributed to the late-season collapse for the Ravens’ offense in 2021. The Ravens used 11 different offensive line combinations for double-digit snaps last season, but their most used offensive line combination was on the field for just 33.7% of their offensive plays.
That unit did not feature All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who played just 68 snaps. Stanley has now played in just seven games the past two seasons and has yet to play a full season through six years in the league. Stanley still has a massive contract for at least the next two seasons and is counted on making a full recovery this offseason.
Kevin Zeitler was one of the bright spot here, playing 99% of the snaps while allowing just a 2.4% pressure rate and one sack. Zeitler is signed through 2023.
The team played 33-year-old Alejandro Villaneuva at right tackle, who allowed a team-high 7.7% pressure rate and nine sacks. Villanueva has retired, with the Ravens replacing him with Morgan Moses, who also allowed a 7.7% pressure rate a year ago with the Jets. Moses was a far better run blocker. At the end of the day, the Ravens upgraded from the 57th graded tackle per Pro Football Focus up to the 42nd.
The team still has veteran Ja’Wuan James, who has not played in a game since 2019, sitting out 2020 due to COVID and then suffering an Achilles injury.
Left guard Ben Powers missed four games. While on the field, he checked out 45th in grades among guards per Pro Football Focus. Powers is in the final year of his rookie contract. Tyre Phillips (a third-round pick in 2020) and Ben Cleveland (taken in the third round last year) could make left guard more of a competition over the summer
The team lost center Bradley Bozeman in free agency, who allowed just a 3.1% pressure rate and was the 11th graded center per Pro Football Focus a year ago.
Baltimore reportedly was interested in bringing in Ryan Jensen, but he returned to Tampa Bay. They have Patrick Mekari as a potential move there after he signed an extension through 2024. Mekari started seven games at center for the team in 2020.
The Ravens largely have their starting lineup filled out, but with Stanley’s injury history, Zeitler (32 years old) and Moses (31) already pushing past 30, and some interior line questions, insurance and upgrades can be made, especially coming off the season they just went through where their depth was hammered.
Baltimore Ravens Defense
By Dan Pizzuta
Interior Defensive Line
Michael Pierce
Derek Wolfe
Justin Madubukie
Broderick Washington Jr.
Isaiah Mack
Xavier Kelly
Aaron Crawford
When the Ravens looked like they had a deal with Za’Darius Smith, they were praised for following a blueprint they created — develop talent, let them sign a massive contract elsewhere, wait until they become cap casualties, and sign them back without impacting the comp pick formula. Smith didn’t sign, but that’s exactly what happened with Michael Pierce.
Pierce opted out of 2020 and only played eight games in 2021 but he was a force in the middle of the defensive line. He also had a career-high in sacks (three) in just half a season. At 340 pounds, Pierce is a player who can take up space inside that opens up lanes for others on the defense.
Justin Madubukie (third) and Broderick Washington (fifth) were two 2020 draft picks who were able to get into the rotation. Madubukie played 44.5% of the defensive snaps, picked up seven tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits.
Derek Wolfe missed all of 2021 with a hip injury and he needed surgery for it after the season. Calais Campbell remains a free agent and could return.
EDGE
Tyus Bowser
Odafe Oweh
Jaylon Ferguson
Daelin Hayes
Tyus Bowser got a contract extension last offseason and in his first year of full-time play made an immediate impact. Bowser started all 17 games, played 76.6% of the defensive snaps, and ranked 19th among edge rushers in pressure rate. Bowser is currently the star and vet of the group.
Odafe Oweh was a super athletic pass rush prospect in college and he slide perfectly into a system built for players like him. Oweh was on the field for 56.5% of the defensive snaps, had five sacks, 15 quarterback hits, and three forced fumbles. He was 55th in pressure rate among edge rushers.
The Ravens lost some depth here in free agency — though most players remain free agents — so it’s likely there will be depth added here at some point.
Off-ball Linebacker
Patrick Queen
Malik Harrison
Kristian Welch
Patrick Queen hasn’t completely lived up to expectations since he was a first-round pick in 2020. Queen has struggled in coverage and ranked 64th among 85 qualified linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap in 2021. Though, he did outperform Josh Bynes (71st) and Chris Board (78th) who also got significant playing time in Baltimore last season.
Like other positions on the defense, the current depth chart at linebacker is quite bare. The Ravens haven’t been very active in free agency and there should be more to come eventually. Now Queen and 2020 third-round pick Malik Harrison would be the starters. Harrison didn’t get a lot of run of defense last season even as the team was playing some poor linebackers throughout the year.
Cornerback
Marlon Humphrey
Marcus Peters
Iman Marshall
Kevon Seymour
Robert Jackson
Injuries decimated this group last season. Marcus Peters missed the entire year and Marlon Humphrey was rarely 100%. Humphrey played 69% of the defensive snaps, but really struggled when he was on the field. Of 93 qualified cornerbacks, Humphrey ranked 91st in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap, which includes touchdowns and interceptions.
At full health, Humphrey and Peters are one of the best cornerback duos in the league and the Ravens will hope 2022 brings full health.
Behind them, there isn’t much. Anthony Averett led the position in snaps last season and he is now on the Raiders. Tavon Young, a productive slot corner when healthy, has battled through so many injuries over the past few years and was released this offseason after playing 50% of the defensive snaps in 2021.
Kevon Seymour played 22% of the defensive snaps but struggled on a limited number of plays in coverage.
Safety
Marcus Williams
Chuck Clark
Geno Stone
Brandon Stephens
Ar’Darius Washington
Tony Jefferson
Baltimore’s big free agent move was to bring in Marcus Williams. Williams gives the Ravens a deep safety option that should allow Chuck Clark to play more in the box and could open up more coverage possibilities.
This is a position that currently has the most depth on defense. Ar’Darius Washington only played seven defensive snaps last season but everyone else has the experience to play, including Tony Jefferson who spent half a season with the 49ers in 2021 before returning to Baltimore.