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The Baltimore Ravens had an incredible run the past two seasons and they don't plan on slowing down any time soon.
John Harbaugh's team won back to back AFC North Division titles and made major strides the past two years. Last year, the Ravens finished with a franchise best 14 wins in the regular season. They had the number one ranked passing and rushing DVOA after 16 games and maybe league MVP Lamar Jackson had a little to do with that.
Though Jackson and company would fall to the Titans in the playoffs, one bad game is no reason to panic. And this offseason, the Ravens organization did just the opposite of that.
Defense
Now, the Ravens D was in no way a weakness last year. They were one of the top two defenses last season especially after acquiring cornerback Marcus Peters. The main issue they had to address on this side of the ball was their pass rush or lack thereof. Baltimore blitzed more than half the time last season but still only ranked 15th overall in the league when it came to pressure rate.
Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale is known for his blitz-heavy defense but Pro Bowl linebacker Matt Judon barely had any help when getting after the opposing quarterback. The Ravens' secondary can hold their own with anyone in the NFL but the team needed a little more help getting into their opponents' backfield.
How did they do this offseason? They went out and got three potential starters to as an answer to their main defensive problem. In arguably their best move, Baltimore sent a fifth-round pick to Jacksonville and got five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell as compensation. In the draft, they would use their first round pick to take linebacker Patrick Queen, who can be an immediate help to Judon and Martindale's pressure packages. And to cap things off, they would also signed Super Bowl 50 champ and capable interior pass rusher Derek Wolfe to a team friendly one-year deal.
Baltimore had one of the league's top defenses last year and their offseason acquisitions just put their stopping power over the top. Barring any major injuries, the Ravens have already an insurance policy in place on nights their offense struggles, something that plagued them in the playoff loss to Tennessee.
The Window
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Though Harbaugh and General Manager Eric DeCosta didn't make any drastic moves because of that uncharacteristic 12 point performance versus the Titans, their main offensive pick-up points to the teams mentality moving forwards. In the second round of the draft, the Ravens took running back J.K. Dobbins out of Ohio State as a back-up to start ballcarrier Mark Ingram. What this pick tells the world is Baltimore isn't looking way past this season when it comes to building their team, but they aren't jeopardizing their title hopes either.
Dobbins will provide additional depth and talent to their ground game, something they sorely missed against the Titans especially with Ingram being hurt. The former Heisman Trophy winner is turning 31 soon and we all know the lifespan of running backs' careers in the NFL isn't as long as we would want it to be. Drafting Dobbins and having him back-up and learn from Ingram sets up the Baltimore offense for a longer run at the top. With MVP Lamar Jackson only turning 24 next January and 2019 first round pick only just turning 23 in June, John Harbaugh's team has its next half a decade or so secured at least offensively.
This leaves the question of who will actually challenge the Ravens in the AFC North and the answer is pretty simple.
The Challengers
All due respect to future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger and star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. but even with all the returning players and upgrades the Steelers and Browns have made, I think the only real threat to the Ravens' reign over the division is themselves.
Yes, Pittsburgh will get Big Ben back and he'll still have JuJu as his top option. They also still have T.J. Watt and that formidable defense, but at the end of the day the Ravens are just better. Same goes for Cleveland. Of course they'll have Baker, two good tight ends, and their two star wideouts in OBJ and Jarvis Landry on offense. The Browns will also finally have a head coach they like and Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garret will still be wrecking O-lines the entire season. But Baltimore has depth, talent, and continuity working for them.
The only way the Baltimore Ravens do not win a third straight AFC North title is if they play like they did in the playoffs against the Titans in multiple games this season. And if I were a betting man, I'm saying there's no way that happens, not this team.
