With the draft over and very limited cap space, I don't think many more signings are on the horizon, so I think who the Ravens have now is largely it (of course, the Ravens signed Clowney, Darby, Maulet, and Van Noy after the draft and all four were huge contributors.)
With that said, I'm still very worried about the team compared to 2023.
Defensively, I just have to wonder what the team will look like under Zach Orr. We've seen other play callers try to replicate their predecessors (Eagles with both coordinators in 2023, Marc Trestman as examples) with no success. I'm hopeful because Orr ascended the ranks so quickly, but play calling is a whole different beast.
I think the defense will largely be okay, simply based on talent alone. Yeah, losing Clowney and Queen really sucks and I'm quite curious to see how Hamilton is used without Stone being able to slot in as another corner, but overall, there's just too much talent to be truly terrible. The question just remains whether or not they can remain elite.
I will say, I am really excited for Nate Wiggins. I'm a huge Clemson fan, so I was over the moon with the Wiggins pick. I think he represented amazing value. It's a shame the offensive line run happened and dried up the position before the Ravens picked, but I can hardly be mad with Wiggins. With Wiggins, when the biggest gripe is he's a bit light and may not contribute heavily into the run defense, you know you've gotten a good corner. Plus, given how athletic and fluid he is, even if he lost some speed and agility with added weight, as expected, he's still going to be one of the best athletes in the league. I'm very excited for Wiggins.
Offensively, though, I'm really wary.
For me, it starts up front. I'm really optimistic, after everything I've heard and read, the Rosengarten can slide in and start at RT, but he's still a rookie and that's always a toss up.
At guard, you're looking at two mostly unknowns. I say mostly unknowns because Cleveland, I'd imagine, has the inside track at RG and he's looked good in limited time at RG. Still, Gino Gradkowski looked good against prime Geno Atkins in the 2012 season finale and 2013 Gradkowski might have been the most porous center play I'd seen for the Ravens since becoming a fan.
But left guard is truly my biggest worry. I know Vorhees has garnered a ton of hype, but we still have to remember he was a seventh round pick (likely a day 3 pick if not for injury) and has missed an entire season of conditioning and time to get acclimated to the game. Honest question- how many players who have missed their entire rookie season (offseason included) have gone on to have productive year twos? The few I can think of off the top of my head who missed their entire rookie season have busted out of the league fairly quickly. His competition in Sala couldn't even beat out John Simpson and John Simpson was... not good. He was definitely the line's weak link.
I understand that it's unrealistic to expect five known quantities year in and year out, but three unknown quantities at such a crucial position grouping feels like a tough pill to swallow. I do not want a repeat of 2013 or 2021. Those were Joe's and Lamar's worst years and it's pretty easy to point to the biggest culprit.
At wide receiver, I have fears of a repeat of 2022 where the Ravens largely ignored an already thin grouping and then completely fell apart when Bateman got injured, leaving Duvernay as WR1. If, heaven forbid, something happened to Zay, the Ravens top receivers would be Bateman and Agholor. That's not good. It's not even a good group with Zay, but it's arguably worst in the league without him.
I'm cautiously optimistic about Derrick Henry. Henry has earned the benefit of the doubt due to his body of work, but he's taken over 80% of his career carries from under center, not the shotgun, and was rarely used on RPOs. Obviously the shotgun is what the Ravens run 95%+ of the time and RPOs are a fairly large piece of the Ravens offense. How will Henry do with such a stylistic change?
Additionally, Henry looked more human last year. How much was the Titans truly awful (potentially league worst?) offensive line and how much was age and wear and tear catching up? A combination? Even with the unknowns along the offensive line, I do expect that the Ravens offensive line will be a few tiers, at least, above what the Titans fielded in 2023, so maybe Henry is in line for a bounce back. If nothing else, Henry gives the Ravens a true workhorse option that shouldn't be shied away from in the playoffs.