3 Ravens Legends Headline PFF's Team of the Century

The Baltimore Ravens have grown used to winning, at least during the regular season. This era of Ravens football is defined by quarterback Lamar Jackson and the impact of an elite quarterback talent.

Baltimore’s consistency precedes him, though. Before Jackson took the reins, it was Joe Flacco who commandeered these offenses, winning a Super Bowl in the process. The veteran quarterback will always have a place in the hearts of the fanbase, but those teams were headlined by elite defenses.

Subsequently, three Ravens legends were featured in Pro Football Focus’ best players of the 21st century. Two of them – linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed – were protagonists on the conference’s most feared defense.

“Lewis’ career dates back further than PFF grading, beginning in 1996, though he is deserving of making the quarter-century team when projecting the start of his career — five first-team All-Pro appearances and two Defensive Player of the Year awards — to the PFF era,” Jonathon Marci wrote.

“Once PFF's grading began, Lewis produced one of the best career grades for the position, ranking among the top five linebackers since 2006. His 2009 season was his best captured by PFF, as he delivered a 91.4 PFF overall grade — the top mark that year and tied for the third-best season all time for the position.”

Lewis, to some, is the greatest linebacker of all time. He was an easy Hall of Famer, holds the all-time record for career tackles (2,059), and has seven first-team All-Pro selections to his name. Lewis was the face of the Ravens, the embodiment of the fear that Baltimore put into its opponents.

The free safety behind him was one of the few players on the planet capable of matching him during that stretch.

Reed’s ball-hawking abilities and his playmaking after the catch are second to none. His legendary battles with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning shaped the power dynamics of the 2000s.

“We missed out on his 2004 Defensive Player of the Year season and two All-Pro and Pro-Bowl performances,” Macri wrote. “In the years that followed, Reed delivered the second-highest career forced incompletion rate (19.3%) of the PFF era among 116 qualifying safeties. His 93.4 PFF coverage grade in 2009 was the third-best mark ever captured for the safety position by PFF, while his 91.8 PFF overall grade that year is tied for the fourth-best single-season mark.”

The two defensive dynamos weren’t alone on PFF’s list. Right guard Marshal Yanda and running back Derrick Henry both made the cut at their respective positions, holding down the offensive praise to match the franchise’s tradition of high-level defensive talent.

The latter will hope to join his predecessors in hoisting a Lombardi Trophy in a Ravens uniform.