Ravens All-Pro LB Receives Disrespectful Ranking

If Baltimore Ravens star Roquan Smith is not the best off-ball linebacker in the NFL today, he's at the very least in the conversation.

Smith, 28, has been a monster since joining the Ravens via a mid-season trade in 2022. In 41 games wearing purple and black, he's racked up 398 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, five sacks, 15 passes defended, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. He's also been a first-team All-Pro selection in each of the past three seasons.

Smith's underlying numbers have been great as well, though they did take a small hit early last season. According to Pro Football Focus' Mason Cameron, however, that dip is enough to bump him down to No. 4 on a ranking of the league's top off-ball linebackers.

"On the surface, Smith’s 66.8 PFF overall grade in 2024 would seem like a drop that would push him further down this list, but the personnel around him was a contributing factor," Cameron wrote. "After Kyle Hamilton’s move back to safety in Week 11, Smith returned to form. His 81.8 PFF coverage grade from that point on ranked fourth at the position — much closer to his usual level of play."

"A full season with that structure will have Smith right back in the elite conversation."

Like the defense as a whole, Smith improved substantially in the second half of the season compared to the first. Unlike the rest of the unit, though, he was already playing relatively well early on. Maybe not to his usual standard, but not drastically far off from it.

Heading into the 2025 campaign, Smith knows there are plenty of things he can continue working on.

"For myself, just improving [and] just being better," Smith told reporters on April 21. "Yes, All-Pros, this and that, all that stuff is fine, but it's about getting hardware, and that's something you accomplish as a team. So, that's more of what I want, because all the individual accolades, that stuff will come once you're successful as a team."

The players ranked ahead of Smith include Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers, Zach Baun of the Philadelphia Eagles and Bobby Wagner of the Washington Commanders.