Ravens Weakest Position Group Revealed

The Baltimore Ravens are perfectly positioned to finally wrestle control of the AFC back from their dominant conference rivals, having combined smart roster management with a good enough core on both ends of the football to not only win the division, but potentially the whole thing in February.

Between their rostering several of the faces of the league in Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry to their quietly imposing depth at wide receiver and in the secondary, the Ravens are stacked nearly across the board, set to continue running up the scores this coming fall while improving at preventing their peers from hanging with them in shootouts.

They don't have many weak points, but they're also not perfect. Baltimore Beatdown, SB Nation's Ravens affiliate, settled on offensive guard as the team's biggest positional weak point, with a few unproven spot starters now tasked with protecting Jackson's pocket in a high-stakes environment.

Frank Platko identifies Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele as the likeliest starting guards, having each made their debuts as starters last season. Patrick Mekari helped stabilize the group when Vorhees went down with injury, but his free agency departure leaves the inexperienced guards with a big job to fill.

"While both Vorhees and Faalele are young with room to grow, they’ve yet to establish themselves as quality high-level starters. Vorhees has very limited starting NFL experience and Faalele had an up-and-down, inconsistent 2024 season," Platko wrote.

"Fortunately, the Ravens’ offensive scheme and infrastructure, as well as the star abilities of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, help mitigate deficiencies and any cracks in the lineup. Still, though, On the Ravens’ offensive line as a whole, the two guard spots are the clear weaker points."

They're one of the more decisive teams in the league from behind scrimmage, with Jackson usually having one, or both, of his dominant running back in Henry to pitch the ball to or one of the league's most reliable screen threats in Zay Flowers on his other side, making the job of the linemen easier as they ward off defenders looking to blow up plays.

The other linemen surrounding the prospects are good enough to raise the entire position group up to a mediocre distinction, but Baltimore's high expectations require better than what the guards have provided.

"For the Ravens to reach their ultimate ceiling and hold up against some of the league’s better defensive line fronts, they can’t afford to have below-average play from their starting guards," Platko said. "So, the development and growth of Vorhees and Faalele, should they in fact win the starting roles, will be a key storyline this season."