Ravens Soar in Post-Frenzy Power Rankings
The new league year came in like a lion, as rosters around the NFL were altered over the past week by free agent signings and trades. With the frenzy subsided, NFL.com revisited its post-Super Bowl power rankings and reshuffled the deck.
No team moved up more than the Ravens, who ascended nine spots to No. 6. They are the only team in the top 13 that did not make the playoffs last season.
“Well, it’s been nothing short of a fascinating start to the offseason for the Ravens, with the failed Maxx Crosby trade (and subsequent Trey Hendrickson signing) dominating the early news cycle in free agency,” NFL.com’s Eric Edholm wrote. “Prior to that, the Ravens lost a slew of players in free agency, including Pro Bowl C Tyler Linderbaum, who has clearly been their best offensive lineman in the past few years, especially in the run game.
“I’m still chewing on everything they’ve done and had done to them so far. Right now, it’s OK, even if I think it’s pretty clear that Baltimore’s roster isn’t in as good of shape, top to bottom, as it was a few years ago. That said, it’s still a roster that should produce a serious contender in 2026. And like I said in the intro, this is a grand reshuffling with an eye toward next fall, thus explaining the Ravens’ rise in this rundown.”
The five teams ranked ahead of the Ravens were (in order): the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and San Francisco 49ers.
The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue also took stock of where each team stands and divided them into seven tiers based on what their free-agency strategy so far says about their broader team-building approach.
The Ravens landed in the second-highest tier (“confident and playoff likely but with stakes”), which consisted of teams that “are very talented but have at least one major difference from a ‘win-now’ team.”
“While the league at large viewed the initial trade agreement for Maxx Crosby as an overpay, I saw it as a statement from [General Manager] Eric DeCosta and Co. that these were not going to be the ‘just good enough’ Ravens anymore,” Rodrigue wrote. “Then they rescinded the trade and signed a good pass rusher in Trey Hendrickson, but injuries and age are real questions there.
“Meanwhile, in an era during which Lamar Jackson’s prime must be maximized (not Maxx-imized, apparently), I still have questions about his group of skill players, the offensive line and the longer-term outlook of the running backs room. DeCosta will likely return to his pattern of being active in the later waves of free agency after beginning the period flying on the surface of the sun.”
The four teams in the “win-now tier” were the Broncos, Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks. The Ravens were joined in the second tier by the Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles.
