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Baltimore Ravens 2026 Season preview

The Ravens begin 2026 with a new head coach, offensive coordinator and a whole new roster. They had an offseason of change that they haven’t experienced in a while, and this is a team that needs to maximise the rest of Lamar Jackson’s prime. I discuss what Baltimore has done during recent years and the offseason before analysing their roster and making my final predictions on how I think the Ravens will perform in 2026.

Summary of recent history and where the Ravens are at as a franchise

The Ravens have been playoff contenders consistently since they hired John Harbaugh in 2008, including winning a Super Bowl in 2012. Once the team drafted Lamar Jackson in 2018, the Ravens looked to come back to Super Bowl contention, with Jackson having won 2 NFL MVP awards since his debut. However, repeated chokes in the playoffs have meant that the Ravens have not reached a Super Bowl in Jackson’s career. Last season, the Ravens were looking to go back to the playoffs after three straight seasons ending in playoff heartbreaks, but it all fell apart. Jackson had multiple injuries that forced him to miss four games, and the Ravens blew multiple leads including a 40-25 lead in the 4th quarter in Week 1 vs Buffalo and a 24-13 lead in the 4th quarter in Week 16 vs New England, both on Sunday Night Football. A Week 18 loss to archrivals Pittsburgh on a last second missed field goal by Tyler Loop ended their season at 8-9, having needed to win that game to win the AFC North. At the end of the season Harbaugh was fired, having not made the most of Jackson’s career to date.

The Ravens enter 2026 with new head coach Jesse Minter, who was the Chargers defensive coordinator for the last two seasons under John Harbaugh’s brother Jim. Under Minter, the Chargers had a top 10 defense in points and yards allowed both years, showing his talent as a defensive mind. He should help a Ravens defence that fell off last season, especially in the passing game where they ranked 30th in passing yards allowed. The offensive side of the ball will change as well, with 2025 offensive coordinator Todd Monken leaving to become the Cleveland Browns head coach, and new OC Declan Doyle comes in as the youngest offensive playcaller in the league at just 29 years old.

The Ravens’ 2026 NFL Free Agency: Departures, Additions and Re-Signings (From NFL.com, all figures in US Dollars)

Departures
QB Cooper Rush
RB Keaton Mitchell (Chargers)
FB Patrick Ricard (Giants)
WR DeAndre Hopkins
WR Tylan Wallace (Browns)
TE Charlie Kolar (Chargers)
TE Isaiah Likely (Giants)
OT Joe Noteboom
OG Daniel Faalele (Giants)
C Tyler Linderbaum (Raiders)
Edge Kyle Van Noy
Edge David Ojabo (Dolphins)
DL Taven Bryan
DL Dre'Mont Jones (Patriots)
DL Brent Urban
S Alohi Gilman (Chiefs)
S Ar'Darius Washington (Commanders)
P Jordan Stout (Giants)

Additions and Re-Signings
QB Tyler Huntley: Re-signed- 2 years, $11 million.
QB Skylar Thompson: Signed- 1 year, $1.145 million
WR Zay Flowers: Re-signed 4 years, $140 million.
TE Durham Smythe: Signed a free-agent deal.
C Danny Pinter: Signed with the Ravens.
OL John Simpson: Signed- 3 years, $30 million deal.
Edge Trey Hendrickson: Signed a four-year, $112 million deal with $60 million fully guaranteed and a maximum value of $120 million.
DL Calais Campbell: Signed with the Ravens.
CB Chidobe Awuzie: Re-signed on a fully guaranteed one-year, $5 million contract.
S Jaylinn Hawkins: Signed a free-agent deal.
S K'Von Wallace: Signed with the Ravens.

Analysis
The Ravens lost a lot of players this offseason, as the firing of John Harbaugh and his subsequent re-hiring at the Giants resulted in him taking Patrick Ricard, Isaiah Likely and Daniel Faalele with him. The biggest loss in terms of importance to the team and contract value was center Tyler Linderbaum, who went to the Raiders on a 3 year, $81 million deal.

On the talent acquisition front, the Ravens went hard at getting an edge rusher, and after trading two first round picks to the Raiders for Maxx Crosby, they controversially backed out of the deal after a failed physical. They then turned around and signed Trey Hendrickson to a massive 4 year deal, taking him from division rivals Cincinnati. They added veteran Calais Campbell to the team to add more depth to the defensive line, giving him a 19th season in the NFL at 40 years old. The team also added depth to its struggling secondary by re-signing corner Chidobe Awuzie and signing safeties Jaylinn Hawkins and K’Von Wallace.

Free Agency Grade- B+

The Ravens 2026 NFL Draft
Round 1 (No. 14): OG Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State
Round 2 (No. 45): Edge Zion Young, Missouri
Round 3 (No. 80): WR Ja'Kobi Lane, USC
Round 4 (No. 115): WR Elijah Sarratt, Indiana
Round 4 (No. 133): TE Matthew Hibner, SMU
Round 5 (No. 162): CB Chandler Rivers, Duke
Round 5 (No. 173): TE Josh Cuevas, Alabama
Round 5 (No. 174): RB Adam Randall, Clemson
Round 6 (No. 211): P Ryan Eckley, Michigan State
Round 7 (No. 250): DL Rayshaun Benny, Michigan
Round 7 (No. 253): OG Evan Beerntsen, Northwestern

Draft Analysis
The Ravens looked to upgrade the guard spot which had been a weakness for them in recent years, and they selected Penn State’s Olaivavega Ioane. Ioane was the first guard taken in the draft, and was highly regarded at Penn State, with his size being ideal for the guard position. On the other side of the trenches, the Ravens needed to find an edge rusher and they selected Zion Young in the 2nd round. Young is a raw prospect who has the size and strength required to perform at the NFL level, but his level of production in college and his lack of pass rush moves made him slide in the draft. In the 3rd round the Ravens added to their receiver room by drafting Ja’Kobi Lane, who was a solid 2nd WR at USC behind Makai Lemon and can be great in the redzone. The Ravens then drafted another WR in Elijah Sarratt in the 4th, who had elite production at Indiana as a possession receiver. From then onwards, the Ravens mainly drafted backups, with the exception of punter Ryan Eckley who will replace Jordan Stout who departed to the Giants.

Draft Grade- B

Offence Depth Chart (Starters and notable backups listed from multiple sources including ESPN)
QB- Lamar Jackson
RB- Derrick Henry
WR- Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Devontez Walker, Ja’Kobi Lane
TE- Mark Andrews
LT- Ronnie Stanley
LG- John Simpson
C- Ethan Pocic
RG- Vega Ioane
RT- Roger Rosengarten

Analysis
There’s a lot for new OC Declan Doyle to work with, especially with a really talented offensive skill group around him. Doyle was the OC in Chicago last season under Ben Johnson, and while he didn’t call the plays, he can still bring what he learnt from Johnson to an offence that finished 11th in scoring and 16th in total yards last season and try to get it into the top 10 in both categories.

With a leader like Lamar Jackson under center, Baltimore’s offense will continue to be well-rounded, as Lamar has the highest career passer rating of all time while also having the most rushing yards of any QB ever. In the backfield with him is the NFL’s 10th highest rusher of all time in Derrick Henry, who has aged like a fine wine since joining the Ravens as a 30 year old, with two seasons of over 1500 rushing yards as a Raven. If these two keep up their form, the Ravens will have a chance in almost every game that they play.

The receiver room has been inconsistent in Lamar’s time as the Ravens QB, as they have shown flashes but at times have had frustrating drops that have cost the team in big moments. Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers enter 2026 with it being their 4th year as the Ravens top receiver duo. Both have signed long-term extensions in Baltimore with Bateman doing so last year and Flowers having just re-signed on a top 5 receiver contract this week. Despite the faith the team has put in them there are still some doubts around both of them being consistent, and this will be another prove-it year for both, especially Bateman whose numbers had taken a significant decline in 2025. Tight end Mark Andrews should see an increased target share this year with Isaiah Likely's departure, with only rookie TE Matt Hibner competing with him on the depth chart.

The offensive line has been much maligned in recent years in Baltimore, which led the Ravens to completely overhaul the group heading into the 2026 season. This year the group needs to deliver after having their redzone touchdown % plummet in 2025 from 74.2% to 47.5% according to Sports Illustrated, and failing to keep Lamar Jackson from taking big hits all of last year. One player in the Ravens O line that hasn't changed for a decade is Ronnie Stanley, who has been a dependable left tackle for them since 2016. Opposite him is 3rd year right tackle Roger Rosengarten, who is another solid starter with some potential to make another leap as he is still young. The interior of the offensive line has been a problem for the Ravens in recent years, and it was exacerbated by the departure of stalwart center Tyler Linderbaum in free agency. Linderbaum’s replacement Ethan Pocic is coming off an Achilles tear that ended his 2025 season, while the guard spots either side of Pocic are filled by first round pick Ioane and John Simpson, who has familiarity with the Ravens having played there in 2022 and 2023.

Defence depth chart
DEs- Nnamdi Madubuike, Calais Campbell
DT- Travis Jones, Broderick Washington Jr.
OLBs- Trey Hendrickson, Tavius Robinson, Zion Young, Mike Green
ILBs- Roquan Smith
CBs- Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, Chidobe Awuzie
S- Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks

Analysis
The Ravens defence needs a regeneration under new head coach Jesse Minter, and they have the talent in the room to get it done. Minter will use a 3-4 defence as his base formation, with big guys such as Madubuike, Campbell, Travis Jones and Washington all being important in containing the run game and providing an interior pass rush. The edge rusher position has been overhauled in Baltimore in recent years, as discussed earlier with Hendrickson’s signing in free agency and the drafting of Zion Young in the 2nd round. 2025 2nd round pick Mike Green is also another edge rusher that will looking to make an impact in this pass rush overhaul, having had 3.5 sacks in 2025 in limited game time. The middle of the defence will be led once again by Roquan Smith, who has been an elite off-ball linebacker since he moved to Baltimore in 2022. While Smith hasn’t had the impact in recent seasons as he did when he first became a Raven, he still is a quality leader to have in that defence.

The secondary, as mentioned at the start, will be the position group under the most pressure on the Ravens defence, as they ranked 30th in pass defence last season. While they have an elite safety in Kyle Hamilton who can cover the whole field and play a range of positions, the rest of the secondary had not been as good as him last year. This regression was seen most in players like Marlon Humphrey, who has been a great corner except for 2025 where he played through physical pain every week. The other corners including Chidobe Awuzie and Nate Wiggins were able to play well in 2025, but if they have their spiritual leader in Humphrey be 100% healthy and able to continue to deliver big plays and big hits, then the whole secondary will be able to elevate their game. Alongside Hamilton at safety is Malaki Starks, who had a slow start as a rookie in 2025 but showed a lot of promise towards the end of the season, with Pro Football Focus even rating him as their highest graded defender in the first two weeks of November. If he can make his 2nd season even better than his first, Baltimore could have the best safety duo in the league by the end of 2026.

Final Thoughts and Predictions
The Ravens are a team that seems really hungry to get back to a deep playoff run. With new head coach Minter at the helm, the Ravens can go back to the defensive identity that has defined their franchise ever since they got Ray Lewis in their inaugural season in the NFL. With the work Minter has done in his coaching career to date, I back the Ravens defence to return to form. On the offensive side, I’m not too concerned for the Ravens as even though Declan Doyle hasn’t had playcalling duties before, they still have a lot of talent in the offence to be contenders again, especially with Lamar Jackson under center. Personally, I think the Ravens are a hard team to read in 2026, as a lot of their success is dependent on their trenches (both the offensive line and defensive line) and their secondary improving. But they have the pieces across the board to make a good playoff run. I think the Ravens finish 12-5 and 1st in the AFC North this year, with a slow start to the year leading to a strong finish.