Ravens News 3/27: Boom/Bust Prospects

How Ravens are addressing changes to Lamar’s supporting cast

Jamison Hensley, ESPN

“[Jackson has] been great in terms of coming back and really buying in,” Ravens president Sashi Brown said. “I thought Eric [DeCosta, Ravens GM] and John and Oz [Newsome] and Steve [Bisciotti, Ravens owner] did a great job just sticking through it last year and really putting some pieces around him so that he could feel successful and see the commitment to him as well.”

Wide receiver

There’s no question that Zay Flowers is the Ravens’ top receiver. He is coming off a rookie season in which he accounted for 41.6% of Baltimore wide receivers’ catches (77 of 185) and 39% of its wide receivers’ receiving yards (858 to 2,216).

As far as the No. 2 wide receiver, Rashod Bateman continues to get a strong push this offseason from team officials. Last season, Bateman caught 32 passes for 367 yards and one touchdown.

Running back

Henry is the undisputed starter in the backfield, and Justice Hill will help out as a change-of-back runner. It’s unknown when injured Keaton Mitchell (knee) will return this season.

It doesn’t sound like there’s a good chance that J.K. Dobbins or Dalvin Cook will be back to add depth at running back.

NFL owners pass new hybrid kickoff rule at Annual League Meeting

Kevin Patra, NFL.com

Owners approved the hybrid kickoff rule on Tuesday during the Annual League Meeting, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported, per sources informed of the decision.

The move revolutionizes the kickoff, a play that had become an afterthought as safety rules essentially wiped out incentives for a return.

The new hybrid kickoff will probably look a tad funky to traditionalists for the first few weeks, but the hope is that it revitalizes a dying play while also keeping injuries — particularly head injuries — to a minimum.

The passed kickoff rule features new alignments for both the kicking and receiving units. A “landing zone,” the area between the receiving team’s goal line and its 20-yard line, would prompt action off the kickoff if the ball were to land in that sector.

Kickoffs will remain at the 35-yard line, but the remaining 10 players on the kicking unit will line up at the opposing team’s 40-yard line. The receiving team lines up with at least seven players in the “set up zone,” a five-yard area between their own 35- and 30-yard lines, with a maximum of two returners can line up in the landing zone.

After the ball is kicked, the kicker cannot cross the 50-yard line, and the 10 kicking team players cannot move until the ball hits the ground or a player in the landing zone or goes into the end zone. The receiving team’s players in the set-up zone also cannot move until the kick has hit the ground or a player in the landing zone or the end zone. The returner(s) may move at any time before or during the kickoff.

John Harbaugh Talks About Adjusting to New Kickoff Rules

Clifton Brown, BaltimoreRavens.com

“The thing I really appreciate about [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell is the passion and the determination to get the kickoff back into the game [and] to keep the game as exciting as it can possibly be,” Harbaugh said. “The kickoff return has been around for a long time in football. I’m passionate about that myself. I think for Roger to be championing that and getting behind that and to be exploring every opportunity to keep the kickoff return in the game and make it exciting, that’s what I’m happy about. I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Harbaugh said the changes will force players and coaches to adjust their strategy on kickoffs, but he believes it’s worth the effort to bring more kickoff returns into the game. The new kickoff rules follow the structure and philosophy that were used by the XFL. More than 90% of kickoffs were returned during the XFL’s two seasons.

Ravens’ special teams headed in right direction for next season

Todd Karpovich, BaltimoreSports.com

The Ravens could be better next season with the addition of Chris Board and the return of Malik Harrison and Arthur Maulet, who were both re-signed this offseason. Board will replace Del’Shawn Phillips, who signed with the Texans in free agency. Phillips played on a career-high 375 special teams snaps, and Board will get the same type of playing time in 2024

The Ravens were 16th in Gosselin’s ranking, which ranks each team in 22 kicking-game categories and assigns points for the best to the worst — the lower the total number the better.

The Ravens were tied for first with the New York Giants with three takeaways. However, Baltimore was tied for last with Washington and the Rams with three blocked kicks.

Ranking NFL Head Coaches by Replay Challenge Success Rate as Rule Change Takes Effect

Jay Morrison, Pro Football Network

The other change garnering a lot of reaction is to allow coaches who win a replay challenge to be awarded a third challenge. Previously, a coach had to win both of his challenges to get a third one.

Only seven games would have been affected by the new rule, with the coach winning one challenge and then losing the other.

Let’s take a look at every coach’s challenge record, both in 2023 and for his career.

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens | .425

Harbaugh was winless in 2023, going 0-3 to fall to 54-73 in his 16 seasons in Baltimore.

2024 NFL Draft: 6 boom-or-bust prospects

Trevor Sikkema, PFF

WR XAVIER WORTHY, TEXAS

Worthy has blazing speed, and he showed as much on his Texas tape over the past three seasons and at the NFL scouting combine by running a record-breaking 4.21-second 40-yard dash. But while he posted a 99th-percentile 40 time, he also measured in at a 1st-percentile weight of 165 pounds.

Strength was an issue for Worthy, at times, throughout his Texas career. That was visible in the form of getting free from stronger defenders in press and also when securing catches. Worthy has the speed to be a major difference-maker, but there is a baseline for strength that is needed to succeed at the NFL level.

T AMARIUS MIMS, GEORGIA

Mims has all the talent in the world to be a starting offensive tackle in the NFL. As a former five-star recruit, Mims carried a 6-foot-8 frame at 340 pounds better than just about any other human being who is close to those measurables. He also moves incredibly well for a player that big. However, Mims played only 803 total snaps in his college career, which is less than half of most 2024 offensive tackle prospects’ workloads. Mims’ lack of experience could lead to a steep NFL learning curve. On the flip side, his athletic and physical gifts could put him in position to settle in nicely right away. Only time, and his situation, will tell.