More than 8,000 fans voted on the Ravens' All-Time Team at the 25-year mark.
While there were a lot of easy calls, the final voting tally showed some extremely close calls and glaring omissions.
The tightest contest came at quarterback, where Lamar Jackson tallied 3,967 votes and Joe Flacco had 3,906. That razor-thin margin shows how tough a call this was for fans.
On one hand, Flacco has been one of the best postseason quarterbacks in league history. First and foremost, he brought Baltimore a second Super Bowl.
He was the driver in that postseason run, taking home Super Bowl MVP honors after a historic showing with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions, tying Joe Montana. Flacco has 10 playoff wins on his resume, including a record-tying eight on the road. Meanwhile, Jackson has yet to win a playoff game in two appearances.
Plus, Flacco was the Ravens' quarterback for more than a decade, setting all the team's franchise passing records along the way. Maybe Jackson will top those records eventually, but he's nearly 34,000 passing yards and 170 passing touchdowns behind right now.
On the other hand, Flacco never had a season like the one Jackson just had in 2019. He set the single-season rushing record for a quarterback, led the league in touchdown passes, and was named just the second unanimous MVP in league history. He steered the Ravens to the best regular-season record (14-2) in franchise history.
Jackson was unlike anything ever seen before, ushering in a new brand of football that entertained and captured the attention of the globe. He's become one of the biggest stars in the league and is now on the cover of "Madden." Meanwhile, Flacco has never been voted to a Pro Bowl.
The biggest omission came at wide receiver, where Derrick Mason – the team's all-time leader in receiving yards (5,777) and receptions (471) – was left off the team. Mason, who got 2,682 votes, came in third behind Anquan Boldin (6,260) and Steve Smith Sr. (3,176).
Mason spent six seasons in Baltimore and topped 1,000 yards four times. He was the go-to wide receiver for Kyle Boller, Steve McNair and a young Flacco, helping Flacco get off to a strong start in his career. Smith was beloved by Ravens fans for his alpha-dog mentality on the field, but Mason was in the same mold.
Smith put up more yards total in his career and may end up in the Hall of Fame someday, but an Achilles injury unfortunately hampered his Ravens tenure. Mason, meanwhile, was ultra-productive throughout his Baltimore career, posting more than twice the receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns as Smith.
The only other tight vote was for the second guard spot, where Kelechi Osemele beat out Edwin Mulitalo by just 148 votes – 2,956 to 2,808.
Osemele was an instant starter and dominant blocker in his final two years in Baltimore. His two Pro Bowl seasons, however, came after he left for Oakland. Mulitalo spent twice as many years, eight, as a high-level starter in Baltimore. Both were important pieces of Super Bowl teams early in their careers.
The top-10 vote getters were as follows:
- ILB Ray Lewis – 7,966
- S Ed Reed – 7,898
- G Marshal Yanda – 7,895
- OLB Terrell Suggs – 7719
- P Sam Koch – 7,706
- K Justin Tucker – 7,609
- OT Jonathan Ogden – 7,521
- DT Haloti Ngata – 7,483
- LS Morgan Cox – 7,203
- C Matt Birk – 6,445
