Mink: I'm not worried about the Ravens' desire or ability to get Mark Andrews the ball. Andrews was Baltimore's leader in targets in 2021 and 2022 and it wasn't even close. Before Andrews went down with his ankle injury last year, he and Zay Flowers were basically neck-and-neck in targets. Andrews is one of Lamar Jackson's most trusted receivers, and that hasn't changed.
A major reason why Andrews only had two targets against the Chiefs was because they double covered him a lot. He saw double on a higher percentage of his routes than in any game over the previous three seasons, per Pro Football Focus.
That created more opportunities for Isaiah Likely with the Ravens leaning more into their "12" personnel featuring one running back and two tight ends and Likely took advantage. But I don't envision him averaging nearly 12 targets a game like he had in Kansas City. Likely will see more than he did last year, but I believe that game will be an outlier.
The Las Vegas Raiders and future opponents are going to have to respect Likely more after watching him nearly sink the Chiefs. The more weapons that opponents have to fear, the more it will open up opportunities across the board. I'm sure there are some monster games for Andrews on the horizon.
Brown: The Ravens will test the Raiders' run defense, and they should. Vegas surrendered 176 yards rushing against the Chargers in Week 1, as former Raven J.K. Dobbins (10 carries, 135 yards, one touchdown) feasted in his Chargers debut.
Derrick Henry is also capable of shredding Vegas' run defense, and the Ravens want him to be a bigger part of the offense than he was in Week 1. Henry (13 carries, 46 yards) scored his first touchdown as a Raven on the game's opening drive. But after the Ravens fell behind, 20-10, early in the third quarter, Henry got just four carries the rest of the game.
Lamar Jackson was the Ravens' main running threat against the Chiefs (16 carries 122 yards), but they don't want Jackson getting hit as often as he did against Kansas City. The Ravens won't become one-dimensional in Week 2, but I think Henry and Justice Hill will get more opportunities and force the Raiders to prove they can stop the run.
Mink: Salary cap savings was part of the Ravens' reasoning for overhauling their offensive line this offseason. Baltimore saved just under $5.5 million in cap space by trading right tackle Morgan Moses. Kevin Zeitler signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Lions. John Simpson signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Jets.
Guards Daniel Faalele and Andrew Vorhees are making a combined $2 million this season, per Over the Cap. Patrick Mekari and his $6.35 million cap hit were going to be on the team either way and rookie Roger Rosengarten's cap hit is just under $1.2 million. That's some serious savings that allowed for other additions, such as signing Henry and extending Nnamdi Madubuike.
The other reason is that the players they let go were aging veterans dealing with injuries. Zeitler and Moses missed large chunks of summer practices dealing with injuries and rehab. The Ravens felt like it was time to turn the page. It's only been one week, but they did not get off to a particularly strong start with their new teams. The collective PFF Week 1 grades for Vorhees-Faalele-Mekari (176.6) was better than Simpson-Zeitler-Moses (170.7).
Time will tell whether the rebuild was a wise move for 2024 and beyond, but the Ravens felt then (and still feel now) that their younger, cheaper offensive line has an upward trajectory whereas the older, more expensive line was trending down.
There will be growing pains with this offensive line, but as Head Coach John Harbaugh said this week, "I think by the end of the season, you're going to feel really good about our offensive line."
Brown: The short passing game can be used effectively against a team that blitzes as often as Kansas City. Jackson threw 14 passes to targets who were behind the line of scrimmage, which was a career high, according to Next Gen Stats. The Ravens wanted to get the ball out of Jackson's hands quickly, but unfortunately for Baltimore, the strategy didn't pay off on a consistent basis.
The short passes also took pressure off Baltimore's offensive line, which was making its debut with three new starters. Jackson was only sacked once on 52 dropbacks, and the emphasis on short throws made it harder for Chris Jones to get home even if he defeated his initial blocker.
It will be interesting to see if screens and other short passes remain a big part of the offense as the season progresses. Hill caught a career-high 28 passes in 2023 and had six receptions for 52 yards in the opener. His role as a target out of the backfield appears to be increasing.
