Nate Wiggins Named Sleeper Defensive Rookie of the Year Pick
First-round cornerback Nate Wiggins had a strong preseason, and The Ringer's Diante Lee believes it will carry over into the regular season.
Wiggins was Lee's sleeper pick to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
"Watching him in the preseason when he was available and healthy, you see the coverage skills," Lee said on “The Ringer NFL Show” podcast. "And then you start thinking about what he's playing next to. Having Marlon Humprey healthy; having Kyle Hamilton, who can play deep and in the slot. I think that being a rookie in a defensive backfield like that probably guarantees that you're going to get enough targets in coverage to where if you get any ball production, any turnovers forced, all those are going to be big pluses in his case."
Wiggins' candidacy may depend on how much playing time he gets as a rookie. With Humphrey and Brandon Stephens, Wiggins likely won't be a Week 1 starter. Getting him on the field depends on how often the Ravens use three cornerbacks, which would likely bump Humphrey into the slot.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said after the Ravens' preseason finale that Wiggins will be “counted on heavily” this season.
Pundits Say These Scenarios Could Wreck Ravens' Season
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Ravens' chances of making it to the Super Bowl, but like with every team, there are worst-case scenarios that could derail their season.
The Baltimore Banner's Jonas Shaffer and Giana Han came up with 10 such scenarios. Here's a look at three:
Their offensive line could be a disaster.
"There's still a chance this year's line could turn out to be great. There are a lot of young guys who have room for growth. Only starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley, Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, and the versatile Patrick Mekari and Josh Jones have significant NFL experience. But young, inexperienced players such as guard Andrew Vorhees and guard-tackle Daniel Faalele will be called upon to fill significant roles. Linderbaum and Stanley didn't play in the preseason, so their return could make a big difference. But will it be enough? Can the group come together amid the tragic death of offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris?
"If not, the Ravens will expose their most important player, quarterback Lamar Jackson, to huge injury risks. They'll also risk wasting their investment in running back Derrick Henry, who struggled last season behind a dreadful Tennessee Titans line. And, if Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken can't get the run game going, it'll be harder to succeed through the air."
A slimmer Jackson could face a higher risk of injuries.
"Injuries are always a concern for Jackson — or any quarterback, really. But this year the risk and the fallout could be far greater than normal. If the Ravens' line can't do a good job protecting Jackson, he'll be susceptible to more high-risk hits. Jackson lost a lot of weight during the offseason, which means he could be better equipped to evade those collisions. It also means he has a slighter frame, with potentially less padding to protect him. … Given their options at backup quarterback, the Ravens can't withstand an absence of longer than two games. Even that might be too long."
Their turnover differential and red-zone success aren't sustainable.
"The Ravens tied with the Giants for the league lead in turnover differential last season (plus-13). That doesn't mean much for 2024. Sure, it helps to have a quarterback like Jackson, who tied a career low last season with a 1.5% interception rate. But turnovers are largely random. A 2014 study in the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective found that over half of the variance in a team's season-to-season turnover differential appeared related to luck. And turnovers account for much of a team's success in the NFL.
"Even if the Ravens have one of the NFL's best defenses this season, they probably won't lead the NFL in takeaways again. Before finishing with 31 last season, they had 25 in 2022, 22 in 2020 and 25 in 2019, all years when their defense was one of the NFL's best. Regression could come for them in the red zone, too. The Ravens were fourth in the NFL in offensive success rate inside the 20-yard line last season, according to TruMedia, an efficiency that could be difficult to sustain with their reworked offensive line."
Three Ravens Who Could Impact Who Wins Super Bowl
Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame identified 59 players who will have the biggest impact on who wins Super Bowl 59.
Here are the three Ravens who made the list:
12. Jackson
"Jackson is coming off his second MVP campaign, and yet legitimate questions persist. Can he elevate the Baltimore passing game? Can he win in the playoffs? Will he stay healthy? Jackson needs to answer all of those questions in the affirmative."
17. DC Zach Orr
"Orr has one of the toughest jobs in the NFL, taking over for Mike Macdonald. Once an excellent linebacker in Charm City, Orr is now charged with maintaining an elite unit, despite the losses of safety Geno Stone, edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney and linebacker Patrick Queen."
42. RT Roger Rosengarten
"The Ravens are overhauling their offensive line with three new starters. Rosengarten is the only rookie of the bunch at right tackle. Baltimore needs the second-rounder to be ready by Week 1."
NFL.com Analysts Pick Ravens to Win 'Loaded' AFC North
NFL.com analysts predicted the playoff field for the coming season, and all 28 have the Ravens either winning the AFC North or qualifying as a wild card.
Baltimore was the pick to win the division with 15 votes to beat out the Cincinnati Bengals (11). The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers each received one vote, making the AFC North the only division in which every team received a first-place vote.
"While our analysts favor either the Ravens or Bengals to take the group, the Browns, fresh off an 11-win season, will look to snap a league-worst 31-season stretch without a division title. The Steelers have an unfavorable streak of their own to erase, as they're one of just seven teams since 2017 without a playoff win," NFL.com wrote. "Whoever takes the North, expect that team to win at least 10 games in 2024; the AFC North is the only division whose champion has hit double-digit wins in every year since the 2002 realignment."
Of the 13 analysts who predicted the Ravens to be a wild-card team, nine had them as the fifth seed, three as the sixth seed, and one as the seventh seed.
On a related note, NFL.com’s Nick Shook ranked the AFC North as the NFL's best division.
"There's a reason NFL Films and HBO chose this division to document via "Hard Knocks: In Season" — it's loaded," Shook wrote. "Last year, the AFC North became the first division since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 in which each team posted a winning record. If Joe Burrow hadn't been hurt, Cincinnati might have found a way to join Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
"Even though it is home to the Ravens, the top seed in the AFC last season, the North is the toughest division to project right now. … Simply put, this will be an 18-week war. Saddle up."
