The Ravens have some of the best young players in the NFL.
Statistical analysis website Pro Football Focus (PFF) put together a list of its top 25 players in the NFL under 25 years old, and linebacker C.J. Mosley and left tackle Ronnie Stanley both made the list.
Mosley, 24, came in at No. 11 after a stellar season where he earned the second Pro Bowl nod of his three-year career. He finished this season with 92 tackles, four interceptions and a forced fumble.
"Mosley has become a complete linebacker and one of the standouts on a tough Ravens defense that is heading in the right direction again with some new faces," PFF wrote.
The No. 17 pick of the 2014 draft has established himself as one of the top linebackers in the game, and a young leader of Baltimore's defense. He is a big reason why the Ravens were one of the league's top defenses for much of the season, and he was perhaps the teams' top defensive playmaker.
"Mosley has been a run-stopping monster for the Ravens since they drafted him in the first round back in 2014, but this year he improved his coverage play and doubled the number of career interceptions he had heading into the season in one year," PFF wrote.
On the offensive side, Stanley earned his way onto the list with a great finish to his rookie season. Despite missing four games in the middle of the year because of a foot injury, Stanley rebounded and was the NFL's top-graded left tackle by PFF over the last five weeks of the season.
"If you ignore one wretched game against Pittsburgh [in Week 9] where injury was a factor, Stanley's rookie year has been excellent, and he has been an elite pass-protecting tackle over the second half of it where often a rookie wall kicks in," PFF wrote. "He allowed one sack over his final eight games and in the last three allowed just two total pressures."
The Ravens used their No. 6-overall pick on Stanley with the hope that he could develop into the team's franchise left tackle, and he certainly showed the potential to make that happen. The Ravens have high goals for the Notre Dame product going into his second season, and he's expected to anchor the left side of the offensive line.
"Stanley is already well ahead of the career arc for tackles, so year two could produce a special player," PFF wrote.
Finding Stanley and Mosley coincided with the Ravens drafting higher-than-usual in the draft. They'll have a chance to nab another strong player this April when they pick at No. 16.
Beyond Stanley and Mosley, the Ravens have some other young talent who played at a high level last season. Fourth-round pick Tavon Young started 11 games and was graded by PFF as the league's fourth-best rookie cornerback. Offensive lineman Alex Lewis, another fourth-round pick, was the league's highest-graded rookie guard. Lewis even received a higher grade from PFF than first-round pick Laremy Tunsil.
"I'm very excited about this year's draft. I feel like every single one of those guys is going to be a good player," Head Coach John Harbaugh said after the season. "A number of those guys have proven it already."
