National Football League

NFL young talent: No. 23 Ravens are ready to win, but their core is getting pricy

Published Aug. 9, 2023 11:12 a.m. ET

Which NFL teams have the best young cores? FOX Sports took a deep look at every team's core of players drafted between 2019 and 2023 to ascertain which franchises have the most promising base of young talent. Our writers ranked all 32 individually, and the final result is an aggregate of those lists. We'll count them down for you before the start of the 2023 NFL season, starting with the worst (No. 32) all the way up to No. 1.

All of a sudden, the Baltimore Ravens aren’t spring chickens anymore.

Time flies in this league, as evidenced by the face of this franchise. Lamar Jackson took the league by storm at the age of 22, securing a unanimous NFL MVP in his first full season as the Ravens’ starting QB. Four years later, he begins his sixth season having secured a $260 million contract extension.

Much like Jackson, this is a Ravens roster entering its prime and ready to win. Jackson’s No. 1 target, Mark Andrews, was drafted the same year and is about to turn 28. His longtime left tackle, Ronnie Stanley, will soon turn 30. Newcomer Odell Beckham Jr. is primed for Year 9 after sitting out of 2022 with an ACL injury.

The story is the same on the other side of the ball. The Ravens’ primary trio of blue-chip defenders – Roquan Smith, Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Williams – boast 17 combined seasons of NFL experience. Let’s not get it confused: this isn’t to say the Ravens are a bad team. They’ve got plenty of talent, and if they can avoid being ravaged by injuries they should be one of the best teams in a stacked AFC. The question here is about young talent, and how the Ravens are set up for the future.

How they move forward and put Jackson in a position to succeed will depend heavily on the development of several young players, as well as their ability to draft well.

Can we expect Lamar Jackson to take the next step this season?

Young Core

WR Zay Flowers

Standout: C Tyler Linderbaum

It may not be possible for a center to enter the NFL with more hype. Linderbaum’s college film at Iowa was a clinic of teaching tape, as he paved his way to the 2021 Rimington Trophy, awarded to the best center in college football, and was eventually drafted No. 25 overall in 2022.

He certainly hasn’t reached that level of dominance in the NFL, but the arrow is trending upward. Pro Football Focus graded Linderbaum as the NFL’s No. 4 run-blocking center as a rookie, which makes sense for a Baltimore offense that ran for 2,720 last year. His pass blocking is something to work on, but he’s still credited with allowing just three sacks in 2022. It was an impressive debut, and there’s every reason to believe Linderbaum will continue to deliver on those expectations.

Potential Breakouts

Edge rusher David Ojabo

This is less of a prediction and more of a prayer from the Ravens’ front office. With veterans Calais Campbell and Justin Houston off to the NFC South, the Ravens’ pass rush is seriously lacking in proven commodities. There’s a reason they’ve been linked to veterans like Jadeveon Clowney, and it’s that their returning edge rushers from last season combined for six sacks. That’s where Ojabo comes in.

The 23-year-old is a picture-perfect example of an NFL redshirt, as the Ravens snagged him with the No. 45 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft after he tore his Achilles during his pro day at Michigan. He impressively returned from the injury at the midpoint of last season, but appeared in just two games.

Now would be a perfect time for Ojabo to reward the Ravens’ gamble. He tallied 12 sacks during his final season at Michigan and likely would have been a first-round pick if not for the injury. It would do wonders for Baltimore’s defense if he can play up to those expectations.

S Kyle Hamilton

Hamilton's second season should include many more snaps. The Ravens wound up moving him into a nickel defender role for much of 2022, where he looked much more comfortable than he had in center field. With Chuck Clark gone from the roster, there are more snaps to be had all over the back end.

Here's guessing Hamilton is up to the challenge. He played in 16 games as a rookie and finished with 62 tackles despite playing just 54% of the Ravens’ snaps. Pro Football Focus graded him as one of just two safeties in their history to finish with an 80 or higher grade in run defense, coverage and pass rush, along with Derwin James.

The next step is getting to more footballs. Hamilton had five pass breakups in 2022, but he has yet to log his first career interception. He’ll have plenty of opportunity to work on that, and his coaches think he’s up to it. Ravens passing game coordinator Chris Hewitt said recently he expects Hamilton to be a Pro Bowl player in 2023.

"That’s the goal. Pro Bowl, Super Bowl – all of that," Hamilton responded.

Contracts To Consider

RB J.K. Dobbins

Two short years ago, Dobbins and Patrick Queen would have been the centerpieces of a list like this. The top two picks in Baltimore’s 2020 draft class, they absolutely played like it as rookies. Dobbins broke onto the scene with 805 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in his first season, while Queen finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. The trajectory doesn’t look quite the same now.

Dobbins’ career has been derailed by injuries. He missed all of 2021 after tearing his ACL in the preseason, and he played just eight games last year after undergoing knee surgery mid-season. He still managed 520 rushing yards in 2022, but the bottom line is that he’s only appeared in half the Ravens’ games since he was drafted.

Dobbins’ contract is currently a topic of speculation, as the reports coming out of Baltimore are that he’s holding out in search of a new deal. Given the state of the running back market, it’ll be interesting if the Ravens are willing to pay him prior to his final season under contract.

J.K. Dobbins: "If we [Ravens] had Lamar we would've won" [over Bengals]

LB Patrick Queen

Availability isn’t Queen’s issue, as he hasn’t missed a game yet in his career. He also posted a solid 117 tackles and five sacks in 2022. The problem is mainly that the Ravens have now invested $100 million at his position. The organization swung a trade for Roquan Smith last October, and they made him the highest-paid linebacker in football as soon as the season was over.

The Ravens also declined to pick up the fifth-year options on Queen’s rookie contract, which seems to indicate their willingness to move on in 2023. Who knows how that could change, though. Adding Smith to the defense boosted Queen’s level of play, and it’s not a stretch to think the pair could be the league’s best linebacker duo this season. If that’s the case, would the Ravens be willing to invest that significantly at the position, or would Queen hit the open market in March?

Key Stats

Across the eight games he played, J.K. Dobbins’ average of 5.7 yards per carry was second-best in the NFL.
Tyler Linderbaum became the fourth rookie offensive lineman (Jonathan Ogden – 1996; Michael Oher – 2009 & Kelechi Osemele – 2012) in Ravens history to start every game.
Kyle Hamilton led all safeties with an overall defensive grade of 87.6, per PFF.
With 1,008 yards in 2021, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown is the only Ravens wide receiver to tally 1,000 yards in a season during the Lamar Jackson Era.
Patrick Queen is one of three defensive players (Roquan Smith and Bobby Wagner) with at least 300 total tackles, 3 interceptions and 10 sacks since entering the league in 2020.

Inside Info

"Hamilton was as hyped as any defender in the draft. Baltimore had two quality safeties ahead of him a year ago - Marcus Williams and Chuck Clark. it was encouraging to see Hamilton’s steady improvement in coverage, especially when he ran a pair of high 4.5s in workouts prior to the draft.

Massive and a natural playmaker with great instincts, tackling range and ball skills. Hamilton should take a big leap forward this season. –NFL scout

"With all due respect to Garrett Wilson and Kenneth Walker III, the rightful Offensive Rookie of the Year a season ago should’ve been Linderbaum, though we all know no center is ever going to get that kind of love.

Linderbaum is a remarkable athlete. And think about what an ideal fit he is blocking for Lamar Jackson in Baltimore. Linderbaum served as a human bumper car for Jackson.." –NFL scout

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