The Baltimore Ravens made a lot of moves this offseason to revamp their offense. After years of essentially ignoring the wide receiver position, they made a concerted effort to upgrade the talent there.
In free agency the team signed Nelson Agholor and Odell Beckham Jr. With their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Ravens selected Zay Jones out of Boston College. They will join Rashod Bateman atop the depth chart and are a talented group of pass catchers when you include tight end, Mark Andrews.
Those moves likely played a part in quarterback Lamar Jackson returning to the team. After requesting a trade from the Ravens earlier in the offseason, the two sides ended up working out a contract that made him the richest player in NFL history.
The offseason practices will be important with some new faces in town to develop chemistry and cohesion. Alas, the biggest change will be in the kind of offense that the Ravens are running. For the first time since his rookie season, Jackson will be running a new offense.
Baltimore made a big decision this offseason by moving on from offensive coordinator Greg Roman and bringing on Todd Monken. The additions offensively, along with a scheme change, will lead to Jackson throwing the ball down the field more than he has in the past.
“Especially with the receivers we have…just being able to throw the ball down the field. Running can only take you so far. I feel like with this new era of teams and offenses in the league, I feel like we need that, and coach Todd Monken, what I’m seeing in this offense so far, is tremendous.” (H/T Yardbarker)
For the last four years, the Ravens were one of the most dominant run teams in the NFL. Roman was excellent at scheming up plays on the ground, but the passing game left a lot to be desired.
That is a script that could be flipped under Monken. The team should remain near the top of the league in terms of rushing production given Jackson’s rushing ability, but it will be interesting to see how big of a jump he takes in the passing game.
The talent is certainly there for him to produce some big numbers through the air. After being a one-dimensional team for so long, the Ravens are going to be even tougher to slow down with Jackson leading a strong passing game.
