Throughout the month of July, the Last Word on Pro Football department will be taking a look at the three most recognizable faces of each NFL team. For this series, we’ll be looking only at active players.
When it comes to the faces of the 2019 Baltimore Ravens, there is a certain batch of names that come to mind. The Ravens have been a model NFL franchise constructed around a stingy and hard-hitting defense since their inception to the NFL in 1996. Coincidently, two of the biggest faces of the Ravens franchise were selected back-to-back in that year’s draft. Linebacker Ray Lewis and offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden were the first two Ravens selected into the NFL and will always remain the trendsetters of the following decade. The two are debatably the two best players at their positions ever and because of this, are impossible to separate from Raven’s identity.
Lewis, Ogden as well as Ed Reed are the only Hall of Famers to go in as Ravens and will likely soon be joined by Haloti Ngata.
However, the Ravens have gone through a makeover under new general manager Eric DeCosta. Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens long-standing G.M. since their first year in the NFL, stepped down following the 2018 season and thus, change has begun swiftly and efficiently. The 2019 Baltimore Ravens are very unproven in the majority of their position groups but bring intriguing promise after a successful 2018. The faces of the franchises are fairly different from year’s past but are looking to leave the same stamp as all the Hall of Famers that have come through the organization over the past 23 years.
Faces of the NFL: 2019 Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson
Since making his first Week 11 start against the Cincinnati Bengals, Lamar Jackson has been the Ravens’ identity. They struggled early in the season running the ball, the thing head coach John Harbaugh loves doing most, and began to grind out low scoring defensive games by wearing down their opponents behind Jackson. The Ravens impressive 6-1 stretch to conclude the regular season didn’t all fall on Jackson, as he was still just a rookie, but he provided a kind of change of pace that allowed Baltimore to impose their playstyle on a week-to-week basis.
Against everything the new NFL is becoming, the Ravens went completely against the grain of modern day football. Running the ball down their opponents’ throat and playing great defense.
Jackson is a considerably better runner than he is a passer. This was on display over his rookie season, as he compiled the third most rushing yards by a rookie quarterback in NFL history…in just seven starts. Jackson has a burst of speed at the quarterback position that the NFL has not seen since Michael Vick — with Vick addressing it on Undisputed. Vick was not a regular starter in his rookie year but comparing his second year passing stats to Jackson’s, the two lines are very similar. Comparing Jackson’s seven games to Vick’s 15; the two had the same TD:INT ratio, with Vick throwing for an average of 35 more yards per game, and Jackson rushing for 28 yards per game.
Though Jackson might not be the best player on the team, he currently epitomizes the ‘play like a Raven’ mentality at the NFL’s most important position. Baltimore has always had an identity but with the way Jackson plays the quarterback position, he is THE face of the franchise.
Marshal Yanda
Similar to Odgen being one of the biggest faces of the Ravens as a tackle, Marshal Yanda has been one of the greatest at his position since the moment he stepped into the league. The Ravens love a little bit of grit and their hard workers, and Yanda has always fit this mold. Drafted in 2007, he is on pace to become another Ravens Hall of Famer whenever he decides to retire.
Despite an injury setback in 2017, Yanda looked like his old self again in 2018. At age 34, he was one of football top guards and continues to be as steady a pass blocker as you can find. Yanda once again got to the Pro Bowl last year, making his seventh overall appearance. Since 2011, he has only missed one Pro Bowl — due to injury in 2017.
What is potentially so undervalued about Yanda is his leadership. He remains the lone Ravens starter remaining from Baltimore’s 2013 Super Bowl winning team and was the only decent interior offensive lineman for the Ravens last season. All while keeping the Ravens O-line afloat. He hasn’t allowed a sack per Pro Football Focus since Week Seven of 2015.
2019 was Yanda’s lowest graded season by PFF. However, he was still the fourth highest ranked guard in all of football. This just shows the kind of standard Yanda has set for himself and elite guards all throughout the NFL. The two-time All-Pro inked a new two-year extension this off-season after contemplating retirement and will continue to anchor the Ravens O-line until he walks away from football. When his time comes, Yanda should enter Canton as maybe the best guard (right or left) of the decade.
Matt Judon
The confusion with who is the face of the Ravens defense goes back longer than you think. Terrell Suggs has been the unquestioned leader of the Ravens defense since Lewis retired in 2013, but the team has always been somewhat faceless despite being so consistent over the past few seasons.
This observation stems from a conversation I had with a friend of mine two years ago, with Suggs still on the team. He said to me “I know the Ravens are good on defense but I couldn’t name one player,” something that to me sounded crazy, but something I understood. With Newsome and DeCosta’s willingness to let household names walk in free agency rather than overpay them, there is almost never a summer without a lot of turnover.
Judon is probably the face of the defense right now. Similar to Jackson, he’s not the best player on the unit but he’s entering his fourth season in Baltimore and is being looked at as one of the most important players going into 2019. The Ravens pass rush has struggled, despite the numbers, over the past two seasons and Judon is expected to be a difference maker in 2019. He had a career-high 8.0 sacks in 2017 but failed to take that next step in 2018. His numbers were almost identical if not slightly less impressive. Judon will also have to be a leader as well, considering all the familiar faces that moved on from the Ravens this past offseason.
If Judon steps up his game to a near elite level, he could be awarded a big payday come March. Judon may be the face of the 2019 Baltimore Ravens defense but in a years time, that spot will likely be taken by either Earl Thomas or Marlon Humphrey.
