Predictions for the Ravens this Up-and-Coming Season

Despite making the playoffs following a productive 10-7 season, the injury-riddled Baltimore Ravens suffered a heartbreaking defeat to their division rivals Cincinnati Bengals in a tough wildcard matchup, with the Ravens now looking to bounce back and stake their claim as a potential candidate who could emerge as a lively Super Bowl contender.

Following from their impromptu playoff exit, the Ravens were soon embroiled in a saga surrounding the contract situation of their superstar Quarterback Lamar Jackson, who would eventually re-sign for a record-setting deal.

The Ravens have also made a few further changes during the offseason in a bid to help improve their offense around Lamar and their impact on the defensive end.

Heading into the 2023/24 NFL season, there remains plenty of optimism around this franchise that the former two-time Super Bowl winners can return back to the promised land and claim a third Lombardi trophy within the next few seasons, with these being some of the lively predictions for Baltimore’s new season.

Lamar will return to MVP contention

While the NFL media continues to debate whether Lamar is truly a capable QB that can perform admirably throughout the postseason, there is certainly no denying that he is more than able to steer the Ravens towards a spot in the playoffs should he stay healthy.

Jackson is often criticized for his inconsistent passing game, yet he has countlessly proven that he is more than capable of being the primary running option on this Baltimore team as he is arguably one of the most mobile and highly athletic QB’s that the NFL has ever witnessed.

Alongside his dazzling highlights and improbable play off the snap, Jackson has already proven that he is a superstar QB with his startling 2019 campaign that awarded the former late first round pick with the league’s MVP award, becoming the youngest recipient of this honor in league history.

There is absolutely no reason why Lamar cannot return to this level heading into the 2023 season as he looks to anchor a Baltimore offense that desperately missed his presence at QB during their aforementioned wild card matchup against the Bengals.

OBJ’s arrival will improve the Ravens’ Super Bowl contender status

Heading into the 2023 season, the Ravens currently stand at a respectable 20/1 in the latest betting odds to win the Super Bowl, meaning that there is clearly a developing contender window that the Ravens will look to exploit.

One of the main marquee acquisitions that could be set to steer the Ravens back towards their first Super Bowl appearance since 2013 is the surprising signing of Wide Receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who has joined the team on a one-year contract worth upwards of $18 million.

The is no denying the sheer amount of risk that comes with this move as OBJ has missed a full season of NFL action after suffering a devastating ACL injury during his brief but excellent performance in Super Bowl LVI whilst playing for the LA Rams, where he helped contribute towards their 23-20 victory over the Bengals.

Despite spending a large sum of time on the sidelines, Beckham’s arrival will help provide Jackson with even more threats on offense that he can he throw the ball to rather than just his usual reliable option in All-Pro Tight End Mark Andrews.

There remains no worries on Special Teams:

As always, the Ravens still possess one of the best special teams in the NFL heading into the 2023 season as they employ one of the greatest kickers in NFL history with All-Pro first teamer Justin Tucker.

While Tucker’s numbers fell off slightly from his impressive 95% conversion rate in 2021, he is still ranked amongst the top players to ever play the position and has converted a vast sum of clutch field goals that have helped the Ravens achieve a great amount of success during his decade long tenure with the team, meaning that there should remain absolutely no worries about the necessary production of the Ravens special team setup.

• The Ravens are set at Linebacker and Corner:

Throughout their history as a relocated NFL franchise, the Ravens have been primarily known for their defensive presence that dates way back to the illustrious days of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs who all made up the legendary defense labelled ‘Purple Pain’ during the early 2000s through to the early 2010s, that helped win the franchise their two Super Bowl titles.

In the year’s following the retirements of these NFL legends, there are already some impressive talents that are currently occupying some key defensive rotations such as Cornerback Marlon Humphrey, Fullback Patrick Ricard and Linebacker Roquan Smith who were all named to the Pro-Bowl game last season.

Smith and Humphrey in particular, are already considered to be amongst the league’s most elite defensive options and have quickly established that the Ravens will continue to impose an impressive defense heading into the 2023 season.

• The Ravens will contend for the AFC North title:

This year’s AFC North division is already shaping up to be one of the best in the league in terms of pure talent and unpredictability as both the Ravens and the Bengals now look set to battle it out for a chance to claim the division title and stake a home playoff game.

While the Cleveland Browns can still provide a major threat with their various weapons on both sides of the ball, and the Pittsburgh Steelers still remain one of the best coached teams in the league, it is fairly clear that the title will be contested amongst the Bengals and Ravens which will make for some enticing divisional matchups throughout the season.

[Ravens Training Camp Schedule]

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