Top 10 Baltimore Ravens

I won’t go into the history of Art Modell pulling out of Cleveland. I’m just going to pick things up in 1996. From 2000 on the Baltimore Ravens have been successful, going to playoffs15 times and winning two Super Bowls. This list includes only four players from the skill positions and no wide receivers with one tight end. That gives you a feel for the personality of this franchise. You will also not find any WRs on this list. 

By the way, has anyone cashed in more for less than Joe Flacco? 

10: Justin Tucker

As I’ve been making these lists, Justin Tucker is the only kicker to have made one of these lists thus far. Tucker is a great kicker, and the Ravens don’t have the history of some franchises, so here he is. Tucker has made 264/270 extra points. From 50+ yards Tucker has hit 58 out of 85 attempts. Overall, he’s hit 90.1% of his field goals. Justin has been named to seven Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams.

9: Marshal Yanda

Yanda was named to the Pro Bowl every year from 2011–18 with the exception of 2017. He missed the Pro Bowl in 2017 due to injury. The Ravens have had a bruising running game over the years and Yanda is one of the reasons why. He was a fixture at right guard from 2007–19 and was named All-Pro twice. Yanda made the Pro Bowl team in his last season with the Ravens in 2019.

8: Joe Flacco

I admit I’m not a huge fan of Flacco, but he has been the second-best QB in Ravens history thus far, though the bar (beyond Lam Jackson) isn’t particularly high. In addition, he led them to a Super Bowl win in 2012 and did have a great playoff run that season. During that four-game playoff run, Flacco had a passer rating of 117.2. Joe has made quite a bit of coin off that run. In 11 seasons with the Ravens Flacco hasn’t been named to a Pro Bowl, let alone an All-Pro team. In his defense, he hasn’t had great receivers, and the Ravens haven’t been built to be a wide-open offense. Plus, his record as the Ravens’ starting QB is 96–67, so there’s that.

7: Ray Rice

Set aside the off-field issues for a moment and look at Rice’s career. He was very good as a runner and pass-catcher. Rice spent six seasons with the Ravens and rushed for over 1000 yards four times. Rice caught 369 passes as a Raven, good for 3034 yards. In 2011 Rice ran for 1364 yards and caught passes for another 704 yards. The total of 2068 yards combined rushing and receiving led the NFL that season. Rice was named to the Pro Bowl three times. Ray’s demise is well documented, but his lack of another chance was more the result of demising production rather than off-field transgressions.

6: Terrell Suggs

Terrell spent 16 seasons with the Ravens and rang up 132.5 sacks during that term. Suggs also played in 18 playoff games for the Ravens and added another 12.5 sacks. During the regular season, Suggs added 33 forced fumbles and recovered 14. He also intercepted seven passes during his career. Suggs also scored three defensive TDs with the Ravens. Terrell was named to seven Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro in 2011. He was also the NFL Defensive Player of the Year that season. Suggs scores high points for longevity and production.

5: Mark Andrews

In 2021 Andrews made the leap from being a very good TE to a great one. Mark was good for 107 catches, good for 1361 yards, and 9 TDs. In four seasons with the Ravens, he’s caught 29 TD passes. Mark has been named to two Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro in 2021.

4: Lamar Jackson

Lamar began his NFL career in 2018 but exploded in 2019 with an MVP season. Jackson is somewhat of an enigma. He’s immensely talented but hasn’t fully met expectations. Jackson is one of the most mobile QBs in NFL history. He has run for 5258 yards in six seasons and 29 TDs. He’s topped 1000 rushing yards twice, topping out at 1206 in 2019. He’s been named to the All-Pro team twice. Jackson has a chance to be number one on this list in the near future.

3. Jonathan Ogden

From 1996–2007 Ogden was a fixture in the Ravens’ offensive line, mostly at left tackle. Ogden was named to the Pro Bowl every season except his rookie year. Even in his rookie season, he was named to the NFL’s All-Rookie Team. He was also named All-Pro four times. In addition, he was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All 2000s team. He was one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL throughout his 12-year career with the Ravens and that rates him third on this list.

2. Ed Reed

Reed was a seriously big-play guy from his safety spot with the Ravens. In 11 seasons in Baltimore, Reed led the NFL in interceptions three times. In all, he picked off 81 passes. He had interception returns of 106 yards and 107 yards. He returned seven passes for TDs. Twice Ed led the league in interception return yards. In 2004 he had a massive total of 358 yards on interception returns. He also forced 11 fumbles and recovered 13. He scored two TDs on fumble recoveries. Reed was named to nine Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams. He was also the NFL 2004 Defensive Player of the Year. Included in his awards is being named to the Pro Football Reference first-team All 2000s team. And finally, in 15 playoff games, Reed intercepted another nine passes, returning one for a touchdown. Ed Reed, with the hugely impressive resume.

1. Ray Lewis

Ray Lewis is one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the NFL and I find his personality terribly repugnant. That’s beyond off-field issues. Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll concentrate on Ray Lewis, the player.

For good or bad, Lewis was the face of the Ravens franchise. Lewis spent all 17 seasons of his NFL career with the Ravens. He was named 13 Pro Bowls and named to the All-Pro team seven times. Lewis intercepted 31 passes, forced 19 fumbles, recovered 20, and picked up 41.5 sacks. What Lewis excelled at was racking up tackles. He led the NFL in tackles three times. Lewis was the NFL’s d Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003. He was also named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Reference’s All 2000s team. As icing on the cake, he was the MVP of the 2000 Super Bowl. While I don’t care for Lewis’ personality, it’s hard to argue with his on-field performance.

So, what are your thoughts?