Ranking which defensive positions are the most and least pressing to address in the coming months.
The Baltimore Ravens are heading into the 2025 offseason without nearly as many question marks or glaring needs to address as they will have in 2026. A year from now, several starters and key players will be up for new deals if they aren’t extended before then. Nevertheless, in order to put themselves in the best position to get over the proverbial hump and make it to the Super Bowl, they’ll have to address some of their top needs on both sides of the ball.
Here is a ranking of the Ravens’ top defensive offseason needs from most to least pressing.
1. Cornerback
The Ravens’ pass defense ranked dead last through the first 10 weeks of the regular season and their secondary played a major role in allowing it to happen. One of the most consistent liabilities in coverage was fourth-year pro Brandon Stephens, who played his second full season as an outside cornerback. He was one of the most targeted defenders in the league and gave up far too many plays despite being in good position. The 2021 third-rounder will be an unrestricted free agent in less than a month and the odds of him returning to Baltimore on anything less than a bargain deal is slim.
While Stephens struggled mightily in coverage and as a playmaker, the Ravens got one hell of a resurgent season from veteran Marlon Humphrey, who dominated playing both on the outside and in the slot. He led the AFC in interceptions with a career-high six on his way to earning the fourth Pro Bowl nod and second First Team All-Pro recognition of his career. First-round rookie Nate Wiggins lived up to the billing as a rookie, eventually seizing a starting role. In a rotational role, Wiggins made his presence felt with big plays in coverage and run support. He went the full season without allowing a touchdown and was one of the hardest defensive backs to complete a pass against in the league.
Unfortunately, just having two corners playing at a high level isn’t enough because so many offenses deploy three and four wide receiver sets. There’s a chance that 2024 fourth-rounder T.J. Tampa could step into a larger role in his second season. However, the Ravens have had harsh reminders about what a shortage of good corners can lead to. There’s a strong chance they could take another in the first round for the second year in a row, or at least spend one of their three top-100 picks on the position.
2. Safety
The departure of Geno Stone in free agency loomed much larger in the performance and overall cohesion of the Ravens pass defense than anyone could’ve anticipated coming into the 2024 season. Constant miscommunications and blown assignments in the back-end led to them giving up 20-plus yard plays to start the season before they stabilized. To stop the hemorrhaging, they benched Marcus Williams, released Eddie Jackson, inserted Ar’Darius Washington into the starting lineup and transitioned Kyle Hamilton into a more traditional role.
While the personnel and schematic changes they made on the fly had the desired effect in terms of being more sound and stingy in coverage, it limited what they could do from a playmaking standpoint. They sorely missed having the presence of a reliable third safety who could patrol the backend while Hamilton was deployed in the multitude of ways that helped the Ravens’ defense finish atop the league standings in takeaways, sacks and points allowed in 2023.
In the end-of-season press conference, general manager Eric DeCosta said they would like to bring in another safety for these same reasons. It would allow not just Hamilton to utilize the full extent of his versatile skill set but also make the Ravens’ defense as a whole less static and more unpredictably dynamic.
Going the bargain bin veteran route again likely won’t lead to improved results and the team likely isn’t willing to pay one of the top pending free agents at the position with this offseason being Hamilton’s first in which he is eligible for an extension. This year’s safety crop in the NFL Draft isn’t deep but some intriguing options near the top would make sense for the Ravens in the first three rounds.
3. Outside Linebacker
If watching the Philadelphia Eagles’ utter dismantling of the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl underlined anything, it was the importance of being able to generate consistent pressure and get home with a four-man rush. Part of that is being able to deploy a regular rotation of potent pass rushers off the edge who can ensure there is little to no drop-off when another shift checks in.
The Ravens finished second in the league in sacks last season with outside linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh leading the team with 12.5 and 10 sacks—marking new career highs for each player. Both of them are heading into the final year of their respective contracts and are due for big paydays whether it comes from Baltimore in the next calendar year or elsewhere next offseason.
Luckily for the Ravens, edge defenders are among the deepest position groups in the 2025 NFL Draft and there are some notable veterans slated to hit the open market who could be brought in on reasonable deals. Established multi-time Pro Bowlers such as Khalil Mack and Matt Judon could be looking to contend more than break the bank one last time. If they are willing to spend a little more for edge rushers either still in their primes or are ascending, they could target the likes of Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Dante Fowler or Azeez Ojulari.
4. Interior Defensive Line
In a similar vein to the edge spot, having a wealth of talent in the trenches between the tackles is just as vital to fielding an elite four-man pass rush if not even more so as the quickest way to apply instantaneous pressure on opposing quarterbacks is up the middle. Assuming they re-sign veteran defensive end Brent Urban, the Ravens are slated to bring back their entire defensive line from this past season that helped them field the top rush defense in the league.
However, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t and won’t look to upgrade and reinforce the unit this offseason. Thankfully, this year’s draft class is also deep at the interior defensive line as well. Since two-time Pro Bowler Nnamdi Madubuike and Broderick Washington are the only players at the position under contract past the 2025 season, bringing in more long-term security a year early before it becomes a glaring need next offseason is wise and typical Ravens move.
After not being able to bring back six-time Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell at the midseason trade deadline, the Ravens could look to sign the future Hall of Famer for one last ride. At 38 years old, he proved he could still play and produce at a high level with the Miami Dolphins in 2024, recording five sacks and a dozen tackles for loss and quarterback hits.
5. Inside Linebacker
The succession plan of replacing Pro Bowler Patrick Queen with another homegrown talent in second-year pro Trenton Simpson didn’t go as smoothly as the Ravens would’ve hoped in 2024. It resulted in the coaching staff opting to deploy a three-man rotation that eventually saw the 2023 third-rounder get phased out completely down the stretch in favor of veterans Malik Harrison and Chris Board.
As awesome as an All Pro tandem of Roquan Smith and Zach Baun would be in Baltimore, the most likely scenario is that the Ravens run it back with the same trio. Neither Harrison nor Board will command cost-prohibitive deals on the open market and the Ravens will hope that Simpson makes more significant strides in year three. If there’s an opportunity in the draft where an inside linebacker is the best player available in the mid-to-late rounds, they could add some more youth to the competition.