2025 Baltimore Ravens Team Preview

The Ravens won the formidable AFC North for the second consecutive season but fell to the Bills in a heartbreaking AFC Divisional Playoff loss. For GM Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh, reinforcing the offensive line and secondary were the top priorities for a roster that sits atop the NFL with a preseason over/under of 11.5 wins.

QB Lamar Jackson had the finest season of his career en route to an overall QB1 finish. Jackson threw for a career-best 4.172 yards and 41 touchdowns while leading the position with 915 rushing yards. Jackson has zero bust games and accounted for multiple scores in 15 of his final 17 games, including the postseason. Securing Jackson on draft day will be expensive, but he's one of the safest bets in fantasy for managers looking to secure an elite quarterback early.

Derrick Henry (31) is old for a running back, but he is a unique physical freak who showed no signs of slowing down. He led the AFC with 1,921 rushing yards and scored a career-high 18 touchdowns. In his age-30 season, Henry forced the most missed tackles (89) and most breakaway runs (30) of his career. There are no metrics that indicate Henry is past his prime. He's the perfect fit in Todd Monken's offense and in fantasy lineups.

Ancillary back Justice Hill averaged a solid 8.5 fantasy points as Baltimore's change-of-pace runner. Hill never received more than five carries in a regular-season game but corralled 42-of-51 targets. He's a solid handcuff target for Henry managers and offers some weekly flex appeal in deeper PPR leagues.

The Ravens add WR DeAndre Hopkins in free agency. Nuk saw steep drop-offs in yards after catch, yards per route run, and ADOT- all signs of a declining player. However, he still has tremendous hands and compiled a 54.2% contested catch rate. He has the potential to be a good possession option for Jackson, with plus red-zone potential.

Zay Flowers finished one spot out of WR2 range with a solid 74/1,059/4 sophomore campaign. Flowers was most effective between the numbers, which bodes well for his potential to continue to ascend into the top-20 wideout range with Hopkins and Rashod Bateman commanding attention. Bateman broke out with a career-high nine scores, but is highly unlikely to approach last year's gaudy stats as the fourth option.

Baltimore has a pair of standout tight ends. Mark Andrews led all tight ends with 11 touchdowns and finished as the overall TE6 after a slow start. Isaiah Likely finished 16th with a 42/477/6 showing that included five weekly TE1 finishes. Andrews is on the TE1/2 radar, and Likely is a high-upside mid-to-late round depth target.

Fantasy managers should also take note of sixth-round PK Tyler Loop from Arizona, who is the first kicker drafted in franchise history and is expected to take over for Justin Tucker.

Fantasy Grade: B+

QB Lamar Jackson, BAL - Stud (low risk)

In his third season in Todd Monken's system, Lamar Jackson posted QB1 overall numbers. He threw for a career-high 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns against only four interceptions. Jackson has jelled in this offense, posting a +11.6 EPA when under pressure and leading the NFL in passing EPA versus zone coverage and against 2-high looks. In addition to becoming an elite passer, Jackson also ran for a position-leading 915 yards. Jackson is a cheat code that has improved each season in Monken's offense. He'll have a hard time topping last year's numbers, but Jackson is locked in top-3 signal caller.

RB Derrick Henry, BAL - Stud (low risk)

Have you seen Derrick Henry's workout regimen? If anyone can defeat Father Time, it's Henry. At 30, when most mortal running backs are retired, Henry set a personal-best with 2,191 scrimmage yards and 5.9 yards per carry. He was second in the league in carries (325), rushing (1,921), and touchdowns (18). Henry was PFF's top-graded running back and forced a league-high 89 missed tackles. There are no signs that Henry is slowing down in an offense that calls over 32 runs per game, the 2nd-most in the NFL. Finally, Henry won't catch many passes, which puts him a notch below the elite, three-down studs.

RB Justice Hill, BAL - Fantasy Handcuff

Derrick Henry stayed healthy, but Hill still received enough touches to finish as a top 40 running back in PPR leagues. That production's main driver was putting up career-best numbers (42/j383/3) as an outlet receiver. Hill did not garner more than five carries in any regular-season tilt. He's not a traditional handcuff because the Ravens wouldn't use Hill or any other back in the same way they utilize Henry. However, Hill has some RB5/6 value as the Ravens' main pass-catching weapon.

WR Zay Flowers, BAL - Solid/Safe Pick

Zay Flowers's sophomore numbers were strikingly similar to his rookie season. He ranked 30th in fantasy points during his rookie season and 25th in 2024. Last year, he was top-20 in targets (116), target share (25.7 percent), and yards (1,059). However, Flowers only had four WR1/2 weeks, with two dud outings (not including Week 18). He has settled in as a dependable weekly source of targets and catches, who will occasionally pop a huge play (10th in YAC and 11th in deep targets). That makes him a high-upside WR3/flex option in the NFL's top-ranked offense.

WR Rashod Bateman, BAL - Bust (overvalued)

After averaging 78.5 fantasy points per season in three years, Rashod Bateman exploded to finish with 174.6 points in 2024. The main reason- he jumped up to nine touchdowns after scoring four total in three years. Not only was last season an outlier, it's also not sustainable. Bateman only averaged 3.9 targets per game, scoring on six of his nine red-zone targets. DeAndre Hopkins will also take some of those looks away. Bateman is highly likely to be overdrafted based on his WR30 finish last season. Expect negative regression.