ESPN’s Bill Barnwell’s annual rankings of offensive skill position players has the Ravens surged into the Top 10. Should they be higher?
For ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive skill position players (minus quarterback) have routinely been middle-of-the-pack. And he’s been fair in ranking them as such.
Barnwell’s Ravens’ Offensive Skill Position Rankings
But in 2025, the Ravens cracked through into Barnwell’s Top 10, ranking No. 8 in the NFL. At the forefront is superstar running back Derrick Henry.
“Though I was optimistic this time last year about the move to Baltimore revitalizing Derrick Henry’s career, I didn’t see a 1,921-yard season on the horizon,” Barnwell wrote. “Henry was a superstar, posting the same big plays that made him a threat during his peak. After racking up eight runs of 30 yards or more in 2020, Henry had eight more combined from 2021 through 2023. He pulled that feat off nine times in 2024.”
The ranking has to do with the best five skill position players a team can field, and No. 2 for Barnwell is wide receiver Zay Flowers.
“Though they’re different sorts of players, Zay Flowers has inherited the Hollywood Brown role of being hyper-efficient in an offense that doesn’t throw very often,” Barnwell wrote. “Flowers’ 2.5 yards per route run ranked just behind Ja’Marr Chase, but while Chase averaged 40 routes per game, Flowers had six drops and just one catch on a throw traveling more than 30 yards in the air last season, so there’s still plenty of room for him to grow.”
Barnwell mulled over who should be the No. 3 player listed, debating between tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. Also mentioning DeAndre Hopkins’ addition, but relegated him to a “strictly situational wideout at this point of his career.” Ultimately, Barnwell landed on wide receiver Rashod Bateman.
“The likelier candidate to make the Ravens a big three could be Rashod Bateman, who finally had the sort of season he has hinted at since being drafted in the first round four years ago,” Barnwell wrote. “Healthy for the entire season, he racked up 756 receiving yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 1.9 yards per route run and finishing 18th in receiver score. The sheer lack of targets to go around in Baltimore’s passing game limits Bateman’s ability to get his numbers much higher, but if he can maintain this level of efficiency, it will be a boon to an already-explosive Ravens offense.”
This all leads to...
Today’s Question of the Day
Are the Ravens’ offensive skill position players Top 10? Top 5?
My answer: Top 10
The Ravens have some real-deal weapons for the offense. Jackson is surrounded by a near-surplus of talent. Two excellent receivers a tier below the elites, two of the NFL’s best tight ends and a top two running back. And all positions have respectable depth.
Taking a look over who...