The Baltimore Ravens had one of the most successful regular seasons in franchise history in 2023. They went 13-4, winning the AFC North and earning the No. 1 seed in the conference and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Unfortunately, it was not enough to get them over the hump. The Baltimore Ravens lost the first-ever AFC Championship Game they hosted to the eventual Super Bowl champion, Kansas City Chiefs.
Heading into the 2024 NFL offseason, there weren’t many weaknesses the Ravens needed to address. This is a deep, talented team on both ends of the ball, but they do look like they will be making one adjustment to their game plan.
For years, this is a team that has gone with a running back-by-committee approach. Injuries played a part in that, and whoever they plugged into the backfield produced a good clip. Whether it was veterans many considered to be over the hill, such as Kenyan Drake or Latavius Murray, or unheralded players such as Gus Edwards, they got the job done.
This offseason, the team opted to change that approach. They signed star running back Derrick Henry in free agency, giving them one of the most daunting backfields to deal with when pairing him with the explosiveness of quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The addition of Henry adds a lot of intrigue to the Baltimore Ravens offense. They have never struggled to run the ball previously, but will the addition of Henry help take pressure off of Jackson to do all of the heavy lifting on his own?
That is part of the reason why Mike Jones of The Athletic selected Henry as the one Ravens player to watch during offseason workouts. It will be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Todd Monken integrates him into the offense.
With five 1,000-yard campaigns in the last six seasons, Henry is the most established running back the Ravens have had with Jackson. They are going to be a handful for opposing defensive coordinators to game plan against, especially if Jackson’s improvements as a passer aren’t a fluke.
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