Baltimore Ravens predicted to land 43-sack Pro-Bowl pass rusher from NFC juggernaut

The Baltimore Ravens are heading into the playoffs as hot as any team in the NFL and are legitimate Super Bowl contenders heading into the postseason. 

While the Ravens offense has been their strong suit all season — with the duo of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry creating nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators — the Baltimore defense has been the bigger story down the stretch and heading into the playoffs. 

From the days of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, the Baltimore Ravens have always had an elite defense and leaned on that unit to help propel the team into the playoffs so many times during John Harbaugh’s reign as head coach. 

But this year started much differently. 

The Ravens finished last season with the No. 6 overall unit in the NFL, allowing just over 300 yards per game. They were even more impressive in the playoffs, holding opponents to 266 yards per game last postseason, while giving up just three touchdowns before getting eliminated in the AFC Championship game. 

So naturally, their former DC, Mike Macdonald emerged as one of the hottest head coaching candidates heading into 2024 and was eventually hired by the Seattle Seahawks. 

Zach Orr took over the Ravens defense, and the first half of the 2024 campaign was rocky to say the least. 

In the first 10 weeks of the season, they allowed 25.3 points per game, 367.9 yards per game and 294.9 passing yards per game. Defending the pass was Baltimore’s biggest issue, but they eventually made key changes, with moving Kyle Hamilton and utilizing the Pro Bowl safety’s versatility. 

According to FOX Sports, the third-year pro spent 71.1% of his defensive snaps in the box or in the slot over the first 10 weeks. In that span, the Ravens allowed 597 passing yards (third-most) and seven passing touchdowns (tied for the most) to throws of at least 20 air yards, per Next Gen Stats. From Week 11 on, the Ravens had Hamilton line up at deep safety on 69.3% of snaps. And over the last eight weeks of the regular season, Baltimore allowed just a 25.0% completion rate (fifth) and 159 passing yards (fourth) on deep passes, according to NGS. 

Now, over the last seven weeks of the regular season., Baltimore improved to giving up just 15.4 points per game, 261.7 yards per game and 171.5 passing yards per game. 

The Ravens pass rush has been a big part of the defensive turnaround as well. The veteran finished the year with 12.5 sacks and is entering the playoffs playing at an elite level. 

Still, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report believes the Ravens will be looking for a high-level pass rusher this offseason, with Van Noy’s contract expiring soon and the need to have another edge rusher opposite of him. 

Knox thinks the Ravens might turn to the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire DE Josh Sweat, who has 41 tackles and eight sacks this season. Knox ranks Sweat as the No. 13 ranked free agent heading into 2025: 

Eagles pass-rusher Josh Sweat should have a broader market than Khalil Mack this offseason because he won't turn 28 until March. While Sweat has only reached double-digit sacks once in his career (2022), he was Philly's most productive pass-rusher this season and was more disruptive than raw statistics might indicate. 

Sweat finished the regular season with eight sacks and 15 quarterback hits. He should draw interest from both contenders and rebuilding teams looking to bolster their pass rush.

The Ravens should also have some interest in adding Sweat, although they have just $11.8 million in projected cap space. 

Baltimore's defense tightened up late in the season, and it finished with an impressive 54 sacks. However, 33-year-old Kyle Van Noy was the team's most productive edge-rusher and is only under contract through 2025.

In his seven NFL seasons, Sweat has 237 tackles and 41 sacks, so if the Ravens can find a way to clear some cap space and add him to an already impressive defense, they will continue to dominate on both sides of the ball and contend for Super Bowls.