Analyst questions Lamar Jackson’s Ravens supporting cast in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Baltimore Ravens, under Jesse Minter and Lamar Jackson, will have their work cut out to get back to the playoffs after missing out in 2025.
The Ravens did add Trey Hendrickson, but lost star center Tyler Linderbaum, Isaiah Likely, and Charlie Kolar, and didn’t replace any of them.
We know that the defense should be better in 2026, but what about the offense under new coordinator Declan Doyle? That is an unknown.
With Lamar without a starting center and having lost Likely, Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano still ranks the Ravens’ supporting cast for Lamar 11th in the NFL.
“Having RB Derrick Henry in the backfield is probably more than enough support for Lamar Jackson, but that’s not all he has,” Vacchiano writes. “Zay Flowers is emerging as one of the best receivers in the game, and TE Mark Andrews is still a weapon, especially in the red zone (at least as long as he’s healthy). There isn’t much help beyond that, but this is a ground-based attack, so the key is the offensive line.
“The loss of center Tyler Linderbaum is an undeniable hit. Drafting guard Olaivavega Ioane should help the interior, but center is now a big question mark.”
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Of course, they can, and it all centers around Lamar and his ability to stay healthy.
Anytime you have Lamar and Derrick Henry, you are going to be in a good position to win football games. We then add in Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews, and you can see how the Ravens will put up points in 2026.
Time will tell if that is enough when the playoffs roll around, providing Baltimore makes it, so Doyle will have to devise a scheme that gets the best out of all of Jackson’s weapons.
Still, being 11th-best in football is nothing to sneeze at. But time will tell if that’s enough to get Baltimore to go on a deep playoff run.
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