FOX Sports Research
The Baltimore Ravens are one of the most historic franchises in the NFL.
With two Super Bowl titles, it’s a franchise that has boasted numerous big-time stars over the years. Baltimore has been one of the better teams this century, as both of their championships have come since 2000. This makes it particularly difficult to answer the question: Who are the greatest players in the team’s history?
FOX Sports Research took on the task of answering this question, breaking down the numbers and ranking the 10 best Ravens of all time.
While there are some obvious choices near the top, there are also some surprising names that made our list.
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Where does your favorite Raven rank?
Let’s take a look:
10. Justin Tucker (2012-present)
Justin Tucker might be the greatest long-distance field goal kicker in NFL history. He holds the league record for the longest made field goal at 66 yards, and his 63 field goals from 50-plus yards is the second-most of any kicker since 1991. Entering the first week of the playoffs this season, he has an 89.1% success rate on his kicks — which is the highest in NFL history. Tucker is an eight-time All-Pro, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and a Super Bowl champion as well.
9. Jamal Lewis (2006-2014)
The franchise leader in rushing yards (7,801) and rushing touchdowns (45), Jamal Lewis was the offensive focal point for the Ravens during the early 2000s. His 2003 campaign was extraordinary, as he rushed for 2,066 yards that season— still the third highest single-season total in NFL history. And you can’t forget his spectacular day against the Browns that season, in which he rushed for a whopping 295 yards— the second-highest single-game total in NFL history, trailing only Adrian Peterson who rushed for one more yard (296) four seasons later. Lewis was named Offensive Player of the Year that season, and finished his career with 1,000 yards rushing in seven of his nine years playing in the league. He was inducted into the Baltimore Ring of Honor in 2012.
8. Haloti Ngata (2018-2014)
A five-time Pro Bowl selection as well as a five-time All-Pro, Haloti Ngata was one of the league’s most dominant defensive tackles during his illustrious 13-year career. He totaled 528 tackles, 25.5 sacks and five interceptions as a Raven and helped Baltimore make the playoffs seven times— most notably anchoring a defensive line that won the Super Bowl in 2012. Under his watch from 2006 to 2014, the Ravens held opponents to 18.2 points per game, 71 rushing touchdowns, and 3.6 yards per carry— all the best marks of any team in the league in that span. Ngata was inducted into the Baltimore Ring of Honor in 2021.
7. Lamar Jackson (2018-present)
Lamar Jackson is a two-time MVP who has made the Ravens a contender from the first moment he took the field. He holds the NFL single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback and has a win-loss record of 70-24— the fourth highest of any quarterback ever with 100 minimum starts, trailing only Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and Roger Staubach. But his 2024 campaign might have been his best yet. Below we’ve listed everything he accomplished this year:
- Jackson is the first player in NFL history with 40+ pass touchdowns and four or fewer interceptions.
- Jackson is the first player in NFL history with 40+ pass touchdowns and 600+ rush yards.
- Jackson is the first player in NFL history with 4,000+ pass yards and 800+ rush yards.
- Jackson is the first player in NFL history to average 8.5 yards per pass and six yards per carry in the same season.
- Jackson is just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for 40 touchdowns and rush for four touchdowns in a single season, joining Patrick Mahomes (2022) and Aaron Rodgers (2016).
He’ll likely climb this list as the years progress, and if he wins a Super Bowl— it’s safe to say he’ll be the greatest Raven ever.
6. Joe Flacco (2008-2018)
Joe Flacco’s playoff run in the 2012 season was one of the best by a quarterback in NFL history. He averaged 285.0 pass yards per game with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 11 to zero in the Ravens title run. He is one of four quarterbacks in league history to throw 11 touchdowns in a single postseason (Patrick Mahomes, Joe Montana, Kurt Warner) and the only one to have not thrown an interception. Flacco was named Super Bowl MVP, and went on to finish his career as the franchises all-time leader in pass yards (38,245) and passing touchdowns (212). His 10-6 record in the playoffs ranks eighth best among quarterbacks with 15 playoff starts, trailing only Patrick Mahomes, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, John Elway, and Roger Staubach.
5. Marshal Yanda (2007-2019)
Marshal Yanda is one of the best offensive guards in NFL history, plain and simple. A seven-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl selection, he spent all 13 seasons of his career with Baltimore— starting in 166 of his 177 games played. He was named to the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade Team and was inducted into the Baltumore Ring of Honor in 2022. Yanda also played a pivotal role in anchoring an offensive line that set a franchise record in rushing yards in 2019, putting up 3,296. He is one of three guards in NFL history to win a Super Bowl and be selected to eight Pro Bowls, and also helped the Ravens record eight top 10 seasons in rushing touchdowns from 2007 to 2019.
4. Terrell Suggs (2003-2018)
The 2003 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and 2011 Defensive Player of the Year, “T-Sizzle” was one of the most electric pass-rushers in the league during his 16 seasons with Baltimore. His 139 sacks are the eighth most in NFL history, and Pro Football Reference credits him as the league’s all-time leader in tackles for loss (202) since they began tracking them in 1999. For perspective, he had at least 10 sacks in seven different seasons. Suggs was a two-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowl selection, also known for his ability to force fumbles with his hard-hitting. Since 1991, he is one of just seven players to force 39 fumbles. Suggs was also known for coming alive in the playoffs, with his 12.5 postseason sacks being the fourth most all-time. Ravens fans remember him for coming back from a torn Achilles far sooner than expected during the 2012 season, helping Baltimore win the Super Bowl that year.
3. Ed Reed (2002-2012)
Easily looked at as one of, if not the most, adept ball hawks in league history, Reed instilled fear in opposing quarterbacks and offensive playcallers alike. A premier defensive playmaker, he has the most interception return yards in NFL history, tallying an absurd 1,590 yards off of interceptions. Moreover, he also won Defensive Player of the Year in 2004 when he compiled a league-leading nine interceptions, including a famous 106-yard interception return touchdown against the Cleveland Browns. At the time, that was the longest interception return in NFL history.
Over his 12 seasons, 10 of which famously came with the Ravens, the star safety earned nine Pro Bowl nods, five First-Team All-Pros and tallied 64 interceptions, seventh-most in NFL history. He also helped lead the Ravens to seven playoff berths, culminating in his lone Super Bowl title in 2012. Reed was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
2. Jonathan Ogden (1996-2007)
A nine-time All-Pro and 11-time Pro Bowl selection, Jonathan Ogden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013 for his dominant career. The Ravens used their first ever draft pick on him in 1996, and he went on to spend all 12 of his years in the NFL with them, anchoring an offensive line that helped win the Super Bowl in the 2000 season. In the 2003 season, he led an offensive line unit that helped Jamal Lewis become just the fifth player in league history to rush for 2,000 yards. He started 176 of his 177 career games and was the best left tackle of the 21st century. The only year he didn’t make the Pro Bowl was his rookie season, and he was also named the league’s Offensive Lineman of the Year by NFL Alumni in 2002.
1. Ray Lewis (1996-2012)
No player was more feared in his prime over the middle of the field than Ray Lewis. Lewis was a tackling machine, leading the Ravens in tackles in 12 of the 14 years he played for the team, the only team he played for. Starting in 1998, the third season of Lewis’ career, the Ravens would not allow a 100-yard rusher until the 2002 season, a hallmark of Baltimore’s exceptional run defense. Moreover, Lewis also had a nose for the ball, grabbing 31 interceptions in his career, the fifth-most among linebackers all-time.
At the time of his retirement, Lewis held Ravens’ team records in seasons played (17), career games (228) and opponent fumble recoveries (20), while also registering the most tackles (2,643) and holding the single-season record for most tackles (225). His storybook career came to a close in 2012 with the team winning its second Super Bowl. Lewis was the defensive anchor for both of Baltimore’s championships, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
HONORABLE MENTION
- Mark Andrews
- Rod Woodson
- Todd Heap
- Ray Rice
- Chris McAllister
- Derrick Mason
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