Six position battles to watch during Baltimore Ravens training camp

Baltimore's roster has few holes, and competition will be fierce for several key positions that will start to take shape on Wednesday morning when the Ravens hold their first practice of an urgent and intense training camp.

John Harbaugh's team is in the midst of a Super Bowl window and feels confident after signing Derrick Henry to a contract extension. General manager Eric DeCosta added depth to a much-improved defense and will debut a new kicker for the first time in over a decade.

Baltimore's veterans started arriving at the Under Armour Performance Center this morning, and we're looking at six critical position battles to watch.

3rd RB spot

There are only so many carries with Derrick Henry and Justice Hill as one of the NFL's top duos, but Keaton Mitchell is a home run hitter and should see his share of snaps. Mitchell will look to get back to full speed after missing much of the season recovering from a knee injury that ended his 2023 campaign, and he'll compete with second-year running back Rasheen Ali for the third running back spot.

Inside linebacker spot

Roquan Smith is the unquestioned leader of the Ravens' defense, but he'll need an efficient running mate at the linebacker spot. With Malik Harrison and Chris Board departing in free agency, John Harbaugh confirmed at the league meetings that Trenton Simpson would be first up in the battle at linebacker. Simpson was productive over Baltimore's first 11 games last season, logging 65 tackles (34 solo), but he became a liability in the passing game. Simpson was entirely out of the Ravens' inside-linebacker rotation following the Week 14 bye, and he was limited to special teams during Baltimore's two-game postseason run. Simpson finished the 2024 regular season with 73 tackles (40 solo), including 1.5 sacks, four pass defenses, and one fumble recovery across 17 games. He'll battle special-teams standout Jacob Hummel and fourth-round pick Teddye Buchanan.

Kicker

Baltimore released star kicker Justin Tucker after weeks of scrutiny. The Ravens selected Tyler Loop in the sixth round of the NFL draft, and signed undrafted free agent kicker John Hoyland following a tryout during the team's rookie mini camp. These two players will battle to replace a legend and future Hall of Famer.

Third safety spot

Baltimore often employs a third safety in their base defense, allowing Kyle Hamilton to be a Swiss Army knife in Zach Orr's versatile scheme. Ar'Darius Washington fit that role until he suffered a torn Achilles during a recent workout. Beau Brade and Sanoussi Kane will battle for that role. Kane is a thumper who also stood out on defense in the 2024 preseason. According to Pro Football Focus, Kane did not allow a single reception on 30 coverage snaps, produced a coverage grade of 73.4, and recorded a forced incompletion and a tackle for loss. Last summer, Brade made the Ravens' 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie free agent out of the University of Maryland. In the games he appeared in, Brade was mainly relegated to special teams roles and only saw the field on defense late in the fourth quarter of games where victory was well in hand. Braden recorded just three total tackles, including just one solo, and played 207 snaps on special teams compared to just 11 on defense. He was inactive for both playoff games.

Left guard

Patrick Mekari signed a lucrative contract with Jacksonville, leaving a void at left guard. Andrew Vorhees was the initial starter at left guard in 2024 before suffering an injury and being benched in favor of Mekari for Weeks 4 and 5, a move that became permanent. The former USC star should get the nod heading into training camp. He'll battle sixth-round pick, Garrett Dellinger, and veteran Ben Cleveland.

Third edge rusher

Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh are the unquestioned starters, but the Ravens are hoping second-round pick Mike Green can assume a vital role from Day 1. Green will battle Adisa Isaac, Tavius Robinson, and David Ojabo for snaps and a role in Zach Orr's defensive scheme. This could be the final year in Baltimore for Ojabo, as he played in only 13 games last season. He has four sacks in his first three seasons, and it's now or never for the former Michigan pass rusher. A 2024 third-round pick out of Penn State, Adisa Isaac saw action in four games and played 32 defensive snaps, as his NFL debut was delayed by a hamstring issue, which sidelined him for the Ravens' first two games. Tavius Robinson has improved dramatically, and the former Ole Miss pass rusher had 3.5 sacks and 12 QB hits in a reserve role last season.

4th wide receiver spot

ine of Baltimore's 17 regular-season contests after dealing with injuries and inconsistency coming out of training camp.

The former UNC pass catcher was supposed to provide a deep threat for quarterback Lamar Jackson, but finished his rookie season with just one catch, albeit for a touchdown. He appears to be the front-runner to be Baltimore's No. 4 wide receiver behind Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and DeAndre Hopkins. The Ravens have ten wide receivers on the roster after selecting Colorado's LaJohntay Wester in Round 6. Former Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham is the only player in the position who is not a natural wide receiver but offers special-teams abilities. Cunningham needs an intense training camp to warrant a roster spot over Dayton Wade, Anthony Miller, and Keith Kirkwood.

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: 6 position battles to watch during Ravens training camp