Ravens Reign Over AFC in Pre-Draft Power Rankings

The AFC has been a bloodbath over the past several years, and so far, the Baltimore Ravens haven't been able to escape it.

Despite their regular-season dominance, the Ravens have yet to win an AFC Championship Game, let alone a Super Bowl, in the Lamar Jackson era. The Kansas City Chiefs have obviously ruled the conference with an iron fist as they've won five of the past six AFC championships, but other heavyweights like the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals form one heck of a gauntlet.

Could this finally be the year for Baltimore, though? They've seemingly lost fewer pieces than their rivals, and they have a chance to improve further with 11 total picks in this week's NFL Draft.

Before that, though, Pro Football Focus' Bradley Locker has the Ravens at No. 3 in his pre-draft power rankings, with only two NFC teams in the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions ranked above them.

"The race to be the AFC's top team is close, but the edge goes to the Ravens for fielding a roster with the fewest holes," Locker wrote. "After finishing 2024 with the 26th-best guard group by PFF overall grade, Baltimore lost Patrick Mekari, which makes the position in need of an upgrade. "

"Besides that, the Ravens should remain one of the NFL’s most efficient offenses, powered by Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, while their top-10 defense is slated to return nine of its 10 snap leaders."

The Ravens still have some needs to address, namely guard, defensive line and secondary, but for the most part, their roster is in very good shape. That puts them in great position to take a best-player-available approach in the draft, which is already their bread and butter.

Of course, the Ravens have had great rosters for years. It's up to them to finally put all the pieces together in January and make it to the game's biggest stage.