Ranking the 5 Best Baltimore Ravens Players of All Time

The Baltimore Ravens’ history is relatively short, but in terms of great players and franchise success, they may be pound-for-pound the best organization in the NFL.

The names on this list of the five best Ravens players of all time include some of the best and most feared players who’ve played in the league over the last two decades.

In 1996, when owner Art Modell moved the Cleveland Browns to Maryland, he left the franchise history in Ohio, so the Ravens record books started just under 30 years ago. Still, in that short time, the Ravens have made 15 playoff appearances and won two Super Bowls.

That’s more than 17 other NFL teams.

How did they do it? Well, the franchise has had just three head coaches — Ted Marchibroda, Brian Billick, and John Harbaugh — and they have an identity of conservative offense, aggressive defense, and high-level special teams that have carried them to success.

To accomplish all this, the Ravens have had their fair share of great players who have made this winning strategy work. And to prove just how strong this list is, two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson didn’t make the cut.

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1 Ray Lewis

The intimidation started with his unique dance leaving the tunnel and seemed to always end with Ray Lewis destroying offenses

Ray Lewis is one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history and an incredible leader of men. The former Miami Hurricanes defender could give a speech that would make his teammates want to run through a wall and then kick that wall down himself.

Lewis was the 26th overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, and he started his career with a bang, making over 100 tackles as a rookie. The next season, he made 186 to lead the league. He would ultimately do that two more times.

Over the course of 17 seasons in Baltimore, Lewis made 13 Pro Bowls, earned 10 total All-Pro selections, and won two Defensive Player of the Year Awards, two Super Bowls, and a Super Bowl MVP.

That last award came in Super Bowl 35 in a 34-7 win over the New York Giants at the conclusion of the 2000 campaign, the year in which he also won his first DPOY trophy. Lewis had five tackles and four pass breakups in the title game, but he really won the award as the leader of the defense that stifled Kerry Collins and the New York offense.

Lewis was one of the last of a dying breed. By the time he retired following the Ravens’ second Super Bowl win at the conclusion of the 2012 campaign, the dominant middle linebacker was almost a thing of the past. But his combination of talent, smarts, and viciousness on the field cemented him as one of the best of all time.

2 Ed Reed

No throw was ever safe while the best centerfield-playing safety of all time was roaming the secondary

The 2000 championship-winning Ravens had Ray Lewis running around making plays surrounded by a group of grizzled defensive veterans like Rod Woodson, Tony Sirigusa, Jamie Sharper, and Peter Boulware.

By the time 2012 rolled around, Lewis was in his last season, so he needed backup to help the Ravens win the championship, and few players in NFL history had better backup than Lewis did with Ed Reed behind him.

Reed was a fellow Hurricane and one of the best safeties to ever play the game. Drafted in 2002, he played in a golden generation of safeties against guys like Bob Sanders, Troy Polamalu, and his late former Miami teammate, Sean Taylor. And while all these players had their own strengths, none were as good a centerfielder as Reed.

The Louisiana native patrolled the secondary with instincts like few others. He had 61 interceptions in his 11 seasons with the Ravens, led the league three times in that category, and had seven or more picks five times.

Reed could come up and thump, too, putting up 608 tackles, 32 tackles for a loss, and 11 forced fumbles in Baltimore. This earned him nine trips to the Pro Bowl, five First-team All-Pro nods, and the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year Award.

He may not have been the vocal leader — and dancer — that Lewis was, but Ed Reed led in a more understated fashion and by example, and that’s why he has a Super Bowl ring to show for it.

3 Terrell Suggs

No one on any of the Ravens’ legendary defenses has taken down the QB more times than Terrell Suggs

The third Ravens defender to make the list of best players of all time is Terrell Suggs, who came into the league in 2003. Once Lewis and Reed left, “T-Sizzle” held down the fort on the Ravens D through the 2018 season.

Suggs won Defensive Rookie of the Year in his first season and Defensive Player of the Year in his eighth year in 2011. During his 16 years in Baltimore, he made seven Pro Bowl teams and was a First-Team All-Pro in his DPOY campaign.

The former Arizona State Sun Devil was a vicious pass rusher who had seven seasons of double-digit sacks and 11 years of 8.0 or more. He may be the least heralded of the Lewis, Reed, and Suggs trifecta, but he played for the Ravens the longest and made a ton of big plays.

Suggs retired in 2020 after splitting the 2019 season between the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. He walked away from the Ravens, though, as the career leader in sacks by a mile. His total of 132.5 in a Ravens jersey is almost double second-place Peter Boulware’s 70.0.

4 Jonathan Ogden

The Ravens’ success came nearly as much from pounding the ball as from the defense, which is why LT Jonathan Ogden was so valuable

The Ravens’ success over the years was largely built on defense, but a hard-nosed running game is another secret to their success. With that in mind, we had to get an offensive lineman on this list, and Hall of Fame left tackle Jonathan Ogden is that player.

Ogden was the fourth overall pick of the 1996 NFL Draft, taken 22 slots ahead of the Ravens’ other first-round pick that year, Ray Lewis.

The big OT out of UCLA started 176 games in his 12-year Ravens career and made 11 Pro Bowls to go with nine total All-Pro selections. During that time, Ogden blocked for four 1,000-yard rushers in Priest Holmes, Jamal Lewis, Willis McGahee, and Ray Rice and four 3,000-plus-yard passers in Vinny Testaverde, Elvis Grbac, Steve McNair, and Joe Flacco.

Before we move to No. 5, there should be an honorable mention shoutout to guard Marshal Yanda here. He was also one of the best linemen of his day, but Ogden gets the nod here. And if it weren’t for the next player being arguably the GOAT of his position, Yanda probably would have come in fifth.

5 Justin Tucker

Ravens coach John Harbaugh knows better than most the value of having the soon-to-be GOAT kicker

Football is played in three phases, and while special teams are arguably the least important aspect of the game, it is ultimately just as important as offense and defense. John Harbaugh certainly knows this, as he is one of the few who came into head coaching from the special teams coordinator ranks.

That’s one of the reasons it’s unsurprising that the Ravens boast arguably the best kicker to ever do it: Justin Tucker.

Tucker was undrafted out of Texas in 2012 but signed with the Ravens as a free agent. He had a solid rookie season, but in 2013, he truly broke out, leading the league in field goal attempts (41) and makes (38).

And he not only made every extra point those first two seasons, but he made every extra point for years. Tucker finally missed his first XP in 2018, his seventh season in the league. At a time when the league moved one-point kicks back and kickers started missing them at an alarming rate, Tucker has only failed to convert after a touchdown six times in his Ravens tenure.

Tucker, who’s still going strong, has seven Pro Bowls, five First-Team All-Pro selections, and three Second-Team nods already under his belt and will likely add more.

And for anyone who doesn’t think that having an elite kicker is worth its weight in gold and doesn’t directly correlate to team success, go ask a Buffalo Bills or Minnesota Vikings fan what they would trade for an automatic field-goal booter throughout their teams’ histories.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.

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