Ravens shown some love in Bleacher Report’s NFL 1000 rankings

Each week, Bleacher Report releases its ‘NFL 1000’ rankings that determine the best player performances from that weekend’s slate of games.

The Baltimore Ravens are pretty well represented week to week with players such as Terrell Suggs, Marshal Yanda, and Steve Smith Sr. often earning high marks.

However, an interesting development to notice in this week’s rankings is that Bleacher Report has linebackers Zachary Orr and C.J. Mosley ranked in the top five of middle linebackers around the league. What is perhaps even more interesting is that Orr, an undrafted player who just earned the starting job is ranked ahead of Mosley by two spots. Orr came in at number two overall behind only New England’s Jamie Collins, an impressive feat by the under-the-radar player.

Directly behind Orr at number three is Tampa Bay’s Kwon Alexander, who came in front of Mosley at the fourth spot in the list. Mosley certainly has the pedigree, and it's great to see him recapturing some of the pro bowl form that he flashed as a rookie. When you rank ahead of Bobby Wagner at five and Luke Kuechly at six respectively, you know you had yourself a nice week.

All in all, the Ravens defense has had a nice turnaround from a rough 2015, and that is reflected in the rankings. Timmy Jernigan was the number one overall 3-4 defensive end, with his disruption in both the run and pass game being cited as a reason for the major props (the timely sacks that he had been getting also certainly help).

Eric Weddle was the fourth ranked strong safety, while Dennis Pitta’s comeback attempt has not gone unnoticed according to his ranking as the third overall tight end.

Kyle Juszczyk came in as the first overall fullback, while Justin Tucker received the same honor for kickers (no surprise there).

While there is no definitive way to rank players, it is always nice to see your team get some love by those that are watching with an expert’s eye. Here's hoping the Ravens get even more of it in next week’s addition.