Pro Football focus ranks Ravens front seven as league average

The Ravens defense is coming off a season that saw its run defense - for the most part - dominate the opposition. Despite their accomplishments in run defense, the lack of pass rush plagued them all season. Pro Football Focus' rankings of the top front sevens in the league reflects that fact.

The ranking illustrates the dilemma that faced the Ravens defense. The run surfing unit did not provide enough versatility. With Terrell Suggs no longer being the pass rushing force he was in his prime, the pass rush that typically came from the position that defense demanded to function at full capacity has eroded.

If the Ravens don't find edge players versatile enough to provide pass rush on every down, they will have to come up with a different strategy than the one employed this year, that saw (extremely) heavy packages be used on early downs.

The Ravens front is only one or two elite pass rushing talents from finding it's a way to the top of Pro Football Focus' chart. And with the unfortunate retirement of Zach Orr, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome will once again need to slip on his surgeon gloves.