Baltimore Ravens 2026 Offensive Preview: Can Declan Doyle Bring Chicago’s Spark to Baltimore?

The Baltimore Ravens enter 2026 with one of the most fascinating offensive resets in the 

NFL. The talent is still there: Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews and a reworked offensive line. But the difference-maker may be new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, the 29-year-old rising coach hired by new head coach Jesse Minter to help restore Baltimore’s offense after an uneven 2025 season.

Baltimore’s offense did not collapse last season, but it clearly fell short of its usual standard. The Ravens slid to 16th in yards and 11th in points, with Lamar Jackson missing four games because of injuries, according to the team’s official site. 

Doyle now steps into a much bigger role than he had in Chicago because, while Ben Johnson called the Bears’ plays, Doyle was heavily involved in scheme and game planning. In Baltimore, Doyle is expected to take on play-calling duties himself. 

Doyle’s Chicago Blueprint

The reason Baltimore targeted Doyle is clear: Chicago’s offensive jump in 2025 was dramatic. In Doyle’s lone season as Bears offensive coordinator, Chicago averaged 369.5 yards per game, ranked sixth in the NFL, finished with the league’s No. 3 rushing attack, the No. 10 passing attack, and committed a league-low 11 turnovers. 

Caleb Williams also posted career highs with 3,942 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and a 90.1 passer rating.

That is the optimism. The caution is that Doyle was not the primary play caller in Chicago. Ben Johnson handled that role, meaning Baltimore is betting not just on Doyle’s résumé, but on his ability to become the lead architect. The Ravens are not simply asking him to assist a great offensive mind. They are asking him to be one.

Lamar Jackson Is Still the Centerpiece

Everything starts with Lamar Jackson. Even in a shortened 2025 season, Jackson threw for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while posting a 103.8 passer rating. He also added 349 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. 

Doyle’s biggest job is not to change Lamar. It is to sharpen the structure around him. The Ravens need an offense that still lets Jackson stress defenses with his legs but also gives him cleaner answers in rhythm: quick motion reads, layered play-action throws, easier middle-of-the-field completions and better red-zone spacing.

If Doyle brings the best parts of the Ben Johnson and Sean Payton influence, Baltimore’s offense should feature more misdirection, more formation variety, and more ways to punish defenses for overcommitting to the run.

Henry Keeps the Identity Intact

Derrick Henry remains the tone-setter. In 2025, Henry carried the ball 307 times for 1,595 yards and 16 touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. 

That gives Doyle a major advantage. He is not walking into a rebuild. He is inheriting one of football’s most physical backfields. Henry still forces defenses into heavier boxes, and that should create play-action opportunities for Jackson, Flowers, Andrews and Rashod Bateman.

The key is balance. 

Baltimore cannot simply hand Henry the ball and hope the offense carries itself. Doyle has to use Henry as the engine that opens up the rest of the system: outside-zone looks, downhill gap runs, bootlegs, screens and shot plays off heavy personnel.

Zay Flowers must become the featured weapon. Flowers led the Ravens in receiving last season with 86 catches for 1,211 yards and five touchdowns, proving he can be more than a gadget player or manufactured-touch receiver. 

In Doyle’s offense, Flowers should be used as a matchup stress point. Put him in motion and/or stack him behind bigger receivers. Let him work option routes underneath. Give him deep crossers off play action. The Ravens need Flowers to be the player defenses must locate before every snap.

If Doyle can make Flowers the same kind of weekly problem that top modern offenses create with their No. 1 weapons, Baltimore’s passing game can take a real step forward.

Mark Andrews Still Matters

Mark Andrews is still one of the most important pieces in the offense. He had 48 catches for 422 yards and five touchdowns in 2025, and his chemistry with Jackson remains one of Baltimore’s most reliable passing-game answers. 

The interesting part is how Doyle uses the tight end room after Baltimore double-dipped at the position in the draft. The Ravens list Andrews as the starter, with Durham Smythe, Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas behind him. Smythe gives Baltimore a blocking presence with familiarity in Doyle’s scheme, while Hibner and Cuevas offer more pass-catching flexibility. 

With Patrick Ricard no longer in Baltimore, Doyle may lean more into tight ends and H-back looks to recreate some of that physical, multiple-formation identity. That could make Andrews even more dangerous because defenses will have to respect both the blocking looks and the pass concepts out of them.

The Offensive Line Is the Swing Factor

The biggest question is up front. Baltimore’s projected offensive line includes Ronnie Stanley, Roger Rosengarten, John Simpson and first-round pick Vega Ioane, but center remains unsettled after the Ravens did not draft one. Danny Pinter, Jovaughn Gwyn and Corey Bullock are listed as competitors for the job. Ioane is the rookie to watch. 

Baltimore expects him to plug into the starting lineup, with the main question being whether he plays left or right guard. If Ioane is ready immediately and the center competition stabilizes, Doyle can be aggressive. If the middle of the line struggles, the offense may be forced into quicker throws and more protection help, which could limit the downfield passing game.

Rookie Weapons Could Change the Red Zone

Ravens also added size at receiver with Ja’Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt, both described by the team as big-bodied wideouts who excel at contested catches and could help in the red zone. 

That matters because Baltimore already has speed and separation ability with Flowers, but the offense needs more size outside. Lane and Sarratt do not have to become immediate stars. 

They just need to give Jackson bigger targets on third down and inside the 20-yard line. Rookie running back Adam Randall is another sleeper. The Ravens view him as a big, pass-catching back who can compete with Rasheen Ali for the No. 3 running back role, while Justice Hill remains the main backup and third-down option behind Henry. 

Can Doyle Bring Chicago’s Success to Baltimore?

Yes, but the answer comes with a real condition: Doyle has to prove he can call the game, not just help build it.

The Bears’ 2025 success showed Doyle can be part of a high-level offensive operation. Chicago was efficient, explosive enough, protected the football, ran the ball well and helped Caleb Williams take a major Year 2 jump. 

That résumé is strong. But Baltimore is a different challenge because Lamar Jackson is not Caleb Williams, Derrick Henry is not a normal running back, and the Ravens’ offensive identity has always been built around physicality, quarterback movement and multiplicity.

Doyle’s best path is not copying Chicago. It is blending Chicago’s creativity with Baltimore’s power.

Which means:

Lamar Jackson as the centerpiece.

Derrick Henry as the foundation.

Zay Flowers as the featured playmaker.

Mark Andrews as the trusted middle-field and red-zone weapon.

Vega Ioane as the rookie stabilizer up front.

Lane, Sarratt, Hibner and Cuevas as young matchup pieces who can help the offense evolve.

The Ravens do not need Doyle to reinvent them. They need him to modernize what already makes them dangerous. If he can do that, Baltimore’s offense has enough talent to return to the league’s top tier in 2026.