The Baltimore Ravens are building themselves to playing championship-caliber football this fall. Signing quarterback Lamar Jackson to his blockbuster extension, adding Odell Beckham via free agency, and drafting Zay Flowers in the first round to add to the offensive plans point to the Ravens being aggressive ahead of 2023.
But with championship thoughts, can Todd Monken, a recent CFB national champion assistant, help elevate this offense in 2023?
Todd Monken Has NFL Experience
Monken has championship rings. But they’re from the collegiate level through the University of Georgia.
Some NFL fans question whether or not Monken’s offenses can translate over to today’s NFL game. Well, Monken isn’t your typical CFB crossover coach.
That’s because he’s had three prior NFL stops before, which includes running the entire offense at two previous posts.
Long before he turned Stetson Bennett into a multiple national title winner and Los Angeles Rams backup quarterback, Monken was coaching the wide receivers at his first league stop with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2007 to 2010.
Reggie Williams, one of Monken’s wideouts, scored 10 touchdowns in his first season with Monken overseeing the position. Mike Sims-Walker then came along and scored seven touchdowns in both 2009 and 2010 under him.
Monken eventually returned to the college game in 2011 by taking the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach gig for Oklahoma State, where he coached a young Justin Blackmon at WR and helped produce back-to-back 30-touchdown campaigns for future first-round QB Brandon Weeden.
After three seasons as head coach of Southern Miss, Monken returned to the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this time handling WRs coach and OC duties.
Monken helped put together a career-best 96-1,321-12 season out of Mike Evans, with the 12 TDs representing his third-best total for a season.
The 2016 season also witnessed Jameis Winston produce more passing yards (4,090) and touchdowns (28) than his rookie season (4,042 yards, 22 TDs).
Monken ended up producing top-10 offenses in yards for his final two years in Tampa (2017, 9th; 2018, 3rd). Then in 2019, he was the OC for the Cleveland Browns.
Notable highlights there include Baker Mayfield producing a career-best 3,827 yards and Nick Chubb’s 1,494-yard rushing campaign. That was also the year Monken got to coach Beckham for the first time, resulting in Beckham’s last 1,000-yard season.
The Way Monken’s System Operates
Monken’s system attacks sideline to sideline.
One example is from the Monday night contest against the Washington Commanders, where the rookie Flowers attacked some sideline space, only to use his speed up the field to give Baltimore six points:
SHIFTY 🔥#Ravens WR Zay Flowers is gonna be a NIGHTMARE for opposing defenses
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 22, 2023
Another example comes from this back shoulder fade that attacks the sidelines for six more points:
Sure, it just preseason, but the #Ravens offensive play-calling is looking VERY different under Todd Monken 👀
Snoop Huntley finds Tylan Wallace on the back shoulder fade for 6️⃣🔥
pic.twitter.com/wzmVypx7Yz— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 13, 2023
But Monken’s sideline-to-sideline philosophy is created to stress the defense out and, eventually, attack all areas of the field.
MORE: Where Do the Ravens Rank Among the Top NFL Offenses?
His biggest approach, though, is forcing defenses into a position where they defend a wide territory from a horizontal and vertical standpoint. But all that does is create spacing for his playmakers to take advantage of the openings. Prime examples of this approach are from the 2021 National Championship, in which Bennett attacked the first open space.
Todd Monken Offense – 3rd and 8 from +18
Georgia vs Alabama – 2021 National Title game#Ravens #RavensFlock #BaltimoreRavens pic.twitter.com/xERyTtJDcr— All 22 Films (@All_22_NFL_Cuts) February 15, 2023
While the Ravens have produced playoff teams with Jackson at QB, Baltimore often had too much of a reliance on his legs and feeding the ball to tight end Mark Andrews on short throws. Now, with new weapons and Monken in place, Ravens fans should anticipate a faster, more aggressive offense that’ll trust Jackson’s arm more, plus the new speed surrounding him.