Jacob Infante put a team that missed the playoffs in his top five, and that is the only pick on his list worth arguing about. The Baltimore Ravens went 8-9 last season. No major outlet we checked has them inside the top 10. On the latest episode of The Hot List, PFN’s Infante slotted them fifth.
Why Jacob Infante’s NFL Power Rankings Have the Ravens at No. 5
“Obviously, this is a bit of a projection because the Ravens didn’t even make the playoffs last year,” Infante said. “There was really a lot that went wrong.”
The bet is on Jesse Minter, hired Jan. 22 on a five-year deal after Baltimore fired John Harbaugh following 18 seasons. Infante’s case is scheme, not roster.
“They only finished number 22 in PFN’s defense impact scoring,” Infante said, “but under Minter, the Chargers … finished in the top eight in [defense impact] scoring each of the last two seasons.”
The public numbers back the premise. Minter’s Los Angeles defenses allowed the fewest points in the NFL in 2024 and finished ninth in scoring at 20.0 points per game in 2025. Baltimore ranked 18th in scoring defense and 24th in total yards.
Health is the other half of it. Lamar Jackson played 13 games, missing three with a hamstring injury and one with a back contusion, and his rushing production fell to career lows as a starter. Nnamdi Madubuike, the two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle who lost 15 games to a career-threatening neck injury, had surgery in April and still needs medical clearance.
Baltimore answered with money. Trey Hendrickson signed a four-year, $120 million deal with $60 million fully guaranteed after the Ravens backed out of a Maxx Crosby trade. Tyler Linderbaum left for the Raiders on a record three-year, $81 million contract, and Baltimore rebuilt around the hole he left. John Simpson starts at left guard, first-round pick Olaivavega Ioane starts at right guard, and Ethan Pocic, signed July 17, is the frontrunner at center.
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“There’s a lot of raw talent on that Ravens squad,” Infante said.
San Francisco at No. 4 comes with its own subtext, and Infante named it. “It just says so much about the NFC West when the third best team in the division is number four in the NFL,” he said. The rest of his evaluation is a health checklist. “Can Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, can all those guys stay healthy? There are a lot of questions there, but if they can, this team has genuine Super Bowl potential.”
What Infante’s Rams and Seahawks Rankings Leave Out
The Rams at No. 1 is close to unanimous across the industry, and Infante does not pretend otherwise. “Man, I don’t know how anyone’s going to stop these guys this year,” he said. “I’m kind of getting last dance vibes from this Rams roster.”
He never prices the last dance, though. Cleveland got Jared Verse as the centerpiece of the Myles Garrett return, plus a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second and a 2029 third. Verse is 25, the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler in both of his seasons. He also finished second on the Rams with 7.5 sacks behind Byron Young’s 12. Garrett is partly replacing production, not stacking on top of it.
Seattle at No. 2 gets the continuity case. “Even with some of the minor losses that they did face, the main core that led them to a Super Bowl victory is still there,” Infante said. The 1A/1B backfield he describes will not exist in September. Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL in the postseason and is not expected back for Week 1, which puts No. 32 overall pick Jadarian Price on the field early. Losing offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to the Raiders head job may matter more than any name on the personnel list.
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Buffalo lands third as Infante’s top AFC team. “The offense is going to be good regardless when you have a guy like Josh Allen at QB,” he said. “But can the defense pick things up? That remains to be seen. If they can, watch out for these guys to finish in first place in the AFC.”
Baltimore is the pick that will look either prescient or reckless by Thanksgiving. Nobody else has staked out that ground.
