Ray Lewis, Ed Reed Next Ravens to Join Pro Football Hall of Fame

Jonathan Ogden is the only player in Baltimore Ravens history to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will join him as soon as they are eligible.

The Baltimore Ravens are coming off their 20th season in the NFL. While it was one of the worst years in franchise history, the organization has enjoyed a lot of success in its short time in the league.

The Ravens have made the playoffs in all but six seasons since they won their first Super Bowl in 2000. They won another championship in 2012, and they were led by two players who will no doubt be in the Hall of Fame in the near future.

Jonathan Ogden was the best left tackle in the NFL for over a decade. He manhandled defenders and opened gaping holes for some of the best ground attacks of that time. Jamal Lewis was breaking rushing records running behind the Ravens left side of the offensive line of Ogden and the underrated Edwin Mulitalo.

Ogden was great and it must be rewarding that the Ravens first-ever draft pick was also their first Hall of Famer. However, he is not the one with a statue outside M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens are known for their defense. They were ranked in the top five defensively for nine seasons with Lewis at the center of it all. His fire on the field spread to his teammates and they all fed off his energy. If they needed a big stop, Lewis was surely in the middle of it.

His accolades are mind-blowing. He was a first-team All-American in 1994 and 1995. He won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award twice, in 2000 and 2003. He was named the Super Bowl MVP during the Ravens magical 2000 run. Not to mention 13 Pro Bowls and being named an AP All-Pro 10 times.

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He owns the Ravens defensive record book. His 1,562 tackles is not only the best in franchise history, but Terrell Suggs is the next closest player with 511 tackles. Suggs, Peter Boulware and Michael McCrary are the only players with more than Lewis’ 41.5 sacks. He owns the record for most fumble recoveries and only Suggs has forced more fumbles. He had 31 interceptions in his career, second to the other Raven that will join him in the Hall of Fame shortly after, Ed Reed.

Lewis redefined how the linebacker position was played. Ogden did the same at left tackle. It’s almost unheard of that a franchise has three players that dominant a game like the Ravens were fortunate to have.

Reed was the true definition of a ball hawk. If a quarterback made a mistake in his area of the field, not only was he taking the football away, but he was looking to score. It drove us bananas when we saw him pitch the ball trying to score, but he was a competitor who always wanted to win.

He went to 9 Pro Bowls, was named an All-Pro five times and was the 2004 AP Defensive Player of the Year. He has the NFL record for most interception return yards and scored a total of 13 touchdowns in his career. The memory that sticks out most to me is the 107-yard interception return against the Philadelphia Eagles that got Donavon McNabb benched, but there were so many others.

What other franchise can say that they had three Defensive Players of the Year on the field at the same time? Suggs won the award in 2011 and you could make an argument that he could find his way into Canton as well.

But the Baltimore Ravens know they have two surefire Hall of Famers on the way. Lewis will be in on the first ballot in 2018 and Reed will be right behind him 2020.

Ogden is all alone in Canton right now, but the teammates who joined him during his induction speech will be with him in the Hall shortly. Ogden, Reed and Lewis are the Ravens original icons.

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