After a rather successful 2023 season where the team ended up with a 7-5 record, commentators around the league didn’t see coming some of the changes that Director of Football Operations, Sean Shelton, was brewing in his headquarters. To start off the offseason in fashion, Ravens announced that Head Coach John Shoop and Defensive Coordinator Vince Okruck would go. To replace them, comes coach Kendral Ellison to take on Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator duties after his long tenure as Defensive Coordinator with the Hamburg Sea Devils. From the Raiders Tirol comes Offensive Coordinator Kyle Callahan to take over Shoop as the offensive play caller.
Shelton's plans didn’t end there. Ravens’ management convinces NFL Legend Joe Thomas to take on Offensive Line coaching duties and act as Marketing Ambassador for the Franchise.
And the roster? Well… Ravens have not been shy in the free agent market either…Let’s have a look!
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK
Chad Jeffries will be back for a second season with the Bavarian franchise after a very successful debut year with the team. Spectacular stats such as over 3500 passing yards, 70% of passes completed, 30 TD for only 5 interceptions and a Quarter Back rate of 115.80 has led Jeffries to get the recognition of the league: ELF MVP nominee, ELF All-Stars 2nd team and #2 in the ELF Top100 Rankings. This was a key renewal for Munich and Sean Shelton didn’t wait long to secure his talented signal caller for another season.
WIDE RECEIVERS
The departure of Markell Castle shocked the league early into the offseason. Our guess is that this move wasn’t what the Bavarian franchise had in mind. However, they didn’t take long to react and some very interesting signings and contract extensions came along pretty soon. To replace Castle as an A-import wide receiver, they signed Jon Cole. After helping the Kirchdorf Wildcats to get promoted to GFL from GFL2, Cole joins the Ravens with his unique set of skills which allow him to shine as a receiver, running back and returner.
Marvin Rutsch will repeat for another season in Munich after a breakout season in 2023. Over 700 reception yards in 2023, these numbers doubled his previous production when playing for the Galaxy in 2022.
Another very interesting signing is Lorenz Regler. After 3 seasons with the Frankfurt Galaxy, Regler will join Rutsch and Cole to become, most likely, the starting trio at receivers.
Jannik Nowak, Sixten Dragan and Luca Salvo come back for another season and will add depth to the receivers corps along with Sven Beyrich who has been signed from the GFL Ingolstadt Dukes.
TIGHT ENDS
There isn’t a clear starter here and we anticipate a good fight during training camp between youngsters Philip Okonkwo, Noah Jallow, Sebastian Reiner and veterans Marlon Malki or Manuel Hutter to secure a spot in the starting line up.
RUNNING BACKS
It took quite a long time for Shelton to secure the contract extension of Tomiwa Oyewo for another season at Munich. The Irish running back was entertaining options to play across the pond, name it CFL. In fact, Tomiwa himself revealed that the agreement with the Bavarians was sealed very early into the offseason, but with a kind of verbal “escape clause” to North America. In other words, Oyewo promised Shelton to play for Munich if he was to stay in the ELF. Luckily for all of us, he will stay and delight fans all around the league with his talent. Last season, the Irish accumulated impressive numbers with 14 rushing touchdowns, ELF leader in this category, over 1000 rushing yards and an average of 6.48 yards/attempt.
To complement Oyewo, Ravens have extended a veteran and capable running back in Justin Rodney. Invitee at the CFL Global combine in 2020 and 2021 and GFL All-Stars in 2019, Justin will prove again to be a reliable backup for the shining Irish star. The 20 year old Rachid Ali-Tagba moves to running back from last season at the cornerback position.
OFFENSIVE LINE
This is the offensive position where the franchise has made a bigger effort in signing players this offseason. The team felt that they needed to upgrade this position if they were serious in going all in for the title or, at least, be a serious challenger. The team has not been shy at all and with the help of NFL Legend, Joe Thomas, acting as a magnet to many talented Offensive Linemen out there, the outcome has been very promising. They will be stacked at this position… at least on paper.
First of all, the team has secured some very important player returns. Dominik Ondra had an exceptional 2023 season with the team. He earned an invitation for the NFL International Combine and was named at #76 in the ELF Top100 list. Starting center Marvin Biegert will be back for another season along with fellow starter Tobias Vorraiter. Marco Fischer is back as well after providing much needed depth to the line last year from the bench.
In terms of new additions, Ravens fans can get really excited. Leander Wiegand joins the team from the champs Rhein Fire. Leander was listed #26 in the 2023 ELF Top100 Ranking, named in the 2023 ELF 1st Team and invited to the NFL International Combine in 2022.
From the Hamburg Sea Devils comes 2022 GFL All-Star and CFL Global combine invitee, Gerrit Brandt.
Roman Wahrheit is another amazing addition to the team. Very experienced player with 32 games as starter in NCAA Division 1 and a short stint last year with CFL Ottawa Redblacks. Roman comes to the ELF to become a dominant star. Finally, the cherry on the cake… Marlon Werthmann will join the Bavarian franchise too. He could only play one game with the Surge last year due to an injury. This former NFL International Combine invitee in 2022 is now ready to compete for a starting spot in one of the most likely dominant offensive lines in the League this upcoming season.
CONCLUSION
Very promising offense overall. The biggest question mark being the A-Import Wide Receiver position: Jon Cole has big shoes to fill after Markell Castle departure. The contract extensions of Chad Jeffries, Tomiwa Oyewo, Marvin Rutsch and Dominik Ondra have been pivotal for the team this offseason. After this, great upgrades and extensions all over the offensive board in a team that already proved to be very strong in offense last year. GRADE: A-
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE
Six players return for another season with the team in this unit. Johannes Zirngibl impressed last season with 5.5 sacks, 16 Tackles for Loss and 1 forced fumble. At only 24 years of age he has already accumulated accolades such as listed #13 in 2023 ELF Top100 Rankings, GFL All Stars Team in 2022 and an invite for the CFL Global Combine in 2019. New Zealander Etuale Lui, at only 23 years of age and a short career playing football, has shown to the league a lot of upside when free of injuries. The Ravens bet on him for another season and hope to see a big improvement on his already decent numbers from last season in only 7 games. Veteran Defensive End Tizian Vogl was a solid starter with his 41 tackles and 3.5 sacks last season. Leon Weber is the last player from 2023 that we would like to highlight of those coming back to the team for another year.
Two big signings to complement this unit, both coming from Hamburg Sea Devils. Evans Yeboah is a great addition to complement Zirngibl and create havoc among opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks. Evans scored 8 sacks, 14.5 Tackles for Loss and 2 Forced Fumbles last season. Selected for the ELF 1st Team in 2021 and 2023 among many other recognitions for this veteran in his long career. The other great addition from Hamburg is 23 year old Hiswill Awuah. His progression over the last 3 years playing in the ELF has been impressive. He scored 4 sacks, 6.5 Tackles for Loss and a Forced Fumble last year and was selected #12 in the ELF Top100 list.
LINEBACKERS
This is a unit that has been heavily revamped this season. The team is giving the opportunity to quite a few young players from the Munich area to prove themselves in the big league. However, some key returns and a big signing have also occurred. Out of the players returning, we will point at 3 players. Kiwi Tyler Vaimona is the first one. 2 sacks, 2.5 Tackles for Loss and a total of 9 tackles in only 3 games before going down with an injury. Health issues are the only thing preventing Tyler from a breakout season. Enis Kaser is another key name returning to the team. Impressive numbers last season with 70 total tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 Break ups. Kaser has alternated the Linebacker position with the strong safety position in previous seasons. This year it looks like the German will stick with the linebacker corps. 23 year old Kevin Titz is the last name we will point out from this unit and is returning to the team.
French Wael Nasri is the big signing for this unit. This veteran is coming from the Frankfurt Galaxy where he won the title in 2021 along being nominated for the ELF All-Star team, leading the league in tackles in the same year and receiving an invitation for the NFL International Combine. Last season he again posted big numbers with 87 total tackles, 3 sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and the nomination to the ELF 2nd Team.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
This is the unit that many observers agreed to consider the weakest link in last year’s roster. Therefore, a big shake up was expected and Shelton didn’t disappoint in this respect. Only 2 players are coming back for another season with the team. Veteran American cornerback Darius Saint-Robinson and young safety Jonas Gurntke.
Darius Saint-Robinson could only play one game last year due to an injury early in the season. If he is able to make a full comeback to former form, he will undoubtedly be a firm candidate to become an All-Star by season end.
After this, multiple signings to revitalize this unit. From the Canadian CFL comes American Joshua Flowers. From Frankfurt Galaxy comes 2022 ELF All Star Karim Ben El-Ghali in an attempt to rebound from a disappointing 2023 season in Frankfurt. Another top cornerback is joining the team from Raiders Tirol, Christoph Nitzlnader. The young Austrian is considered by many to be the best young cornerback in Europe nowadays. He posted amazing numbers in Tirol with 52 total tackles, 2 interceptions and 9 break ups at only 20 years of age. Nico Leiderer is another promising youngster joining the team from the GFL.
Some more promising young players have been recruited to fly with the Ravens. The likes of Eric Kohncke from Schwabisch Hall Unicorns, Eric Eichhorn from Allgau Comets or Igor Bujok from Munich Cowboys… none of them older than 23.
CONCLUSION
Defense needed a rebuild and the franchise wasted no time in getting around to the task. Big signings across all defensive lines in Yeboah, Awuah, Nasri, Ben El-Ghali or Nitzlnader to name a few. The big question mark on this side of the ball revolves around the durability and health of some key players with a recent past dealing with injuries such as Lui, Vaimona or Saint-Robinson. The contract extensions of key players like Zirngibl, Vogl or Kaser adds to an exciting group. GRADE: B+
SPECIAL TEAMS
KICKER/PUNTER
Veteran Robert Werner will take on all kicking duties. Former GFL All Star in 2022 and listed #85 in the ELF Top100 Rankings, is ready for another successful season with the team. GRADE: B
Comments