It's a new era in Baltimore! 2026 brings a new head coach, Jesse Minter, and a new offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle, replacing Todd Monken. While the offense will still revolve around franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson, the guys catching passes from him this fall have changed significantly. This is especially true at the tight end position, where part-time starter Isaiah Likely followed former head coach John Harbaugh to the New York Giants. Likely signed a three-year, $40M deal with Big Blue.
Additionally, Charlie Kolar will now play for Harbaugh's brother, Jim, as he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers. With these two departures, the other part-time starter from last season, Mark Andrews, is the unquestioned starter. He might even be a bigger part of the offense than he was last season. The second string tight end should be Durham Smythe, who Baltimore signed last month on a one-year deal worth $3M.
In 129 games (76 starts) across eight different seasons, Smythe has 136 receptions for 1,253 yards and three touchdown receptions. With 11 picks in this past weekend's draft, you knew the Ravens would select at least one or two tight ends. They did indeed take a pair, starting with Matt Hibner, 133rd overall in the 4th round, out of SMU.
He's more of a pass-catcher than a blocker, but he could prove to be a valuable weapon. Prior to SMU, he won a national championship at Michigan in 2023. Meanwhile, Cuevas is a more versatile tight end with a varied skill set. The Ravens selected him in the fifth round, out of Alabama, with the 173rd overall pick. Interestingly enough, he transferred to Bama from Washington, where his Huskies lost to Hibner's Wolverines in the national title game.
Given how Hibner was selected a round ahead of Cuevas, one would expect him to be the TE3 for now.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: The Ravens tight end room saw some major changes this offseason