This year is a rare time when the Baltimore Ravens need help on defense. Specfically, in the trenches, where an ageing line is lacking an infusion of youth and playmaking quality.
One mock draft writer has come up with the answer. The solution involves the Ravens using the 14th-overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft on a versatile defensive lineman who won the national championship with Georgia this season.
This dynamic end/tackle could help the Ravens cope with the potential losses of three key veterans along the line.
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Ravens Select Moving Chess Piece for Changing Front
The best use the Ravens can make of the 14th pick is to select Georgia’s roving D-lineman Travon Walker, according to CBS Sports’ Kyle Stackpole: “The Ravens’ defense could lose its two starting interior linemen to free agency (or retirement), and the unit also finished in the bottom third of the league with just 34 sacks. Walker could help in both areas, as he can line up inside and outside and tallied six sacks for the national champion Bulldogs this past season.”
There’s good reasoning here, particularly the reference to the Ravens possibly losing incumbent tackles Brandon Williams and Calais Campbell. Both are free agents and the wrong side of 30, with Campbell 35 and Williams 32.
Ravens’ general manager Eric DeCosta has already indicated change is coming along the front, per Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun:
Eric DeCosta said he spoke with Calais Campbell, a pending free agent, after the season. He expects more conversations.
But with Brandon Williams and Justin Ellis also UFAs, the defensive line could be headed in a new direction. “We need to get younger, for sure.”
The time appears ripe for a refresh at the heart of the front seven. Especially after a season when the Ravens were uncharacteristically generous up front.
Those middling sacks numbers prove the Ravens need to do more to generate heat on the pocket. There’s also a need to maintain existing strength defending the run after Baltimore allowed just 13 rushing touchdowns and 3.8 yards per carry in 2021.
A lot of the excellence on the ground was due to the bulk of 336-pounder Williams and Campbell’s 300 pounds. Standing 6’6″ and weighing 275 pounds, Walker isn’t as big, but he may be a better fit for a defense undergoing changes this year.
Walker Fits New Schemes
There’s been no shortage of change on the Ravens’ defense already this offseason. At least in terms of scheme.
The biggest change involved the team parting ways with coordinator Don Martindale and installing Mike MacDonald as the new play-caller. Linebackers coach Rob Ryan is also set to leave Baltimore, according to Jason La Canfora.
There’s a chance for MacDonald to quickly put his own stamp on this defense. He made his name running the Michigan defense for Jim Harbaugh in 2021, but MacDonald still has a lot to prove.
He’s the youngest defensive coordinator in Ravens’ history, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, who also noted this “is the first time the Ravens have hired a defensive coordinator outside the organization.”
MacDonald ran a defense for the Wolverines based on versatile linemen like Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo. Walker fits what MacDonald wants to do up front.
Walker lined up in multiple spots for the Bulldogs and proved himself adept in both phases of the defense. This highlight, captured by NFL Draft Bible’s Ryder McConville, showcased Walker’s talent in coverage:
Travon Walker is a freak of nature to be making plays like this in coverage at his size. #NFLDraft
This play featured Walker at defensive end, but he spent plenty of his time sliding inside to tackle. That was just one of the many positions the 21-year-old took up for the Bulldogs during their title-winning campaign, and one from where he was most effective.
Patriots Beat podcast host Evan Lazar relayed highlights of Walker disrupting plays from the inside:
Another UGA defense fit for the #Patriots: Travon Walker. Size/length/power to play inside the tackles & excellent athleticism at 275 pounds.
Speed to power, post up vs the run, drop into coverage from on the line, chase down tackle in space. Projected end of first round.
Walker’s range and flexibility are outlined by Pro Football Network’s Cam Mellor: “He lined up from the interior of the defensive line and as far back as slot cornerback. And it didn’t matter where the 6’5″, 275-pound Walker lined up. He just produced. Walker recorded 6 sacks and 7.5 tackles for a loss this past season. He patrolled like a linebacker at times but pushed the pocket like a dominant pass rusher.”
MacDonald would be able to move Walker all across the Ravens’ line to keep offenses guessing and wreck blocking schemes. Drafting Walker would mean the Ravens needn’t be in a rush to bring back Campbell, nor fellow free agent and 33-year-old edge-rusher Justin Houston.
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Ravens Get National Champion DE in Latest Mock Draft