The Baltimore Ravens have had a busy offseason adding plenty of players to the mix, but who stands out as perhaps the most impactful addition and the one player who should be remembered?
Interestingly enough, according to Adam Rank of NFL.com, one of the team’s veteran players now takes that mantle. Recently, Rank put together the team’s state of the franchise breakdown for 2020. When it came to the player fans must know for the new year, Calasis Campbell takes the mantle.
According to Rank, Campbell is going to come to town and make a major impact on the team due to his ability to fortify the defense and rush the passer up front.
Rank wrote:
“The rebuilding Jaguars gave the five-time Pro Bowler to the Ravens in the way that your neighbor who wants to throw away a mini-fridge insists on letting you have it for free, refusing payment and forcing you to leave a sixer of Stone IPAs on his front door as a thank you. In fact, a sixer of Stone IPAs is more than Jacksonville got for Campbell, with Baltimore sending over a fifth-round pick for one of the best dudes in football, both on and off the field. This was a confounding decision by a Jaguars team that extracted a king’s ransom for Jalen Ramsey and apparently wasn’t willing to part with Yannick Ngakoue for less than a high-end pick — and it had to steam the rest of the AFC North.
Campbell has been down this road before. Broncos fans were livid when he spurned his hometown team as a free agent to join the Jaguars in 2017. My friends down in Duval County went to the AFC Championship Game that season. The expectation should be heightened for the Ravens. With Campbell on board and Matthew Judon back to harangue quarterbacks, this Ravens defense could be even better than last season’s edition, which ranked first in the NFL from Week 7 to 17 in points allowed per game (14.2), total yards allowed per game (270.8) and opponent passer rating (71.8).
It’s worth noting, again, that Campbell seems like one of the best human beings on the planet, meaning his impact in the locker room should be immeasurable.”
More than being great on the field, Campbell is great off of it, meaning he is likely to become one of the best players on the Ravens top to bottom. It’s safe to say he is for sure the newcomer that is most interesting to fans given these variables.
Not only will Campbell help the defense, he will help the whole team. That makes him an addition worth remembering to be sure.
Calais Campbell Stats
Coming to Baltimore, Campbell enters as one of the team’s most productive defensive linemen. At 33, he has piled up 696 tackles and 88 sacks. He was a former second round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2008, and most recently played for the Jacksonville Jaguars until a trade sent him to the Ravens this offseason. That’s a deal in which many believe the Ravens scored in a big way considering these numbers.
Ravens Credited For Offseason Defense Moves
Another Pro Football Focus contributor Gordon McGuinness recently tweeted about the approach the Ravens have with Eric DeCosta building his team, and lauded the fact that Baltimore seems to be building around players who are solid and stout on the back end and know the team’s scheme incredibly well. As he says, that’s how a defense should be constructed.
The Ravens recently re-signed Jimmy Smith, which was a huge move in order to keep a group together which has been very solid. That’s in addition to what they already have on the roster and what they will get back in 2020.
Adding Campbell to the front only helps, and he’s a player who will be one of the most important forces along a defensive line in the league this year.
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