Getty A Super Bowl winner thinks the Ravens should trade their first-round pick for a Pro Bowl WR.
Lamar Jackson needs a true No. 1 wide receiver. That’s hardly a secret and surely not something that’s escaped the attention of the Baltimore Ravens.
Finding a premier wideout is easier said than done, though, and the Ravens currently appear content to go with what they have. The incumbent options include Rashod Bateman and Marquise Brown.
Both offer speed on the outside, but neither is the go-to target a Pro Bowl wideout would become for Jackson. This receiver could be on the trade block, and the Ravens have been advised to do a deal involving their first-round draft pick, by a Super Bowl winner who knows a thing or two about catching passes.
ALL the latest Ravens news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Ravens newsletter here!
Big-Bodied WR Should be Ravens’ Priority
Speaking on an edition of NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, Emmanuel Sanders named the Ravens as an ideal trade partner for the Seattle Seahawks. They should strike a deal for DK Metcalf, according to the wideout who spent 2021 with the Buffalo Bills: “It’s the perfect fit, if you ask me.”
Sanders, who won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos following the 2015 season, referenced Metcalf’s 6’4″, 235-pound frame as ideal for the Ravens. He noted how the Ravens like to run the ball, so a receiver who can block and “crack those safeties” would be an obvious asset.
More important, Sanders feels like the Ravens have a duty to give Jackson a “no. 1 receiver to get over that hump. Right? To be able to go on and win a Super Bowl.”
Sanders, who returned to the Super Bowl but was on the losing end with the 2019 San Francisco 49ers, believes Jackson connecting with Metcalf and Brown would make the Ravens a “dangerous, dangerous, dangerous team.” That’s something Sanders thinks is worth trading away the 14th-overall pick in this year’s draft.
There’s no doubt Metcalf would upgrade what is a suspect Ravens receiving corps. The 24-year-old is one of the most dynamic receivers in the game, earning a Pro Bowl nod after a career-best 1,303 yards in 2020.
Metcalf wasn’t as effective last season, but he still turned it on against some of the league’s best cover men, including Los Angeles Rams’ cornerback Jalen Ramsey, per PFF:
DK Metcalf vs Jalen Ramsey on TNF:
🔹 3 catches
🔹 58 yards
🔹 1 TD
Most yards given up to a single receiver by Ramsey since Week 14 2019 (DK Metcalf 69 yards)
The Ravens are already well aware of Metcalf’s talents, Jackson in particular. He still hasn’t signed a new contract and is set to play on the fifth-year option, but Jackson wants to win a championship and knows a marquee receiver would help.
Jackson took to Twitter recently to endorse a suggestion about the Ravens acquiring Metcalf:
Metcalf has been mentioned as a trade candidate, but there are conflicting reports about whether the Seahawks want to let him move on this offseason.
Confusion Reigns Regarding Metcalf’s Availability
Nobody seems quite sure if the Seahawks would even trade Metcalf if the right offer came along. A report from Howard Eskin of Philadelphia radio station WIP, via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, said the New York Jets were willing to offer the 10th-overall pick, but the Seahawks wouldn’t entertain the offer.
Later on Wednesday, April 6, Connor Hughes of The Athletic tweeted the Jets weren’t prepared to deal away their first-round selection:
Metcalf had already used social media to declare himself unaware of any trade interest:
While there’s a lot of cold water being poured on the Metcalf trade rumors, some aren’t convinced the Seahawks won’t relent. Among the doubters, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said during an appearance on SportsCenter, via Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway, Metcalf can be had “at the right price.”
That price would surely involve a first-round pick, something Sanders says the Ravens should give away for Metcalf. Fortunately, the Ravens are well-stocked with mid-round picks, two selections in the third round and five in the fourth, to offset relinquishing an opening-round choice.
Packaging that first-rounder with a third and a fourth would surely be enough to get the Seahawks talking. If those conversations bore fruit, the Ravens would have an elite target for Jackson and extra incentive for the quarterback to extend his stay in Baltimore.