The Baltimore Ravens have done a solid job keeping some of their top players in-house this offseason, but that doesn’t change the fact that the team has some major needs to finish out the rest of the offseason.
In typical fashion, Baltimore has focused on their own house this offseason, and that’s been a positive development. Even such, the Ravens may not have done enough to shore up a few key spots on their offense for the offseason.
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Recently, Pro Football Focus and writer Anthony Treash took a look at the top needs remaining for every team for the rest of the offseason. When it came to the Ravens, there were more than a few still on the docket, including wideout and offensive tackle and perhaps even edge rusher.
Treash wrote:
“The Ravens’ wide receiver group finished among the five lowest-graded units in the NFL in 2020. After Marquise Brown, the best wide receiver the Ravens have on the roster is either Miles Boykin or Devin Duvernay, both of whom have a career receiving grade just above 60.0. Baltimore needs an “X” receiver who imposes a threat to defenses, and head coach John Harbaugh knows it.
The Ravens once fielded one of the league’s best tackle tandems with Ronnie Stanley Jr. and Orlando Brown Jr., but that relationship is coming to an end. Brown filled in for the injured Stanley over at left tackle last year and has since demanded a trade because he wants to protect the blind side full-time. The good news is that this draft class is a loaded one when it comes to tackles. Baltimore is destined to be getting great value by selecting a tackle, whether it be with their first-rounder or whatever compensation they receive from the Brown trade.
They should have their eyes set on Oklahoma State’s Teven Jenkins, who is PFF’s OT4 and 26th-best prospect overall. Jenkins was a mainstay on the Pokes’ offensive line over the past three years, and he performed exceptionally well each season. He excelled in the run game, where he notched the second-best run-blocking grade among FBS right tackles over those three years. He was the only Power 5 tackle to rank top-five in both positively and negatively graded run-block rate in 2020.”
Obviously, sorting out what to do up front is a big goal for the Ravens, but figuring out what to do on defense in addition to at wideout will be significant as well. The Ravens have the makings of a solid roster, but they do need to make some more well-placed additions in order to keep things going.
Ravens Must Expand Focus for Wide Receiver
So what’s next for the Ravens? They still need a wideout to help the offense, and that’s true even after the team has beefed up their offensive line as well as the tight end spot. Now, the goal is to find a wideout to come in and expand the offense for Lamar Jackson and company. The team hasn’t been able to get elite play from anyone at the spot the last few years, so the pressure is on to add a weapon this offseason.
Right now, the bigger names are gone, so the Ravens have to find a way to get someone to come in and occupy the bottom of their group. Some names are still out there such as Sammy Watkins, T.Y. Hilton and others. It will be interesting to see if the Ravens can get anything done in the coming days.
Ravens Defense Needs Pass Rushers
Thus far this offseason, the Ravens have sustained their biggest losses on the edge, with Yannick Ngakoue and Matt Judon leaving the team. As a result, the team might have to look at getting more players in the mix during the draft to help rush the passer. Judon was a home-grown talent, so it’s not as if the Ravens won’t be able to strike gold with this again, although the pressure will be on them to do so given Judon as well as a bigger trade addition from last season in Ngakoue will also be leaving.
Safe to say the upgrades will be needed at wideout and along the defensive edge for the Ravens during the second wave of the offseason to help it be a success.
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Ravens Still Have Glaring Needs Remaining This Offseason