Ravens on Wrong End of ‘Best Move of the Entire Offseason’

The cupboard is close to bare for the Baltimore Ravens at wide receiver. It’s a strange situation this close to the start of the 2022 NFL season, but the paucity of options at wideout is also something of the Ravens own making.

Not only has general manager Eric DeCosta so far shunned the many veteran pass-catchers in free agency. He also traded away a key member of last season’s receiving corps.

The trade wasn’t to the Ravens advantage and appeared to upset franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson. Yet, one NFC personnel executive has called it the “best move of the entire offseason.”

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WR Trade Has Left the Ravens Short

While putting together a list of the offseason moves set to define this season, Heavy’s Matt Lombardo spoke with one NFC personnel executive who called the decision to trade Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown to the Arizona Cardinals “the best move of the entire offseason.”

The Ravens got a first-round pick in the draft day trade with the Cards, but as Lombardo put it, Baltimore gave up “a game-altering weapon.” There aren’t many of those among Jackson’s supporting cast, which is probably why the QB was less than impressed when this deal was made official:

Jackson and Brown were close, especially after the latter caught 91 passes for 1,008 yards last season. Those were career-best marks for Brown, but they are hardly the numbers of an elite wide receiver.

The blow of losing Brown would be softened if the Ravens added a proven commodity to the wideout room. Instead, the front office appears content to let Jackson and offensive coordinator Greg Roman rely on an unproven group headlined by second-year pro Rashod Bateman.

He’s joined by Devin Duvernay, James Proche and Tylan Wallace, a trio short on production. They combined for just 51 receptions and a mere two touchdowns last season.

Those numbers are far from a cast-iron precursor to a breakout season for one of the Ravens’ no-name receivers. Naturally, DeCosta will hope a star emerges from this group, so he’ll be happy Duvernay is already making eye-catching plays at training camp:

Ultimately though, the Ravens will look to other areas to make themselves winners of the Brown trade.

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Intangibles of Brown Trade Favor Ravens

Sending Brown to the NFC West weakened an already suspect group of receivers, but the Ravens got stronger in other areas. Specifically, DeCosta flipped the pick he got from the Cardinals for the 25th-overall selection in a deal with the Buffalo Bills, and used the choice to select Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum.

Drafting Linderbaum not only brought the highest-rated pivotman in this draft class to M&T Bank Stadium. It also secured a worthy replacement for last season’s starter, Bradley Bozeman, who joined the Carolina Panthers in free agency.

There may be a shortage of wideouts, but the Ravens did add to their options at tight end. One of the new recruits, fourth-rounder Isaiah Likely, has already impressed Jackson, who compared the rookie to All-Pro Mark Andrews, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic:

That’s lofty praise and the Ravens will soon forget about Brown if their tight ends are gashing defenses every week. In fact, the Ravens will only belong on the wrong end of this move if Brown proves a major miss. It’s debatable he will.

There’s no denying Brown’s vertical speed was an asset in an otherwise pedestrian offense. The problem is Brown rarely felt at home in Roman’s system.

He told I Am Athlete Tonight (h/t) Dov Kleiman in April how the “system wasn’t for me.” Play-calling may have motivated Brown’s desire to leave, but not everybody believes the 25-year-old was exempt from blame.

Analytics expert Warren Sharp highlighted Brown’s penchant for drops even when the Ravens had managed to scheme big plays:

It’s a reasonable argument considering Brown dropped six passes in 2021, according to NBC Sports. He also fumbled three times.

Aside from the ball security issues, Brown has also had trouble staying healthy. He’s never completed a full season in three years and was rarely healthy for camp.

The latter trend is continuing with the Cardinals, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley:

Brown will likely be good to go once the season gets underway, but he’ll need to stay healthy and clean up the issues with his hands if he’s going to dominate in Arizona the way some anticipate.

If he does, the Ravens will be in for criticism about losing out on this trade.

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