Tarell Brown: Potential Baltimore Ravens Free Agent Target

November 9, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders cornerback Tarell Brown (23) tackles Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (10) during the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Broncos defeated the Raiders 41-17. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

As we head into the offseason and prepare for the craziness that is NFL free agency, we thought it would be fun to take a look ahead at some players that the Ravens might be interested in pursuing. While we can all dream about seeing our favorite team signing guys like Dez Bryant or Justin Houston (both free agents this year), we’re going to be a little more realistic and only look at players that might actually hit the market and draw interest from the Ravens.

One area where Brown has always shined is making plays on the ball.  He recorded a total of 43 passes defensed over the last four seasons, a category where the Ravens only finished 25th among NFL teams last season.

We forgive you if you don’t rank Tarell Brown in your list of top free agents.  Playing for the Oakland Raiders has a way of holding back a player’s stardom, though in this case it is very much undeserved. Brown has been in the league for quite a while, spending 7 seasons in San Francisco before landing a one year deal in Oakland this past season.  And he was a steady force in the Raider’s backfield, one that performed admirably all year.

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Brown wasn’t lights out in 2014, grading out as only the 75th best corner out of 108 qualifiers by Pro Football Focus.  But he logged an amazing 1,000 snaps on defense, which is a testament to how bad the Raiders were for most of the season.  At the ripe age of 30, that’s a heck of a lot of playing time.  The Raiders offense just couldn’t stay on the field long enough to give their D a break.

One area where Brown has always shined is making plays on the ball.  He recorded a total of 43 passes defensed over the last four seasons, a category where the Ravens only finished 25th among NFL teams last season.  And he should be available for around $3 million per year, a number that is less than one half of what Lardarius Webb is scheduled to make in 2015.  At the very least, Brown would be an upgrade at the nickel corner position for the Ravens.