Ozzie Newsome likes to stockpile positions for Ravens
Ozzie Newsome is one of the best general managers in football. One trend we see with him is stockpiling positions with small investments.
When Ozzie Newsome can’t solve a problem with a big move, he has a bunch of little moves at one position. The tight end logjam is a perfect example of this. The cluster of running backs is also something that keeps with this trend.
Going into the offseason, before a major injury and a suspension the Ravens had six tight ends. After Dennis Pitta’s injury and Darren Waller’s suspension, the competition has decreased a bit. Its still a lot of tight ends.
The Ravens have invested very little in any of the tight ends that have been in Baltimore in recent years. Pitta (who was drafted the same year as Ed Dickson) was a fourth round pick. Waller was a sixth round pick, who was originally a wide receiver.
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Nick Boyle was taken in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. It was Newsome’s second investment at tight end in that draft class; he took Maxx Williams in the second round.
Ben Watson was added quickly into the free agency action of 2016. It wasn’t a big splash that broke the bank. After a season where injury took out Watson, his deal has been re-worked. Watson is the only tight end the Ravens have who has a real history of doing things in the league.
Adding up the career receptions of Gillmore, Boyle and Williams doesn’t give you an overly impressive figure. They’ve caught 107 receptions as a trio. Whatever you thought of Pitta’s 8.4 yards per reception he was the Ravens go to guy at tight end.
At running back the Ravens have a handful of players too. The main two backs are Kenneth Dixon (a fourth round pick) and Terrance West. The Ravens are the third team that has employed West. Baltimore took Buck Allen in the fourth round in 2015. To add the finishing touch, Danny Woodhead was brought in as a free agent.
The pros and cons:
Newsome believes in hedging his bets. One tight end may not be the answer, bit one out of six probably will be. The benefit of this strategy is that the Ravens always have a player to turn to. Without having a list of possible replacements the Pitta injury would have been even more devastating to the team.
The problem with this approach is that players can get lost in the shuffle. Look at Buck Allen as a perfect illustration of this. In 2015 he played well. Since then he hasn’t even gotten a chance.
Sometimes this approach fails too. For instance putting Shareece Wright, Kyle Arrington and Jerraud Powers at the cornerback spot was almost like adding insult to injury. Lardarius Webb did an admirable job at free safety, but that was obvious patchwork. Newsome had struggled with the secondary for years, so he employed the stockpiling method. The secondary bit the 2016 Ravens hard.
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The strategy has its pros and cons. Ultimately what Newsome is doing is inserting as many low-cost players into important positions, that he can’t fix in one big move. Its an interesting pattern. Make sure you download the Ebony Bird app for your on the go Ravens coverage.