Baltimore Ravens: Why They Must Sign Eric Weddle
The Baltimore Ravens have been creating as much cap space as they can. This is presumably to make a move in NFL Free Agency. If the Ravens plan is to address the secondary, Weddle is their best option.
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With Brent Grimes now a Buccaneer, there is one less cornerback available. Prince Amukamara went to the Jaguars. The best option at corner is probably Leon Hall. Hall is an aging corner coming off an injury. The best thing the Ravens can do is get a top-tier free safety. Eric Weddle is the way to go.
Weddle is the hottest commodity on the market right now, at least at the defensive backfield. Weddle is a big name player who can still play at a high level. The Ravens got spoiled when they had Ed Reed as the last line of defense. Reed was the greatest ball hawk of all time (I’d say arguably but you know it’s true). Weddle isn’t Reed, but nobody is. He would be the best player the Ravens have had at the safety position since Reed left.
The case for Weddle is that he would give the Ravens a proven free safety. As it stands now the Ravens are moving Ladarius Webb to this position. That may work out as Webb has ball skills and the Ravens have already experimented with this last season. We don’t know how it would go with Webb at free safety (we have such a small sample size) but we know Weddle would come in and shine.
Weddle would be the quarterback of the secondary. He has a high football IQ and makes sure he and his fellow defensive backs are in the right spot. Weddle can make a quarterback fear him. While he had no interceptions last season he’s had 19 in his career.
Weddle is a trusted player to be the deep safety. He is fast. He diagnoses plays as quickly as he runs and he hits like a hammer. He would pair well with Will Hill and would give the Ravens a chance to avoid giving up big plays. Can you imagine how physical the Ravens would be with Hill and Weddle punishing receivers and tight ends down the field. That would be a lot of fun to watch.
The Ravens will probably be focused on the defense as much as possible in the 2016 NFL Draft. This means that it is highly likely that Newsome will select a pass rusher with the sixth overall pick. If the Ravens get more pass rushing help after they sign Weddle… the defense will see a huge transformation. The Ravens haven’t been dominant defensively since 2011
It would be nice to have a strong secondary because it would allow defensive Dean Pees to call a more aggressive defense. If you noticed the Ravens have been playing vanilla pressure schemes in the recent years it is because Pees doesn’t trust his secondary.
Next: Baltimore Ravens: What Is The Free Agency Plan?
The Ravens are just one team interested in Weddle. The Ravens have a history of making surprise moves work. It may or may not happen. If it does happen this is huge for the Ravens.