Baltimore Ravens: Handing out 10 game balls for 2019 regular season
Eric DeCosta:
The bar was set plenty high by Ozzie Newsome for Eric DeCosta to come in and be the successor to the former as the Baltimore Ravens general manager. To say he met expectations doesn’t do him any justice, because he smashed them.
DeCosta, who should be the frontrunner for the NFL Executive of the Year award, took an already solid roster and made them into the fiercest team in the league. DeCosta did something that Newsome never did: he built the team around the strengths of his quarterback.
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The offseason addition of Mark Ingram was brilliant. The way he compliments Lamar Jackson’s running style cannot be measured, and his pass-catching abilities were also on full display. Turning Gus Edwards into the team’s change-of-pace back was remarkable, especially since he showed some starting qualities as a rookie.
From there, he added a playmaking wide receiver in Marquise Brown and allowed his offensive line to blossom into an elite unit. The offensive became historically great behind his moves.
The defense was no slouch either, as the offseason acquisition of Earl Thomas paid dividends. DeCosta was far from done on defense, however, as midseason additions of Marcus Peters and Josh Bynes have also played huge roles in the Ravens success.
As a whole, Eric DeCosta was a mastermind, and even if he didn’t play a single snap for the team he undoubtedly deserves a game ball.