The NFL draft is upon us and all the mock drafts and speculation will finally come to an end. The Baltimore Ravens have fewer roster weaknesses than most teams, but there are a few positions the Ravens must address in the NFL draft.
1. The Ravens need to address the outside linebacker position:
Going into the 2020 season, the Baltimore Ravens have quite a few players under contract that can play outside linebacker. The problem is that in 2021 the entire outside linebacker corps could look very different. Matt Judon is on the franchise tag and is only guaranteed to play in 2020. Tyus Bowser had a decent season with five sacks, but he is entering the final year of his deal and has underwhelmed for the majority of his career. Jaylon Ferguson will be entering his sophomore season and has a ton of ability, but hasn’t put it together on the field just yet. It would behoove the Ravens to find a real difference-maker in the 2020 NFL draft.
Not only would a great edge player benefit the defensive line, but it would also take the Ravens defense to a new level. Last year the Ravens blitzed an incredible amount, sending an extra rusher on over half of the snaps on the defense (According to PFF). The Ravens can do this a lot and not get burned because of their amazing secondary. On paper, the Ravens have the most talented secondary in the NFL. First round talent is everywhere and there is no one player that is an obvious weak link in the unit. The secondary would benefit greatly if they were not asked to guard players man to man every other snap.
A truly dominant player at outside linebacker is the biggest need that I can see for the Ravens. The defense has a ton of pieces, but a great edge player would allow the Ravens to blitz less, cover more, and make a very good defense take the next step towards being great. Because of how many picks the Ravens have in this draft, I would not be surprised if the Ravens end up double-dipping at outside linebacker. The Ravens need bodies to replace the players that might not be there next year. The Ravens absolutely can’t leave the draft without getting at least one outside linebacker.