NFL Trade Deadline: Ravens’ Needs Still the Same After Loss to Steelers
Perhaps the reason Marquise Brown didn’t see a pass come his direction until the fourth quarter on Sunday is that he was busy freeing up chances for Willie Snead, but the second-year Oklahoma product certainly didn’t see it that way.
It was encouraging to see Snead have a breakout game, but the Ravens can’t count on him to put up that kind of production every week, and also can’t rely on Dez Bryant to be the answer to all their problems in the passing game. Any production from either of the two or from Miles Boykin, for that matter, is gravy. And if Greg Roman is committed to making Lamar Jackson throw the ball more than he should, the Ravens should at least their franchise quarterback another true weapon to throw to.
Must Read. Yannick Ngakoue is more than a rental for the Baltimore Ravens. light
We’ve thrown around names ranging from Calvin Ridley to Golden Tate to Will Fuller over the last month, but the Chargers’ Mike Williams might fit the bill as well as any of them. At 6″4, he offers the best combination of size and skill of perhaps any receiver that has a chance of moving by the deadline and has gone for at least 99-yards through the air in two of his last three performances. The NFL has become more of a speed league in recent years, which is a big part of why the Ravens have been able to get by with a receiving core featuring just one receiver over 6″0, but the Steelers game showed you still need physicality in the passing game if you’re going to knock off one of the league’s top defenses.
I’ve maligned Roman’s playcalling in recent weeks as much as anyone, but it would be interesting to see what this Baltimore passing game can actually look like with a pair of high-end receivers in Williams and Hollywood. Allowing options like Snead and Devin Duvernay to play more truly complementary roles could go a long way for this offense, and would damage the “Cover 15 and 89” defense teams have successfully run against the Ravens passing attack. Williams has a ~$6.4-million cap hit this year according to OverTheCap and is controllable through 2021 via a fifth-year option.