Baltimore Ravens must build upon their strengths this offseason
By Darin McCann
How they improve
Their offensive line is a screaming need, and even more so if they trade Orlando Brown Jr. I get the excitement over what they can get in return for a player of his caliber, but how do we know that actually helps the Ravens?
He’s on his rookie contract still, there is no guarantee the Ravens can draft a player on his level with that newfound capital, and signing a free agent to take his place only sucks up more of their remaining salary-cap dollars.
The team also needs a starting center, someone to step up in the right guard competition, and a swing tackle. To me, the offensive line is the most glaring need on the entire team, and that is not a good place to be when you have a Greg Roman-Lamar Jackson offense.
I know there is a lot of chatter about the need to acquire an “X” receiver who can be a difference-maker, and that would definitely make the team better. But with this team, and with this offense, the offensive line is a much-bigger need. I would also nod my head with a seam-stretching tight end added to the equation.
Philosophically, the Ravens need to find an answer to stacked defensive boxes, and it doesn’t always have to include “throwing it over the defense’s head.” Picking up small gains with screens, flats and in-routes can make a world of difference for this team.
Second-and-five or third-and-two keeps the Ravens in run-or-pass mode, which plays to their strengths of keeping defenses off balance, and makes Lamar Jackson one of the most dangerous men on the planet. That’s a good thing.
Who they are on defense
Don “Wink” Martindale just blitzed his newspaper delivery boy this morning. He then sent a blitz after the neighbor who was taking his trash can to the sidewalk. He then ordered a blitz omelet with some blitz fries on the side from Door Dash. He’s aggressive. It’s who he is.
I hear the talk that Martindale only blitzes so much because he doesn’t have the personnel to rush the passer with four guys, and I’m sure that has some impact, but don’t think he’d just sit back in Cover-2 all day if he had those guys. Martindale uses the blitz to confuse quarterbacks, make them hurry through their progressions, and generate turnovers as much as anything else.
Those blitzes make it critically important that the team has good cornerbacks who can cover one-on-one, safeties who can both cover and attack the box, and edge-setters who can control the run game by keeping backs inside so fast linebackers can take them down.
The Ravens check the boxes on corner, but there are questions about the slot position with annual injuries to Tavon Young. Marlon Humphrey does a really nice job moving inside out of necessity, but he is special on the outside, utilizing the sidelines, his anticipatory skills, and his aggression to disrupt passes.
The Ravens have safeties who are solid coming downhill and are pretty good against tight ends, but neither are “ballhawks” who will generate a ton of turnovers. They lose a ton of talent on the edge this year, with Matthew Judon, Yannick Ngakoue,
Tyus Bowser, Pernell McPhee, and Jihad Ward all due to hit free agency. They are also looking at potential losses on the line with Derek Wolfe and Justin Ellis.
How do they improve?
They are going to need edge guys. Mathematics alone tells us they need edge guys, and if they want to improve their pass rush, even though they blitz from every angle, they need guys who can ultimately win some one-on-one matchups.
Cornerback is always a position of interest for any team, and probably more so with the Ravens, particularly in the slot. A ball-hawking safety to patrol the back end of the defense could also help in many situations, including sub-packages where the team might want to keep Chuck Clark and Deshon Elliott on the field to patrol those initial 8-12 yards of territory beyond the line of scrimmage.