Ravens a ‘logical suitor’ for Panthers star WR D.J. Moore

With Lamar Jackson currently enjoying an MVP-caliber season, the Baltimore Ravens should be doing everything in their power to equip him with talented offensive weapons in 2022.

That includes making a call for Carolina Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore.

After Matt Rhule’s sacking, the Panthers seem to be on the verge of a rebuild, and many NFL teams are reportedly “sniffing around” for young players like Christian McCaffrey, Brian Burns, and Moore.

Moore presents an obvious fix to the Ravens’ thinning wide receiver depth and could easily overtake the injured Rashod Bateman for WR1 duties, making an immediate impact in the passing game.

Baltimore had been linked to another talented wide receiver earlier this summer, so it should come as little surprise to see D.J. Moore rumored to join the Ravens in 2022.

CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin recently speculated where Moore could end up and had the Ravens at the top of the list:

"“Lamar Jackson can save games with his legs, but it’s about time Baltimore invests in a true No. 1 receiver…. Both Devin Duvernay and Rashod Bateman have flashed this year, but Moore would give Jackson a fully realized version of his current targets, not only now but for years to come.As a bonus, Moore is very familiar to the area, playing his college ball at Maryland after being born and raised in Philadelphia.”"

Ravens would be amiss not to consider trading for Panthers’ D.J. Moore

In Bateman’s absence in Week 5, the Ravens had to work with a weak receiving corps that saw Mark Andrews and Devin Duvernay combine for 13 catches and 143 yards. Outside of those two, no Ravens receiver recorded double-digit yards or more than two catches.

Lamar Jackson still found a way to win (with the help of a much-improved Ravens’ secondary), but Baltimore should nonetheless be troubled by its pass-catchers performances.

Are the Ravens really going to rely on Duvernay if Bateman has to miss more time? Cincinnati didn’t adopt a very aggressive approach to defending Andrews in Week 5, but if other teams blanket the star tight end, can the Ravens maintain an elite passing game?

Running alone won’t take them far into the postseason, as is evident in the Ravens’ loss to the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round in 2020.

Now is the time for the Ravens to stock up on offensive reinforcements, and trading for a young and promising talent like Moore could end up being a very wise investment.

The Ravens would likely have to fork over a few draft picks to Carolina as well as create more cap space by restructuring contracts. According to Russell Street Report’s Brian McFarland, Baltimore could extend cornerback Marcus Peters to create $2 to 4 million in available cap, depending on the structure.

Baltimore has kept its faith in its young wideouts so far this year, yet that faith may ultimately be misguided. Not pouncing on a top wideout talent now could hurt them badly in the future.