3 biggest remaining Ravens needs after first wave of free agency
The Ravens still have a lot of work to do
By Mike Luciano
The Baltimore Ravens made two of the best moves of the 2024 NFL offseason by signing Justin Madubuike to a long-term contract and bringing in Derrick Henry to stabilize the backfield. Those two are tremendous, but the Ravens have seen a few more holes start to pop up across the roster.
Patrick Queen and Geno Stone won't be returning to the defense, while three offensive linemen in Morgan Moses, Kevin Zeitler, and John Simpson will be playing elsewhere next season. Odell Beckham Jr. is also gone from the offense, as is reliable short-yardage running back Gus Edwards.
Baltimore will be good enough to compete for a championship if Jackson performs like he did last year and Henry takes well to his new role. Those stars will help, and a defense that features All-Pros like Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton will be ferocious, but the holes are quite clear and obvious.
By the time the offseason comes to a close, the Ravens need to have addressed these three big needs. With the deep AFC getting even more ferocious by the week, Baltimore will need to come prepared with a very deep roster that can't be easily exploited by fellow contenders.
3 biggest Baltimore Ravens team needs after early stages of free agency
3. Deep threat wide receiver
If the Ravens want to roll out standard 11 personnel on most offensive snaps, the three wide receivers in this package would be a second-year player in Zay Flowers, the perpetually in neutral Rashod Bateman, and a milquetoast veteran in Nelson Agholor. Reinforcements are needed in the worst way.
The Ravens could look to what is an extraordinarily deep wide receiver class for their next improvements, but the free agent market is still full of veteran wide receivers who can stretch the field and get the most out of Jackson's arm. Keeping the room unchanged heading into 2024 would be an egregious misstep.
The Baltimore Ravens need one more big play wide receiver.
Former Bengals slot standout Tyler Boyd remains a free agent Baltimore should consider taking a look at. The Ravens have had some preliminary interest in former Cowboys standout Michael Gallup and Lions vertical threat Josh Reynolds, both of whom are still under 30 years old.
Baltimore could also target a standout receiver like Florida's Ricky Pearsall, Washington's Ja'Lynn Polk, or North Carolina's Tez Walker on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Even if this run-first offense will never produce a league-leading receiver, the Ravens can't go into another shootout with Kansas City or Cincinnati outgunned.