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The Baltimore Ravens have 10 total picks in this year’s draft, nine of which come in the first four rounds (five in Round 4). The Ravens are coming off a disappointing season and are drafting 14th overall as a result. This is Baltimore’s highest pick in the draft since selecting OT Ronnie Stanley sixth overall in 2016.
The Ravens finished last season on a six-game losing streak after starting 8-3 and looking like a top-seed in the AFC. Baltimore missed the playoffs for the first time in four years and had a losing record for the first time since 2015. Baltimore’s down season can be summarized in one word: injuries. Their top running backs, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, went down in preseason, derailing one of the league’s best rushing attacks before it even got going. All season long was a revolving door of once-great running backs that are on the wrong side of 30 years old.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson had never missed a start due to injury in his first three years in the league. But an ankle injury suffered late in the season forced him to miss the final four games of the season. Jackson missed five total games last season and the Ravens posted a 1-4 record in those games.
The Ravens addressed the hole at right tackle by signing Morgan Moses from the New York Jets. Uncertainty looms on the left side though. Ronnie Stanley has played in only seven games over the last two seasons due to injuries. Significant draft capital should be spent and shoring up the O-line and protecting their best asset in Lamar Jackson.
Revamping an aging front seven should also be a priority in this draft. DT Calais Campbell, DT Brandon Williams, LB Justin Houston, and LB Pernell McPhee are all 32 or older and currently free agents. Baltimore attempted to address their lack of pass rush when it tried to bring back former linebacker Za’Darius Smith. That deal fell through and the Ravens’…