Ravens’ Top Four Needs for the NFL Draft

With the first round of free agency all but done for the Ravens as they secure up to three possible compensatory picks, The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer and Paul Mancano discussed which four positions the Ravens will likely address in the NFL Draft.

“[Edge rusher being No. 1] is funny because I think the Ravens finished, what, second in the NFL in sacks last year,” Shaffer said. “But we are looking at the Ravens kind of careening toward the edge of the edge cliff right now because Odafe Oweh’s in his walk year, Kyle Van Noy is in his walk year. We don’t know what Adisa Isaac is going to be; David Ojabo is also in his walk year, and we don’t really know what he’s going to be. Tavius Robinson’s only heading into year three but is he really going to be a long-term starter at this position? We talked about it a million times and we’ll continue to talk about it a million times more, if you want to find high-impact guys in the draft at that edge rusher spot, you need to invest early.”

“How many teams have prioritized guys who can rush up the middle? Milton Williams was probably the highest-paid free agent this offseason because he’s an interior defensive lineman who can get to the quarterback,” Mancano said. “I think there are going to be a lot of guys both the edge and the interior defensive line category that will be on the board for the Ravens at the No. 27 overall pick.”

“You can take an outside guy and make sure Marlon Humphrey is set in the slot and have somebody to replace Brandon Stephens,” Mancano said. “You can take an inside guy, a nickel corner, and move Marlon Humphrey back to the outside.”

“I think the Skeleton Key or whole calculus to this is Marlon Humphrey and to a lesser extent Kyle Hamilton because both of those guys could be in the slot and that means that you can find an outside cornerback,” Shaffer said. “But Marlon Humphrey has also been a very good outside cornerback. That means that Kyle Hamilton could go back into the slot and you could take a safety. So, I think it’s much better that the Ravens have the flexibility that they do to really open themselves up to a lot of possibilities for the best player available.”

“We saw how many times the Ravens used that dime package last year. Having a third safety to go with Ar’Darius Washington, who we assume is going to be back, and Kyle Hamilton, is massive,” Mancano said.

“I think probably the dream scenario is maybe teams are scared off by a Jahdae Barron, the Texas star’s length,” Shaffer said. “He’s very fast, very productive, very good but I think he has T-Rex arms for the position. I don’t think he’s going to fall anywhere close to 27, but if he does, then he becomes the guy you could drop in as a deep safety, ask to be a slot cornerback, just do a lot of Kyle Hamilton type role stuff. Even if he doesn’t’ look like Kyle Hamilton.”