Ravens 2021 Offseason Free Agency and Draft Discussion

I would love to have a ton of time to banter back and forth regarding the off season and the draft but I just don't have that luxury at this point.

I would like to throw my 2 cents in about a few of the hot topics this off season including the draft, free agency and roster moves/build that will affect the team for years to come.

I think this also includes Lamar's extension (at some point either this year or next) and what the team does with Orlando Brown jr and the OLB position (specifically if they decide to retain 1, 2 or neither of the big names in Ngokue or Judon)

I think the roster build will revolve around IOL, WR, OLB as well as TE and Safety.

Free agency will determine what options we have and whether or not we go for the gusto like with an Alan Robinson type or we go less expensive with say, Marvin Jones.

Do we spend up on a top C or do we go less expensive with a journeyman and draft for the future.

Do we drop a huge deal on the OLB (either one to be honest) or do we punt that position and draft for the future and potentially sit back and collect our comp picks. That latter option is actually my opinion. Sign McPhee for cheap, retain Bowser for medium and draft or sign someone else's cap casualty and also draft that position early.

As far as WR, I would love to see Robinson here for the long term, but I do not want to spend the money there. I would rather grab a Marvin Jones for a shorter contract and also try to grab a cap casualty or draft.

The OL is where I would prefer to spend the money if we are going to sign someone. I would love to see us get another Matt Birk style player who still has a bunch left in the tank, is a solid veteran and can solidify the middle of our line for a few years. I also would like to address that position with an IOL (C,G) in the first couple of rounds of the draft.

As far as the draft, it would be amazing to see a 1st rd pass rusher, 2nd rd IOL and 3rd round WR and then do whatever you want after that. I understand that WR is deep in this class so it might be possible to get a solid guy after round 2.

I suppose free agency will shape how the draft goes but , to me, I would not want to see us lock up Lamar for the long term this off season. I would like to see us draft, fill holes and go for a SB run on his rookie deal for the next 2 seasons and then we have the option to use the tag.

Overall, there are a multitude of options and I am excited to see how they play out. I do feel very confident in DeCosta to make the right choices and offer good contracts for the team overall, so that is not a real worry for me.

 

I can't believe how much Dak Prescott just got paid. The bar is set for Lamar and pretty much every, young, starting QB going forward.

In terms of the offseason, if the Ravens don't get decent help for the o-line, at pass rusher, and actually step up their passing play design (and calls during a game) I'll be very disappointed

 

They definitely need a guard to allow Bozeman to slide to Center, they can cut Skura in my opinion. I am hoping that they resign Yannik, but Judon can walk.

And it is past time for Greg Roman to leave the organization. The Ravens need a good OC to take this offense to the next level, get away from vanilla passing schemes and open it up for Lamar to take advantage of, It was like they kept him looking mid to right all game long and ignored the left side of the field, but I could be wrong.

 

Looks like they took your advice and grabbed Zeitler to fill RG and that will allow Bozeman to slide over and take the center role and Colon-Castillo can back up. Mekhari, Bredeson, Powers and Philips to fill the LG role and all the back up positions.

Defensively we resigned our own with Wolfe, Bowser, McPhee and Board and still need to focus on OLB/Pass rusher and WR.

More to come as many of the bigger name receivers are still sitting and likely disappointed they did not get big deals. We may be in for a real bargain there. We shall see.

 

Very late comment but I wonder which Sammy Watkins we will be getting this year. I'm hoping for one that can stay healthy

 

I agree here. I hope we get even decent production out of him.

I guess it is time to talk draft and trying to predict what the Ravens will do.

Personally, I hope we drop back to the beginning of the second round and pick up an early third and maybe a 5th for that and give us some extra picks in this deep class of Oline and WR and allow us to take one of the better OLB or edge prospects as well.

I would love to have 2 seconds and 2 thirds especially when one of each is early in the round. I think we can really make hay this draft with extra picks in the 2nd through 5th rounds and get some real solid players for the squad.

 

Ok we traded Orlando to KC. People on other forums are happy about it but I'm not a fan of the trade. One reason is because we have struggled badly against KC, why improve their o-line and give Mahomes more time to pick our defense apart. The 2nd reason is that I hate trading players when we don't already have a backup ready to take over. The good news is the Ravens have been able to find decent RTs in later rounds. Oh and we gave up a 2nd and 6th in order to get KC's 1st, 3rd, 4th, and a 5th next year.

 

a 2 time probowl tackle that is ONLY 24 years old for the 31st overall pick = under valued by a lot. Then they gave up the 2nd for a 3rd and 4th = traded down, the 6th for a 5th is marginal value. The bottom line is the Ravens lost this trade but Zeus Jr would have likely held out all year if he didn't go somewhere.

 

I don't have a problem with the trade. We turned a 3rd rd pick into a pro bowl RT for 3 years who filled in for our pro bowl LT who was hurt, and a year before we can't afford him and he doesn't want to play RT we trade him to our biggest AFC obstacle who will now have to pay him top LT money which we were never going to be able to do, hoping he stays at a pro bowl level. Then we upgrade our 2nd to a 1st, get a 3rd and a 4th, and upgrade next year's 6th to a 5th.

If we use that 1st or 3rd/4th on a starting caliber RT, or sign one (Villanueva?) and get impact players elsewhere, IMO it's a win for us. Not to say it isn't also a win for the Chiefs, it is as long as Brown plays well, but it isn't bad for us unless we blow these picks.

 

I read the Ravens were signing Villanueva after the draft.

I'm betting the Ravens had the idea to trade at least one of their first round picks within minutes of making the trade with K.C.

The Ravens usually don't trade up in the first round (except when they made two trades [down and up] to get Flacco), but if they have a specific player in mind that they think another team would draft ahead of them, they may move up, trading both 27 and 31 for a higher first and maybe a 2nd and 4th.

Or, they trade one of their firsts and pick up a few more choices.

Then again they might surprise me and use both because of the fifth year option

 

Honestly, Brown screwed up his trade value by complaining publicly. The whole world knew he wasn't going to be a Raven past his rookie deal with Stanley locked in at LT. KC likely has the best offer because I can't imagine them wanting to strengthen their biggest hurdle in the AFC

 

well, I feel the front office did well in that trade overall. The option to keep him and get a 3rd round comp after next was on the table, but, to me, getting another first rounder (really upgrading our second round pick by about 30 spots) and collecting another 3rd and 4th is real value to me. I think this draft is pretty deep with talent in those 3rd and 4th rounds and having multiple selections there is going to be critical to acquire young cheap talent.

I would not be surprised if the Ravens flip that 31st pick to a second rounder and pick up yet another 3rd and 4th round pick in the process or nice high picks for next year.

If we were going to keep the picks we currently have, I would love to see a RT and Edge in the first round, WR and DB/S in the 3rd and then edge and OL depth in the 4th and then whatever the best available is for the remainder of the picks.

I think the option to drop out of the 31st pick is real for a team that did not get a top QB in the first 10 picks to jump up and get that 5th year option on Trask, Mond or the kid from Stanford, just like the Ravens did for Lamar. I could surely see DeCosta collecting more draft picks to really bolster our young talent in those 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds.

I am excited to see what they do, but I think we will see multiple pass rushers and OL depth and WR with these picks over the next 4 days.

 

Balt, I like your post overall but I'm not sure if I agree with a first round RT. The Ravens may actually do it, but I wouldn't be surprised if theu don't. RT and TE are two positions the Ravens have been able to get very good production out of without drafting in the first (Hayden Hurst and Oher are exceptions, but Hurst was outplayed by a 3rd round TE and Oher was suppsed to be the LT of the future).

At the same time I don't expect a 1st round WR so if they use both spots I'd probably want both to go edge if two good players are available

 

Thanks RR, I also agree I dont expect to see a 1st round wr either. The main reason I see a RT perhaps in the first round is the 5th year option on the contract and the pay scale for 31st pick to early second is not too different, but that extra year may be critical if they are mulling over the Ronnie Stanley contract as his 5 years would be up 2 years prior and that would allow them to keep a cheaper, hopefully pro bowl RT on his rookie deal an extra year. That alleviates having both tackle position in flux during the same year. That was my main thought process there but I could absolutely see 2 dynamic edge players/defensive pieces being drafted there and then address the remaining positions from the 3rd round on.

 

Well, the Ravens got Bateman, WR, at 27 and Oweh, EDGE, at 31.

Bateman I actually like as a prospect. Good route running, good hands, good speed, and good at contested catches. He's basically the type of receiver the team didn't have (but thought they did with Boykin). This move should put Hollywood in the slot with Watkins and Bateman outside. Might not happen week one but should by week 6. Now we just need Roman to improve his passing schemes. I can't imagine they don't pass more this year, but with trash schemes it won't matter.

On the defensive side, we pretty much drafted the anti Terrell Suggs.......which may not be a bad thing. Suggs was a highly productive college player with great pass rush numbers, questionable against the run (he improved that greatly), but not considered all that athletic. Oweh was not highly productive with the sack numbers, although he was with pressures, good against the run, and considered stupidly athletic. The kid's a freak. People are calling him a defensive Metcalf. We'll see if Wink can take his production to the next level.

I know many Ravens fans wanted o-line, especially with Jenkins still available, but as I've said before, RT is not a position the Ravens have needed to draft in the 1st to get production out of. Best of all we got players with high ceilings who, knock on wood, don't have injury issues.

 

also, great observation on the high ceiling and no injuries but I also noticed the main theme here was high character and team leaders/captains with lots of playing time for the most part. I don't hate that aspect especially in a draft where there was not a combine and scouts could not attend a lot of stuff in person. The headscratcher to me is the SMU CB/S. The kids is as tough as they come and looks to be a leader but the production and fundamentals are not there. They must think the world of this kid considering they could have likely drafted him 1 or 2 rounds later in my opinion.

 

Here are the UDFA as of noon today Monday the 3rd
Adrian Ealy T Oklahoma
Foster Sarell T Stanford
Ar'Darius Washington S Texas Christian
Xavier Kelly DT Arkansas
Donte Sylencieux WR Graceland
Tony Poljan TE Virginia
Sam Cooper G Merrimack
Brian Khoury LS Carnegie Mellon

I like they prioritized a few developmental tackles and a guard to help bolster the line.

 

So the schedules have been released. I haven't done a prediction post in awhile, so I'm going to get into it today.

Week 1 @ Vegas - So far in his career as a starter, Lamar Jackson has been on the bench in the 4th quarter of week 1. In 2019 it was after stomping the Dolphins (I was actually at that game). And last year after abusing Cleveland. I think the trend continues. Oh, and see Jackson's history in primetime games during the regular season. That's a double whammy for Oakland. W 1-0

Week 2 vs KC - Lamar and his Ravens are 0-3 against Mahomes. It's starting to look like Peyton Manning vs the Ravens from 2002 to 2011. 2 of those games were at KC and one was at Baltimore without a crowd. This time the Ravens should have the fans at their back.......but again, this reminds me of Peyton vs the Ravens. I want to predict another prime time game win, but I just can't. L 1-1

Week 3 @ Detroit - This isn't the Joe Flacco Ravens that drop games to back teams (minus week 4 of 2019). This incarnation of the Ravens practically never lose games they should win. That streak contines. W 2-1

Week 4 @ Denver - Unless they get Rodgers (I'm predicting he stays in Green Bay), I don't see how Baltimore loses to Denver. W 3-1

Week 5 vs Indy - Another prime time game. Another game Lamar sits in the 4th quarter. W 4-1

Week 6 vs LA Chargers - Herbert is the man imo, and will be great going forward. Unfortunately , The Chargers don't have the defense to win this potential shoot out. W 5-1

Week 7 vs Cincy - Lamar may not break anyone's ankles, but his undefeated streak against the Bengals continues. They need to get Burrow a line before they become a threat vs a team that blitzes as much as the Ravens do. W 6-1

Week 8 Bye - Ravens rest while listening to half the analyst call them superbowl contenders for winning 6 games out of 7, while the other half call them frauds because they still can't beat KC

Week 9 vs Minn - Harbaugh after a bye week is one of the surest bets you can make in the football world. This game continues that streak. W 7-1

Week 10 @ Miami - At this point, talking heads are going to start predicting let down losses for the Ravens after their win streak. If you go on any Dolphins forums, even their fans have stopped expecting to beat Baltimore. In fact, they haven't expected the games to even be close. Another prime time game, but due to the short week (Thursday game), Lamar plays the 4th quarter. W 8-1

Week 11 @ Chi - By now, Chicago will have a decent idea of what they have in Fields. Lamar will remember Bucky Brooks' stupid "Ravens should draft Fields and let Jackson walk" talk and show out in this game. W 9-1

Week 12 vs Cle - Ravens have to lose against at some point. This isn't that week. Browns fans will really want to sweep the Ravens after losing 4 of 5 to Jackson, but that dream ends here as they turn to hoping for a split. Another prime time game, another 4th quarter missed. W 10-1

Week 13 @ Pitt - People are predicting the demise of Pittsburgh left and right. Sadly, those people will not get their wish in 2021. Like Flacco before him, Lamar has struggled against the Steelers defense early in his career. He likely won't have a great game, but it'll be better than his last two against them. Old man Ben proves he still has a little something left in the tank.as the Steelers put a stop to the Ravens win streak. L 10-2

Week 14 @ Cle - 2 weeks after the loss to the Ravens, the Browns come into the game ready for revenge and to split the series. After seeing what the Steelers did, Cleveland tries to copy a little of that on the defensive side but realizes they don't have the same defensive players to do it. The dreams of a sweep actually come true, but in the Ravens' favor. W 11-2

Week 15 vs GB - Rodgers is auditioning all 2021. He's either going to show Green Bay he's too valuable to risk losing, or show another team how badly they need to trade or him in the offseason Either way, he beats Baltimore on his way to a top 3 NFC record.11-3

Week 16 @ Cincy - By this point, the Burrow to Chase connection likely has Chase in the OROY talk, if not the outright favorite to win it. Sadly they still don't have an o-line or a good enough defense to limit the Ravens. Baltimore bounces back strong. W 12-3

Week 17 vs LAR - Is Stafford better than Goff? Yes. Is he could enough to help the Rams win this game? No. W 13-3

Week 18 vs Pitt - If they Ravens are still fighting for the 1 seed, they come into this game playing their best performance and edge out the Steelers in a close game. If they have the #1 seed locked up or are locked into the #2, then Tyler Huntley gets good game experience but probably loses. W/L 14-3/13-4

If there's a surprise loss in there, I'm prediction either against the Rams or the Bears.

 

I'm going to revise that week 14 game into a loss. I didn't realize the Browns get a bye in between both Ravens games while we get the Steelers. How in the world is that considered fair? Cleveland gets to study the Ravens the week leading up to the first game, the week after during the bye, and then a 3rd week leading up to the 2nd game. I've never heard of some bs like that.

 

Gus Edwards gets a 2 year extension