My Ravens’ round one analysis for the 2022 draft is posted here. The offensive live profiles are posted here. Now, it’s time to post the defensive secondary prospects for 2022.
What follows below is an analysis of just the cornerbacks and safeties who I believe the Ravens should consider drafting, and why. A few others are listed because they received some scouting acclaim, but who don’t warrant drafting by the Ravens in my view. Again, please use the embedded table of contents immediately below to jump to specific players. Just click the player’s name.
My Ravens’ round one analysis for the 2022 is posted here. Now, it’s time to post the offensive line profiles for 2022. In years gone by I posted all of the position profiles in one place. And I ultimately will in 2022 for those readers who prefer that convenience. But because of the volume of material, it might be easier for some readers to have the profiles broken down into several posts.
This post analyzes offensive line prospects – the offensive tackles, guards, and centers – who I believe are draftable by the Ravens, and why. A few others are listed because they have received some scouting acclaim but don’t warrant drafting by the Ravens in my view. Continue reading “Offensive Line Prospects – Ravens 2022 Comprehensive Draft Report”
This is part 1 of the Ravens 2022 Comprehensive Draft Report. The entire draft analysis that follows here (and on other soon-to-be published posts) is solely from the Ravens’ perspective. This part one consists of a round one analysis. What do the Ravens most need? Which players fit their needs? What first round strategies are available? And so on.
This is a very deep draft because of the Covid impact on the 2021 draft – there are many more draftable prospects this year. As a result, I’ve broken my review down into several parts. For one, individual prospect analyses are now provided in separate groupings in different postings to the website, which will be available shortly. There’s a lot of information there – perhaps too much for many readers, but you can dig through the materials as far as you want. The quarterback position is ignored. The safety position didn’t offer much given that the Ravens would only be looking at safeties below the fifth round in my view. Otherwise, there’s a lot to take a gander at in the player reports.
We are into day two of the NFL free agent frenzy. To no surprise, there were no Ravens free agency moves. But several players on my Ravens big board signed elsewhere. In this note I take a look at who’s gone, and add some new names to consider from recent player releases.
Ravens Free Agency Moves – Who Got Away
Let’s take a position review of who’s now off the board.
Offensive Tackle
Joseph Noteboom resigned with the Rams on a large three year deal with $25 million guaranteed. Because we don’t yet know the breakdown between signing bonus and his year one salary, Noteboom’s year-one cap number is not available. But given the size of the guarantee, it’s safe to say that my $4 million year-one cap number target for the Ravens turned out to be way under market. The Rams clearly believe Andrew Whitworth will retire and see Noteboom as their starter. For the Ravens, this leaves only Morgan Moses as an offensive tackle that I would pursue.
Free Safety
The Seahawks surprisingly resigned Quandre Diggs. I had listed Diggs as a very strong backup option at free safety if the Ravens are unable to nab top-enders Marcus Williams or Tyrann Mathieu. And I remain unconvinced that they should pursue Marcus Maye (injury; locker room issues). There really isn’t anyone else that interests me. But Marcus Williams is still my top pick and Tyrann Mathieu is still on the board.
Edge Rusher
Hasson Reddick came off the board quickly, signing with the Eagles. He received a three year deal with $30 million guaranteed. Without contract details I don’t know his year-one cap figure but it’s likely to come in above the $7 million that I estimated. This leaves only Za’Darius Smith as an edge rusher target on my primary list (see below).
Bring him back!
Charles Davis, a situational rusher, signed back with the Lions. Perhaps the Ravens will have interest in Justin Houston or Melvin Ingram, but those signings will not dramatically move the needle. If they are unable to sign Smith, we are heading towards the draft with a glaring hole at this position. The Dolphins retained Emanual Ogbah, who I didn’t see as a Ravens target.
Defensive Line
All four of my primary targets came off the board. The Chargers signed Sebastian Joseph-Day with $15 million of guaranteed money. The Broncos nabbed D.J. Jones with a $20 million guarantee. The Bengals retained B.J. Hill, and Foley Fatukasi went to the Jaguars. Clearly, the Ravens were not willing to dive into this market (telling us defensive line was not a priority), as the year-one cap number for these guys all came in roughly where I expected.
Newly Released Players Who Could Be Ravens Targets
This is the pond in which the Ravens prefer to fish. The Ravens like to hook players who were released by their old teams and who therefore don’t count against the compensatory draft pick calculation. There are quite a few players here who should be tempting targets.
Bobby Wagner – Inside Linebacker
I’ll start with the biggest name: Bobby Wagner from the Seahawks. At 31, Wagner can’t be expected to be the player he was during his prime. He had a strong season last year. Wagner has been an off-the-ball linebacker his entire career – the position currently played by Patrick Queen. Without even getting into cap numbers speculation, with the Ravens either Wagner would have to play the strong-side position (replacing Josh Bynes), or the Ravens would have to move Queen back into that slot. Queen, who still struggles in his newer role, was dreadfully inadequate as a Sam linebacker. Wagner’s signing would not be the rifle shot that directly addresses the Ravens’ need given Queen’s inadequacies and Wagner’s propensities. Then, there’s the likely contract number – it will likely be too high for a team with the Ravens’ comparatively limited cap space.
Za’Darius Smith – Edge Rusher
I’ve been touting a move to Smith in most of my postings. I expected him to be released and, well, here he is. It’s all about the contract and the physicals from here. If the physicals are good, the Ravens should give Smith their best shot as he’s precisely what they need.
Myles Jack – Inside linebacker
Now I had mentioned Jack as a likely release candidate, along with Blake Martinez (Giants) and Eric Kendricks (Vikings). The Giants re-signed Martinez. I like Jack but don’t love him. Would he be an upgrade over Josh Bynes? Perhaps, but not enough to cause me to leap at him in mid-March. It just isn’t compelling. I’d rather wait a bit longer in any event and see if Kendricks’ name pops up.
Michael Pierce and Eddie Goldman – Defensive Line
Since leaving the Ravens in 2020, Pierce has hardly played. Covid took him out of 2020 altogether and injury limited him to barely 250 snaps in 2021. Early in his career with the Ravens Pierce was a dominant run stuffer in his rotational role. At age 29, it’s hard to know what he has to offer. I much prefer the four defensive lineman who got away (see above). And frankly, I’d prefer a return of Calais Campbell, albeit at a much higher price. The Ravens may kick the tires here and I don’t put Pierce’s signing as being out of the realm as it shouldn’t take much. But a lot of due diligence is needed on a guy who has never really played a full-time role on even first and second downs.
Eddie Goldman has gone from being a really good player to a major liability. At this point in his career one would have to believe they could resurrect the old Goldman from the dead. I just wouldn’t go down this road.
J.C. Tretter – Center
The 31-year old Tretter was released by the Browns. He’s a better, albeit older, player than Bradley Bozeman and was graded at 78.7 by Pro Football Focus while yielding only one sack last year. He has been a dominant pass protector his entire career. Tretter is on the natural downside of his career and I don’t think the Ravens should be spending any cap space on this position. And that includes not resigning Bozeman, who I think is just a solid player.
Cornerback – Two More Names to Consider
With the release of Tavon Young and the surprising (to me) departure (at least for now) of Chris Westry, the Ravens are obviously very thin in the secondary, with no one who is suitable for the slot. Two second-tier players who could hit the radar are Akhello Witherspoon (Steelers) and Bryce Callahan (Broncos). Witherspoon is a solid player who yield 16 receptions on 33 targets last year and graded very well by Pro Football Focus. He was effective and would add some much needed depth.
Callahan has always been a strong player in my view. His problem has been injuries, including in 2021 when he suffered a knee injury. I think the injuries will keep the Ravens away, but Callahan has the skillset to play the slot and do it well if he could stay on the field.
Ravens Free Agency Moves – Players Ravens Previously Released
Let’s take a look back at the list of Ravens’ releases in view of the lack of Ravens free agency moves so far and who is no longer available. Safe to say that the Ravens’ options on the defensive line are far fewer. Could we revisit Calais Campbell? I think the odds of his return are higher, subject of course to where his market winds up. It’s hard to see the Ravens allocating more than $3 million or so of cap space here.
Brandon Williams? Not for me. At age 33 he just doesn’t offer enough, even given his more invigorated play down the stretch last year.
Justin Houston? The potential for his return likely depends on whether the Ravens can scoop up Za’Darius Smith. If they can’t then the Ravens should consider bringing him back, but in a more rotational role than he played last year.
Bradley Bozeman? I just don’t like spending the cap dollars here. Bozeman apparently is drawing little interest with numerous other centers being plucked. I’m still a pass here.
Anthony Averitt? Somehow I think the odds of his return have gone up. There was clearly little interest in Averitt on days one of the frenzy, which isn’t surprising. But I suspect the views on Averitt are fairly mixed. If he is still on the market in a few weeks the odds of his return will increase unless the Ravens turn elsewhere.
Pat Ricard? You know the old Ozzie Newsome saying: “Right player, right price.” The Ravens are not going to pay Ricard like a tight end. He isn’t one. He is a fullback who plays roughly half the Ravens’ snaps. What’s that worth cap wise for a team that is cap-tight?
Some Ravens good news hit the wire tonight. As expected, the Titans retained Harold Landry today by signing him to a five-year extension. The headline numbers suggest Landry received over $52 million of guaranteed money across the five years. Details of the transaction will not become officially known until the deal is finalized.
But one important piece of information (for Ravens fans) leaked out. Apparently, the year-one cap number on Landry’s new deal is only $5 million. This is $2 million below my $7 million guesstimate for Landry, Hasson Reddick and Za’Darius Smith. This is a very promising sign for those (like me) who think the Ravens should spend some cap dollars on signing Reddick or Smith. For the Ravens, this is good news indeed and a very good sign. It certainly supports the notion that, with contract restructures, there’s much the Ravens can get done in this first round of free agency.
The odds of the Ravens filling at least two major holes (edge linebacker and safety) just went up.
In this fifth and final part of a series on the Ravens 2022 roster reconstruction, I take a last look at where the Ravens salary cap currently stands and how they can increase it. Then I offer some final thoughts on the free agent targets I believe they should try to sign.
Ravens Salary Cap Revisited
In part one of this series, I preliminarily concluded that the Ravens had approximately $8.5 million of available cap space. More recently, incentives earned by players for the 2021 season were established, resulting in a downward revision of approximately $2.7 million. After adjusting my earlier calculation for some minor items, the Ravens currently have $7 million of cap space going into the new season. Continue reading “Ravens 2022 Roster Construction: Final Thoughts on Free Agent Targets”
In this part four of the Ravens roster construction for 2022 (see part one here, part two here and part three here) I delve deeper into the expected free agency list. Who should be the Ravens free agent targets? Positions of critical need are revisited, and I take a look at other positions where there are potential good fits. I also explore some potential cap casualty cuts from elsewhere around the league
In this part three of the Ravens roster construction for 2022 (see part one here and part two here) I look at the Ravens own unrestricted free agents. Who, if anyone, should they re-sign?
I continue my philosophy of generally avoiding over-30 players. The Ravens primarily should focus on signing players who can contribute throughout the terms of their deals. A 30-plus signing should be limited to players in limited roles and/or for small cap commitments. The Ravens list, detailed in what follows, reinforces the view that those 30 and over players just won’t be full time contributors. Continue reading “Ravens Unrestricted Free Agents: Who to Re-Sign? – Part 3 in a Series”
In this part two (of three – see part 1 here) of the Ravens roster construction for 2022 I focus on two concepts. First, selecting the Ravens’ best strategic approach to the free agent market. Second, identifying the players I would target and why. But before I go there, let’s keep in mind a few considerations.
First, how much cap space do the Ravens need to have available to retain their own free agents for the 2023 season? The answer there is, not much. Given DeCosta’s poor 2019 draft, it is likely that only Marquise Brown will receive a second contract. As a result, the Ravens cap space for 2023 should be substantial, certainly materially more than this year. The 2023 league salary cap is currently is estimated to increase significantly.
Second, because the Ravens will have few of their own to retain in 2023, they will likely not be in line for substantial compensatory draft picks for the 2024 season. This is important because, if the Ravens elect to pursue free agents in 2022 (excluding cap casualty free agents) then they could wind up with few or no compensatory draft picks in both 2023 and 2024. And we know a cornerstone of the Ravens draft approach is the accumulation of extra picks.
This is the first of two pieces that look at the Ravens roster construction for the coming season. That roster will look much different than the 2021 version, particularly on defense. By my count (see below), the Ravens need nine starters and seven contributing backups. This is a lot to get done. Even with ten draft picks it’s unrealistic to expect the Ravens will fill more than four starter holes. Indeed, four starters would actually be a strong draft haul. I previously reviewed Eric DeCosta’s 2019 draft haul, which is here. Continue reading “Ravens Roster Construction 2022 – Free Agency, Part 1”
