Though the Baltimore Ravens were aggressive early in free agency and made a bunch of moves, they didn’t actually fill many of their roster needs thus far.
The Ravens pulled off a trade for Calais Campbell, traded away both Hayden Hurst and Chris Wormley, and signed Michael Brockers. While their defensive line is as stout as any period over the last five years, it’s far from everything Baltimore needed to do. Right now, the Ravens’ roster has plenty of holes that will need to be addressed.
But first is figuring out exactly where they need players and just how important each need is. I’ve gone through Baltimore’s roster to find out all of their remaining needs for this offseason. Whether the answers come through free agency or the 2020 NFL Draft will have to be seen but these are the seven biggest needs, in order, for the Ravens after the first wave of free agency.
Outside linebacker
Current roster: Matthew Judon, Tyus Bowser, Jaylon Ferguson, Aaron Adeoye, Mike Onuoha
While the Ravens had one of the best defenses in the league last season, there is little doubt they would have been better with more help at outside linebacker.
Baltimore used its franchise tag on Judon, which is a huge help to at least get back to how they were last season. But there is no guarantee he’s on this roster come Week 1. Judon could be traded or hold out just as easily as he could be signed to a long-term extension at this point. And even if the Ravens can lock Judon up to a contract extension, they desperately need to help him out and need productive depth behind him.
Bowser and Ferguson are currently on track to compete for the starting spot opposite Judon with no clear favorite right now. Both Bowser and Ferguson saw improvement over the final seven games of the season, getting most of their production there. However, even that uptick shouldn’t be enough to get Baltimore pumped about them in a three-down starting role. Behind them are two developmental prospects that spent time on the practice squad, so I wouldn’t go expecting much there.
In reality, Judon is their only known weapon at outside linebacker with everyone else a giant question mark at best. To get the most out of this defense, the Ravens need to find another player who can make a serious impact immediately. Beyond that, Baltimore could use another rotational player or two to help round out the group and give them some options during the season. Finding another veteran would also make sense for a group that has just eight years of actual NFL experience and 45 starts combined.