The Baltimore Ravens don’t necessarily need to grab the top wide receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft but they could use more help at the position. After remaking their wide receiver corps over the draft and free agency for the last two offseasons, Baltimore has a formidable group of young players. But that won’t stop them from going after a legit No. 1 guy if the opportunity presents itself.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Michael Silver, the Ravens were one of the teams that tried to trade with the Houston Texans for All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. The Texans ended up trading Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for a second-round pick and running back David Johnson instead.
The Ravens, according to multiple sources, were one of the teams that made a run at DeAndre Hopkins before the Texans traded him to Arizona. If they draft a receiver tonight, it won't be a huge surprise.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 23, 2020
Though a second-round pick is nothing to sneeze at, Baltimore certainly has the draft capital to make that work. They enter the 2020 NFL Draft with two second-round picks (No. 55 and No. 60) in addition to two third-round picks (No. 92 and No. 106). If they wanted Hopkins bad enough, there seems little doubt they could have put a package together to get him from Houston.
However, any trade is likely going to come with a new contract and Hopkins is considered to be one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. A new deal for him would have been very costly and though Baltimore could have worked the numbers to make it fit into their 2020 salary cap, it would have been tough down the road.
Hopkins has caught 632 passes for 8,602 receiving yards and 54 receiving touchdowns over seven years with the Texans. He’s put up 1,500-plus receiving yards twice and led the league in touchdown catches in 2017. That type of receiving talent combined with Marquise Brown and 2019 NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson would have made the Ravens’ offense deadly.
With the 2020 NFL Draft about to kick off, it seems likely Baltimore is going to show interest in a historically deep wide receiver class.
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