In this post I take a look at running back prospects for the Ravens in the 2022 draft. Once again, players are listed in the order in which I think the Ravens should consider them.
Previous offensive position analyses can be found at these posts: Tight end prospects are located here. Offensive linemen posts are located here.
Previous defensive position analyses can be found at these posts: Edge defender prospects are located here. Defensive secondary prospects are located here. Inside linebacker prospects are located here. Defensive line prospects are located here.
Below is my review of tight end prospects who the Ravens could consider selecting in the 2022 draft. Players are listed in the round order in which I think the Ravens should consider them.
Previous position and other analyses can be found at these posts: Offensive lineman prospects are located here. Inside linebacker prospects are located here. Defensive line prospects are located here. Edge defender prospects are located here. Defensive secondary prospects are located here. And, for the Round One analysis, look here.
Inside linebacker prospects for Ravens in the 2022 draft are reviewed. Once again, the embedded table of contents guides you to individual player profiles. Players are listed in the round order in which I think the Ravens should consider them.
Here I review defensive line prospects for the 2022 draft. The embedded table of contents guides you to individual players. Players are listed in the round order in which I think the Ravens should consider them.
Previous position analyses can be found at these posts: For edge defenders look here. For defensive secondary look here. For offensive lineman look here. For the Round One analysis look here.
Defensive Line Prospects
Unfortunately for the Ravens, defensive line is not a strong position in this year’s class. Right now, the Ravens’ front consists of Michael Pierce, Calais Campbell, Justin Madubuike, Broderick Washington, Isaiah Mack, and the injured Derek Wolfe. I’m assuming Wolfe never suits up in 2022. Pierce likely can’t be counted on for more than 50% of play action, and arguably Campbell for not much more. Continue reading “Defensive Line Prospects – Ravens 2022 Comprehensive Draft Report”
This post reviews all of Ravens edge defender prospects who I think have varying degrees of attractiveness. Use the imbedded table of contents to jump to players of interest.
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.
The Ravens ended the initial frenzy period with two key signings. Eric DeCosta nailed it, as he scooped up two players at key positions I identified early on as my top priorities. Here’s a quick review.
Morgan Moses
The Morgan Moses signing secures the right tackle position with a solid, dependable starter. Moses’ deal includes $5.5 million in total guarantees including a $4.38 million signing bonus. With a 2022 base salary of $1.12 million, Moses’ 2022 cap number is a mere $2.58 million.
This is a tremendous deal for the Ravens. Not only did Moses come cheaply (well below my expectation), but it’s hard to imagine a more cap friendly number. Kudos to Eric DeCosta on this one.
Signing Moses fosters additional flexibility for DeCosta going forward. For one, the pressure on the Ravens to draft an offensive tackle in the first round has eased. Yes, we still don’t know Ronnie Stanley’s status – we can only hope the Ravens do – but the Ravens now have three other veteran tackles on the roster. The draft is allegedly deep in offensive tackles (my analysis yet to come). The Moses signing now allows the Ravens to place their round one focus on their other remaining pressing needs: edge rusher, defensive line and, perhaps, cornerback.
One other note regarding Moses. I had previously pointed out that a Moses signing could lead to a release of Ja’Wuan James. His release saves $3 million on the cap. I still see this as a possibility, just not now. Depending on Stanley’s health and whether the Ravens draft a tackle (I expect they will at some point), James’ release could come this summer. At that point the Ravens might need the cap space for in-season moves.
Marcus Williams
New Ravens’ Free Safety Marcus Williams
I had identified early on that Williams was the top safety on the market, and the best pure free safety at that. It’s hard to know at this point exactly where his year one cap number lands. But the Ravens are giving him $37 million guaranteed over a five year amortization period (i.e., $7.4 million per year for cap purposes). And if I assume, say, a $2 million salary for 2022, his year one cap number will land right around $10 million. This is exactly as predicted. From a cap perspective this is “right player, right price” signing. But it’s more than just that.
Williams is an outstanding free safety. At age 26, barring injury, the Ravens should get Williams’ best days over the five year term of his deal. Free safety now becomes a long-term strength. In a division where the Ravens will have to beat Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, et. al for years to come, it was an absolute imperative for the Ravens to field a top-tier free safety. And Eric DeCosta nailed it with the signing of Williams.
So DeCosta Nailed It – Now What’s Next
The Williams and Moses signings combined consumed approximately $12.5 million of cap space. Clearly, more cap maneuverings are coming (look here for some contract restructures).
At this point do the Ravens have enough cap space left to nab Za’Darius Smith? I don’t think so, certainly not without making further moves (cutting Miles Boykin, contract restructures, etc.). Instead, I think the Ravens will try to bolster their defensive line (rumors of Eddie Goldman, for one).
Perhaps they will pursue a slot corner? And from among their lost free agents, I could see a later pursuit of Anthony Averitt depending on whether his market heats up. I assign a very low probability of a return for Pat Ricard (that’s why the Ravens drafted Ben Mason, and then brought him back). Calais Campbell and/or Justin Houston could possibly surface back in purple. And bringing back Bozeman just doesn’t make any sense from a cap perspective.
The very early free agency period bolstered the Ravens in two of their key areas of need. Stay tuned.
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?
