Ravens focused on draft following offseason losses: 'We're just really getting started' (2024)

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. — There were a few interesting tidbits from Tuesday’s Baltimore Ravens pre-NFL Draft news conference. But if you were looking to gain insight into who the organization might draft later this month or even which positions the team’s decision-makers are prioritizing, you almost certainly came away unfulfilled.

There’s a reason, after all, that the annual event has become known as the “Liars’ Luncheon.” As usual, reading between the lines was required, and subterfuge and misdirection were on the menu.

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta did acknowledge the team likely will use a midround pick on a running back. He didn’t dismiss the possibility of another first-round wide receiver, even though the Ravens have gone down that road in three of the past five drafts.

He acknowledged that team officials spent nearly six hours Monday discussing the available offensive line prospects, and they see an opportunity to add to a group that has lost a lot of talent and experience this offseason.

DeCosta said it would cost a “premium” for the Ravens, who are slated to pick first at No. 30, to trade out of the first round. He acknowledged that although the team would like to have more than the nine picks it currently possesses, he would only be interested in 2024 selections that fall into what the organization perceives as the sweet spot of the draft.

Other than that, there was the usual talk of taking the best player available and sticking to the draft board, which DeCosta said will be finalized by the end of this week but could be altered in the days leading up to April 25.

The Ravens’ chest of draft picks includes one in the first, second, third, fifth and sixth rounds and two in the fourth and seventh rounds.

“You’re hoping to get that value at that pick,” DeCosta said when asked about the team’s plans for its first-rounder. “For us, you just hope and pray that one of those top-20 guys might be there for us at 30.”

DeCosta is never one to place extra importance on a certain draft. His refrain is that they are all important for an organization that bases its roster-building strategy on drafting and developing players. The outside perception, though, is that this is a critical draft for the Ravens, who went 13-4 and advanced to the AFC Championship Game last season but were beaten on their home field by the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Since then, Baltimore’s coaching staff was raided, with defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald moving on to become the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks and a handful of other prized assistants heading elsewhere.

The roster was also hit hard by defections, as the Ravens lost 12 unrestricted free agents, a group that includes two starting offensive linemen (Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson), last year’s leaders in touchdowns (Gus Edwards) and interceptions (Geno Stone), the second-leading tackler (Patrick Queen) and the second-leading quarterback sacker (Jadeveon Clowney). In cost-cutting moves, the Ravens released their most accomplished wide receiver (Odell Beckham Jr.) and traded their starting right tackle (Morgan Moses).

The departures have left the Ravens with several roster holes with just over two weeks left before the draft. They need a few starting-caliber offensive linemen. They could use another running back and wide receiver. There is room for another quality pass rusher and cornerback. Safety is an underrated need, and there’s a lack of depth at inside linebacker, too.

But as DeCosta pointed out, the team’s decision-makers were met with similar questions before last year’s pre-draft news conference. The questions about the roster holes, however, were minimized last offseason by the uncertain contract status of quarterback Lamar Jackson.

“We’re in the same place as we were last year at this time. Go back and look at what some of you wrote last year and see how we ended up. We have a lot of time to make moves,” DeCosta said when asked whether the Ravens are in a state of “reloading” or “retooling” given their free-agent departures. “A lot of these players that we lost are excellent players. A lot of these guys were acquired in August, right? Some of these guys were acquired in September, so we’re still building, and a big part of that is going to be through the draft, which is why we’re all here today.”

The late offseason additions last year whom DeCosta was referring to included cornerback Arthur Maulet, who was signed on the eve of training camp in late July; Clowney and cornerback Ronald Darby, who were signed midway through camp; and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who was signed after Week 3.

Maulet and Van Noy have re-signed with the Ravens. Clowney and Darby left in free agency, joining the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively.

“There are a lot of different opportunities along the way to add players,” DeCosta said. “We’ve traded for players. We’ve drafted players. We’ve signed guys, unrestricted free agents. We’ve signed guys, ‘street’ players who have made it. We’ve worked guys out. Our coaches do a great job working guys out, giving us a chance to find guys like Ronald Darby (and) those types of players (like) Arthur Maulet and players like that, so I think we’re just really getting started. A big part of that is certainly going to be the draft, but the destination is September, not May.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh wasn’t asked specifically about the offseason losses, but after responding to a question about quarterback Malik Cunningham’s status, he pushed back at the notion that the team has been significantly weakened by this offseason’s roster exodus.

“Every year, it’s the same questions, and it’s kind of a rolling type of thing. Some years you’re going to lose more free agents but you’re going to pick up more compensatory picks. Then, two years from now, you’re going to have more picks in the draft. Then, you’re going to get younger, and you’re going to have younger players who cost less, but you’re going to have to pay the guys that turned out to be great players that you want to keep — as many as you can,” Harbaugh said. “So, that ongoing process is part of this whole big picture, and the goal is to be in, all in every single year, as best as you can be. You can’t just be, ‘Oh, we’re going to put all our chips on the table this year, and next year we’re going to fold and not play any games.’ No, we’re going to try to win the championship every single year, as many games as we can.

“That’s what we’re all about. That’s what football is. It’s not just a math equation. It’s more than that, and that’s what makes it so exciting and so interesting. And we’re going to have a heck of a team next year — you wait and you watch. You wait and see what we do.”

Other notes

• DeCosta declined to say whether the team would pick up the fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of wide receiver Rashod Bateman and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, indicating that the front office still has a month before it has to make that call. The deadline for those decisions is May 2.

• DeCosta said the Ravens’ board has fewer “draftable” players than it usually does, attributing that largely to fewer underclassmen declaring for the draft.

• While acknowledging that opportunities could always arise, DeCosta downplayed the chances of the Ravens making a significant addition before the draft, describing last week’s signing of Van Noy as “one of the last things on my checklist.”

• Many of the returning Ravens players will be back in town Monday for the start of the offseason program.

(Photo of Eric DeCosta: Julia Nikhinson / Associated Press)