Anyone who watched the Baltimore Ravens during their incredible 14-2 run last season, while being blown away by the offense, must have noticed just how frequently the team blitzed on defense. The numbers back up this visual assessment, as the Ravens blitzed at the highest rate in the NFL last season, sending extra rushers on 54.9% of their defensive plays. Yet despite this aggression, the Ravens finished with only 37 sacks, the 12th fewest in the league.
Sacks are not everything of course. However, the other measure of pass-rush success is quarterback hits, which Baltimore struggled with outside of Matthew Judon. With Judon among the Ravens’ pending free agents, Baltimore could be left with Tyus Bowser and Jaylon Ferguson pushed into starting roles. Considering the pair had just 19 combined quarterback hits compared to Judon’s 33, that would be a massive blow they’d have to fill immediately.
Hopefully, the Ravens and their front office have noticed this too and will be taking steps to beef up the teams’ pass rush this offseason. They may well look to do this through the draft, but there are some potential pass rushers on the free agency market that the team may consider bringing in.
Arik Armstead
Armstead enjoyed a breakout season as a member of the San Francisco 49ers’ smothering defense in 2019. He had a slow start to his time in the NFL, being active for just 30 games in his first three seasons and only starting 11 of the games he played in during that timeframe.
But Armstead has started every game in each of the last two seasons, and in 2019 he amassed a career-high 10.0 sacks, while also posting 18 quarterback hits and 11 tackles for loss. Armstead only had 13 TFLs in his first four seasons combined. Armstead offers some versatility having played at both defensive end and defensive tackle at times for the 49ers.
Vic Beasley
It’s been a sobering few seasons for Beasley after he led the NFL in sacks as a sophomore. He followed up his 4-sack rookie season of 2015 with 15.5 in 2016, forcing a league-high six fumbles, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Beasley was named All-Pro for the season.
Things haven’t gone as swimmingly since, however. His last three seasons have seen him amass 18 sacks combined, although eight of them came this past year. 2019 also saw him force two fumbles, 66% of his total tally since 2016. Beasley has switched between defensive end and outside linebacker and back again during his time with the Falcons, a time that came to an end when the team announced they would be letting him test free agency this year.
Beasley will be 28 when the 2020 season begins and he seems to have some gas left in the tank. He is unlikely to command market-setting money, although he’s not going to play for pennies. But that works to Baltimore’s end. Beasley fits the billing as a potential bargain player the Ravens absolutely love to pick up in free agency.
Dante Fowler
Fowler was a first-round selection for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015, but for some reason, he never quite took off for the Jaguars. He started only one of his 39 games for the team, posting 14 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in these contests.
He was traded to the Los Angeles Rams during the 2018 season for a 2019 third-round and a 2020 fifth-round pick. After a slow start with the team, he really blossomed under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips in 2019. Fowler posted 11.5 sacks — a career-high — as well 16 quarterback hits and 16 tackles for loss. He was also fairly useful on the rare occasions he was asked to drop into pass coverage. Four of nine pass attempts were completed by quarterbacks targeting Fowler last season, and he finished the year with a total of six passes defended.
Coach Phillips has moved on from the Rams and maybe Fowler would like the opportunity to experience a fresh start despite his successes with the team. He would seem to be right up Baltimore’s alley.
Markus Golden
Golden appeared to be an ascending star with the Arizona Cardinals after posting 12.5 sacks in his second season with the team in 2016. Unfortunately for him and the team, injuries and scheme changes limited him to just 15 games between 2017 and 2018. He was not particularly productive in these games either, with just 2.5 sacks to go with six tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits.
But, reunited with his old defensive coordinator James Bettcher with the New York Giants in 2019, Golden began to look like his old self. Golden had 10 sacks, 13 TFLs and 27 quarterback hits in 2019. Only five players had more quarterback hits than Golden last season.
Bettcher is out with the Giants after the good ship Shurmur and all who sailed in him were cast adrift following the 2019 season. And while Golden appears to still have some interest in returning to New York, he may find himself in demand on the open market, including from Baltimore.
Golden will be 29 heading into the season and this may be his last chance for a big payday. Plus the chances of playing for a genuine contender like the Ravens may appeal after two years plying his trade on NFL cellar dwellers.
Everson Griffen
Griffen wasn’t supposed to be a free agent this year. But he exercised a void in his contract by amassing at least six sacks and playing 57%-plus of the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive snaps. So now he’s officially on the market.
Griffin posted eight sacks last year and has 74.5 over his 10-year career. However, 57 of those carer sacks have come over the last six seasons, pointing to a higher average recently. Between 2014 and 2017, Griffen posted 43.5 sacks, which is the fourth-most in the NFL during that span. Griffen has also posted double-digit tackles for loss in five of the last eight seasons as well as 20 or more quarterback hits in six of eight seasons.
Perhaps most important is Griffen has remained healthy throughout his career. Though Griffen missed five games in 2018 to address his mental health but played 15 games in 2019 and missed just three other games over the last nine years of his career.
The Vikings have indicated they would like to have Griffen back but it would have to be at a reduced salary considering their cap situation is the worst in the league, according to Over The Cap. After spending his entire career in purple, Griffen may be open to offering the Vikings something of a discount. But if money starts talking, he could soon start walking. Besides, he could still play in Purple in Baltimore.
Jadeveon Clowney
Clowney seems destined to hit the free-agent market this offseason, and considering the franchise-tag landscape, is likely to be the top option on it. But there’s little doubt Clowney is worth the big contract he’s likely to earn when free agency actually begins.
Though this is a list of pass rushers, Clowney is so much more than that, which is what will make him attractive to so many teams. He’s posted 72 quarterback hits over the last four years and 21.5 sacks over the last three seasons. But he’s also been a stout run defender throughout his entire career and notched his first interception last season, which he returned for a touchdown as well.
For a team like the Ravens, that may be looking to replace a similar player in Judon, Clowney would seem to be on their radar.
Kyle Van Noy
While all the attention in free agency will go to the top pass rushers, it’s the second level of players that could earn the most attention from Baltimore. And sitting at the top of that second tier is Van Noy.
Coming from New England, you already know he’s a well-disciplined player who is a positive influence in the locker room — two things the Ravens covet. He’s also position flexible which fits well with defensive coordinator Don Martindale’s scheme and will make him even more attractive to Baltimore.
After a tough start with the Detroit Lions to begin his career, Van Noy really stepped up his game the last three years with the Patriots. He has 15.5 sacks and 34 quarterback hits over that time span. Used more as a pass rusher exclusively last season, Pro Football Focus has him down for 60 total pressures, which would be a welcome addition to the Ravens’ defense.
Better yet is Van Noy isn’t likely to break the bank. While he doesn’t have elite production, there has been clear growth there and his flexibility could help kill two birds with one stone for Baltimore.
Shaq Lawson
Lawson, a former first-round pick, hasn’t really lived up to his draft status. But that shouldn’t shake teams from being interested in him this offseason, albeit as a second-tier free agent.
Though Lawson didn’t start any games last season for the Buffalo Bills, he posted 6.5 sacks and 28 total pressures — not far off from Judon’s 9.5 sacks and 31 pressures. Still, Lawson hasn’t shown he can be a three-down outside linebacker yet and would likely still be looked at as a rotational pass rusher. But there’s plenty of upside there that could interest the Ravens this offseason.
Lawson is still young, turning 26 years old before the 2020 NFL season kicks off. With his production improving finally, he could be trending upwards while still being a pretty affordable free agent. That would make him a low-risk, high-reward player if given a short-term contract.
Michael Bennett
Bennett was a player I had picked out as a potential trade option last season after he had a pretty quick falling out with the Patriots and they seemingly refused to use him effectively. Alas, he ended up going to the Dallas Cowboys but is now hitting free agency.
Let’s ignore his time in New England for a moment and look at his production with the Cowboys for a better indication of where Bennett is at right now. Over nine games, Bennett had four sacks but posted an impressive 18 quarterback pressures. It points to Bennett still being at his 2018 level where he posted nine sacks and 48 quarterback pressures for the Philadelphia Eagles.
At 34 years old, Bennett isn’t very likely to earn a huge contract or even a multi-year deal. But a chance to win another Super Bowl ring while playing with former teammate Earl Thomas could make the Ravens a really attractive destination on an affordable one-year contract.
Shaquil Barrett and Yannick Ngakoue
Both Barrett and Ngakoue would be prized free agents should they hit the open market. Barrett led the NFL with a career-high 19.5 sacks for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019, his first year with the team. As for Ngakoue, he’s amassed 37.5 sacks in his four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars along with a further 85 quarterbacks hits. These numbers are the 12th and 8th highest in the league in this span respectively.
However, neither player is likely to see the open market. The Jaguars have already announced they will be applying the franchise tag to Ngakoue, seemingly against his wishes, while a similar fate seems set to befall Barrett.
There is speculation that the Jaguars may be looking at this situation as a “tag and trade” scenario, as has been something of a recent trend with pass rushers. But what they would be looking for in terms of trade compensation, allied to the contract Ngakoue would likely command, is a big question. It may be more than the Ravens want to spend but their previous caution hasn’t stopped them from pulling the trigger on big trades before either.
