After improving their secondary, the Ravens have now moved on to addressing concerns about their defensive front one day before the NFL trade deadline.
On Monday, Baltimore sent a conditional fifth-round pick to Tennessee in exchange for versatile defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones. The pick could reportedly improve to a fourth-round selection.
This could be the first of multiple trades in the next 24 hours for the one-win Titans, who have already been active sellers since firing coach Brian Callahan last month.
Here’s why this trade could help the Ravens’ chances of stealing the AFC North and why the Titans will benefit in the long run from trading their experienced starters.
Ravens
The Ravens rolled the dice last month by giving up depth on their defensive front with hopes of improving a secondary that struggled for the first six games of the season. And the decision to trade edge rusher Odafe Oweh to the Chargers in exchange for safety Alohi Gilman has paid off in a huge way. The Ravens had the flexibility to regain that depth on the defensive front thanks to the two moves they made before Monday’s trade, gaining a fifth rounder from the Chargers and turning a seventh-round pick into a sixth rounder in the Jaire Alexander trade with the Eagles.
Jones hasn’t been as good since his breakout 2022 season with the Broncos, which gained him a lucrative contract from the Seahawks. It didn’t work out for Jones in his two seasons with Seattle, but he did make solid contributions in his lone season in Tennessee, recording 4.5 sacks in nine games.
Not only can Jones rush the passer, he’s capable of playing on the inside, providing a similar skill set as Nnamdi Madubuike, who was lost for the season due to a neck injury. Jones, 28, has appeared in 99 career games with 61 starts since entering the league as a 2019 third-round pick.
With an improved secondary and reinforcements coming for the defensive front, the Ravens (3–5) are now well positioned to catch the AFC North leading Steelers (5–3), who will play Baltimore twice in the next two months.
It’s wild how well Baltimore has recovered from its 1–5 start and GM Eric DeCosta deserves a ton of credit for making the necessary moves to give this talented team a fighting chance to make a playoff push.
Grade: B
Titans
The Titans now have extra draft picks from trading Jones to the Ravens and cornerback Roger McCreary to the Rams. Tennessee should continue being active sellers to truly ignite the rebuild.
Perhaps they trade edge rusher Arden Key and maybe even 2024 second-round pick T’Vondre Sweat, who has had a second-year slump.
It’s difficult to imagine Tennessee parting ways with key offensive players because the team needs them to help with the development of rookie quarterback Cam Ward. Then again, future Titans rosters would be improved by keeping Ward and star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who’s supposedly not for sale, and trading everyone else who won’t be part of the next contending Titans team to load up on draft picks.
Grade: B+
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ravens-Titans Trade Grades: Baltimore Bolsters Defensive Front .
