Confident in their defensive line depth, the Ravens traded two-year starter Timmy Jernigan and their compensatory third-round pick in the 2017 draft (No. 99 overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles for their third-round draft pick (74th overall).
The Ravens move up 25 spots in the third round in what is a talent-rich draft, but they also traded arguably their top interior pass rusher to do it.
Jernigan, a second-round pick in 2014, had five sacks, 31 tackles, an interception and one fumble recovery in 16 games last season. However, his production dropped significantly as the year went on, as did some of his opportunities.
After having sacks in each of the first three games and five over his first nine, Jernigan didn't have a sack over the last seven games. He had just one total tackle in his final four games and he didn't respond well to losing snaps to rookie defensive tackle Michael Pierce.
Despite Ravens coach John Harbaugh acknowledging last week that the team was engaged in trade talks for Jernigan, it's still somewhat of a surprise that it pulled the trigger and it got just improved third-round draft positioning in return.
The Ravens now have the 74th and 78th picks overall picks in the third round, but they have two significant holes on their defensive front after trading Jernigan and losing starting defensive end Lawrence Guy to the New England Patriots in free agency.
"Timmy has been a terrific player for us for three seasons," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said in a statement released by the team. "This will allow our young group of defensive linemen an opportunity to compete and play."
Brent Urban and 2016 third-round pick Bronson Kaufusi, who missed all of his rookie season after breaking his ankle in training camp, are the favorites to compete for the starting defensive end job. In replacing Jernigan, the Ravens have the option of using Pierce, Carl Davis or Willie Henry. Davis and Henry didn't play a single defensive snap last year.
