The Baltimore Ravens were going to need to acquire some help at wide receiver this offseason. It was expected that Baltimore was going to release the disappointing Michael Crabtree and see John Brown walk in free agency, which is exactly what happened. But the Ravens haven’t done anything to lessen that need so far, standing pat while other teams signed or traded for receivers.
That only strengthens their need heading into the 2019 NFL draft. It’ll likely force Baltimore to select prospects based on need over being able to use their “best player available” strategy.
Currently, the Ravens have Willie Snead, Chris Moore, Jaleel Scott, Jordan Lasley, and Quincy Adeboyejo on their roster. Of those five, only Snead and Moore have actually caught a pass in a regular season NFL game. While Snead is a good receiver, he can’t carry an offense on his own and Moore has never caught more than 19 passes in a single season. Even if we look at Scott and Lasley through the most purple of lenses, it would be hard to see two receivers who didn’t play a single offensive snap as rookies become starting-caliber receivers in their second season.
Free agency was weak on wide receivers this offseason. It’s something both general manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh noted at the NFL Owners meetings this week. DeCosta was even rather transparent with the situation, saying the Ravens were going to have to focus on the draft instead of free agency to remedy the problem.
But one has to wonder if Baltimore couldn’t have done more with free agency to at least help themselves. Brown wanted to re-sign with the Ravens this offseason but eventually inked a three-year deal worth $9 million-per-season with the Buffalo Bills. The Indianapolis Colts signed Devin Funchess to a one-year deal worth $10 million. Donte Moncrief signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers for a total of $9 million. All three could have been useful, veteran signings for the wide receiver room at relative discounts when considering how expensive the market has gotten in recent years.
At this point, free agency no longer has any players who can help at receiver. All of the receivers with the potential to be game-changers have been taken, which leaves past their prime players like Demaryius Thomas, Pierre Garcon and Michael Crabtree at the top of the pile.
Right now, the Ravens don’t even have a full depth chart to start the season. They’d need at least one more wide receiver, if they plan on cutting no one and can stay perfectly healthy. Realistically, Baltimore needs at least two starting-quality wide receivers to challenge for snaps immediately and another for depth. With only eight selections in the 2019 NFL draft, taking out two or three for wide receiver puts a strain on what DeCosta is able to do.
The Ravens have placed themselves in a spot where they have to draft wide receivers or tell the quarterback they hope will be the future of the franchise to work with arguably the worst wide receiver depth chart in the league. Now it’s time to see if DeCosta will break away from the line of thinking that has dominated the franchise in years past and actually give Jackson some quality weapons to grow with.
