Ravens Position Groups: Reviewing The Defensive Line

As we move closer to the beginning of the new league year, the Ravens brass has given us some hints about off-season priorities. The biggest focus seems to be on shoring up the offensive line, which should be absolutely be a priority. As the old saying goes, “games are won and lost in the trenches”.

While protecting Lamar Jackson and paving the way for what was the league’s most dominant rushing attack in 2019 and 2020 are imperative, Baltimore cannot neglect the other trench; the defensive line.

The 2021 defensive line starters were supposed to be a veteran group of Calais Campbell, Brandon Williams and Derek Wolfe. Behind them, were 2nd year players Justin Madubuike and Broderick Washington and veteran Justin Ellis rounded out the group.

There were high hopes for this group after a very solid 2020. In his first season with Baltimore, Calais Campbell brought veteran leadership and despite missing 4 games with some nagging injuries and a bout of COVID, contributed 4 sacks. Longtime Raven Brandon Williams continued to be a space eater and effective run stuffer, albeit he missed 3 games due to injury and saw his play decline somewhat. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise was veteran Derek Wolfe, who came to Baltimore on 1 year deal after spending the first 8 years of his career in Denver. Wolfe appeared in 14 games in 2020 and tied a career high with 51 total tackles.

Unfortunately, 2021 did not go as expected for the defensive linemen.

There were high hopes for Justin Madubuike, with NBC Sport’s Peter King even mentioning him as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Madubuike turned in a solid season and flashed at times but certainly did not put himself into DPOY candidate territory just yet.

Calais Campbell seemed to hold back the hands of time and showed that he can still be a force up front. He appeared in 15 of the team’s 17 games, playing 69% of the snaps or more in 12 of those contests. Along the way, he registered 49 total tackles and 12 QB hits. He also provided some highlight reel moments in the frenetic comeback against the Colts on October 11th in back to back plays, Campbell stuffed Jonathan Taylor for a 4 yard loss and then blocked a Rodrigo Blankenship field goal attempt to keep a one score game. Although he’s entering his age 36 season, Campbell appears to still have some tread left on those tires.

Brandon Williams played the final year of his 5 year, 54 million dollar contract last year. Williams has always been a solid run stopper and been able to occupy multiple blockers but he’s never been the type of player to push the pocket or pressure the quarterback. Whereas Williams is still effective in his role, he hasn’t played a full season since 2018 and as offenses have evolved, the space eater type lineman is not as valuable as the once were.

Derek Wolfe was not able to build on his successful 2020 campaign as various injuries kept him sidelined for the entire 2021 season. Wolfe ended up having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip. At this point, it’s unclear whether this will impact him for the 2022 season.

According to OverTheCap.com, here’s who the Ravens have under contract on the defensive line for 2022:

Madubuike – Entering year 3 of his 4 year rookie deal that will pay him a $1.05 million base salary and he has a cap number of $1.32 million.

Wolfe – Entering year 2 of a 3 year deal that will pay him a $2 million base salary and he has a cap number of $3.8 million.

Broderick Washington – Entering year 3 of his 4 year rookie deal that will pay him an $895,000 base salary and he has a cap number of $968,412.

Isiah Mack – Signed to a reserve/future deal for 2022 that will pay him a base salary of $965,000.

Kahlil McKenzie – Signed to a reserve/future deal for 2022 that will pay him a base salary of $965,000. McKenzie was also being worked out at offensive line.

Given the current state of the Ravens defensive line, to say some work needs to be done would be an understatement. I do like Madubuike and believe he’s a starting caliber player that has the potential to be an impact player but outside of him, I don’t see anyone else to be counted on for a major role in 2022.

Washington seems to be a solid rotational guy that’s cheap and under team control, so that alone carries value. I don’t know that he has much more to offer. With some of the veterans out of the way, he should have plenty of opportunities in mini-camp and OTAs to impress new DC Mike Macdonald. With that said, I certainly wouldn’t count on him to be a starter in 2022.

Mack had a cup of coffee last year, appearing in 2 games. He played 25 snaps in the blowout loss to Cincinnati and registered 3 total tackles (1 tackle for loss) and 1 sack. It’s tough to glean too much from 1 game but it was enough for the Ravens brass to bring Mack on that reserve/future deal. Much like Washington, Mack should have a chance to show that he can stick as a rotational player for the upcoming season.

Wolfe is interesting case in that he’s under contract for 2 more years and at relatively low cap number. However, missing the entire 2021 season and rehabbing from a major surgery at age 32 are definitely factors against him. If Wolfe is cut after June 1st, there would be some cap savings but nothing that really moves the needle. Given the lack of proven talent on the roster currently, I would be in favor of letting Wolfe rehab and see if can be ready to contribute in 2022. Even if you have to watch his snaps throughout the season, there’s value in having a solid veteran up front and at a $3.8 million cap number, I think it’s worth the gamble.

Baltimore will definitely need to add to the defensive line rotation but what direction should the organization go? For pretty much the life of the franchise, the Ravens have gravitated towards gap control, space eater types that occupy blockers and allow linebackers to roam free. Think Tony Siragusa, Michael Pierce and afore mentioned Williams. The Ravens have not had a lot of success in acquiring or developing interior defensive linemen that can push the pocket and pressure the quarterback. I think of Warren Sapp in this vein. The best of example of this type of player was when the Ravens drafted Timmy Jernigan in 2014; he had 13 sacks in his 3 seasons in Baltimore but was traded after some friction with management.

Of course a lot will depend on what type of player that new coordinator Macdonald will want for his system. With that said, given the general lack of consistent pressure and sacks from the Ravens defense over the last few seasons, particularly from the defensive line, it would behoove the organization to bring in some guys who’ve shown an ability to pressure the passer from the trenches.

Here are a couple of good candidates on the unrestricted free agent list that fit the bill:

Rasheem Green -Seattle Seahawks; he will hit free agency at only 24 years old. In his 4 seasons in Seattle, he’s registered 13.5 sacks and 27 QB hits. Last year, he had 6.5 sacks, 15 QB hits and 48 total tackles. An ideal candidate to get younger along the defensive front and someone who’s showing a prowess for getting after the quarterback.

Larry Ogunjobi – Cincinnati Bengals; he will be entering the market at age 27 after a strong season with the Bengals, racking up 7 sacks, 16 quarterback hits and 49 total tackles. Ogunjobi will be coming off of foot injury, which could make some teams take pause and it may depress his value to an extent. Also, since Ogunjobi has spent his entire career between Cleveland and Cincinnati, he’s quite familiar with the division. DeCosta should take a long look at him.

While combing the free agent market, I would stay in contact with Campbell. If he would be amenable to returning to Baltimore on a 1 year deal and the Ravens could keep him fresh by reducing his snaps, it would be a wise move. Especially since DeCosta and company will likely bring in some youth through this years’ draft, it can’t hurt to have an accomplished, sage like presence to lead that defensive linemen room. Given the amount of draft capital that Baltimore has this year, I would imagine they will target defensive line help in either round 3 or 4.

At the end of the day, the key to reestablishing the tradition of strong defense in Baltimore will begin up front. The evolution of the game has seen the better defenses in the league being able to generate pressure with their defensive line, rather than by way of a constant parade of exotic blitzes. The Ravens have already decided to change their defensive philosophy at the top by moving on from coordinator Wink Martindale, so now they have to acquire the right personnel to make it work.