Ravens Roundtable: Catching Up Before the Draft

BSL’s Mike Fast, Jamie Sieck, and Mike Randall, discuss some off-season topics, just in time for the NFL Draft to potentially change the entire landscape. Catching up before this red letter day.

Discuss your thoughts on these topics on our message board.

1. The Lamar Jackson saga rolls on. It’s been discussed ad nauseam. Don’t need your opinions on the whole situation. But what is the end game scenario you predict will happen?

Mike Fast: 3 year, $160 million, fully guaranteed (Kirk Cousins route). Not the total Lamar wanted, not the guarantee % the Ravens wanted.

Jamie Sieck: Ultimately, I think Lamar signs a long-term deal with Baltimore. Something in the neighborhood of 5 yrs/250 million with around 180 million guaranteed. The Jalen Hurts deal should act as catalyst to the Jackson-Ravens negotiations.

Mike Randall: I’ve been all over the place, as each day brings something new. One rumor is that the signing of OBJ was in part because Lamar Jackson recruited him. He’s also demanded both OBJ and Deandre Hopkins. The trade for Hopkins may be in the works. If so, that’s a strong indicator that maybe Lamar would be swayed into signing the tender. But I don’t think until camp starts. If a long-term deal isn’t reached. I don’t see a long-term deal coming in 2023.

2. How do you see the first two nights of the draft (First three rounds) playing out?

MF: Now with OBJ in the fold, WR first/picking at 22 takes a hit in probability. Most likely, the Ravens trade out of the first, take the best corner available, and pick up two extra picks. After corner, I see them solidifying the EDGE position in lieu of Campbell going to Atlanta, then taking the best OL available.

JS: I think DeCosta is not thrilled with having only 5 picks, so he will look to trade out of the 1st round to add more picks. However, I think a player will be there at 22 that they cannot refuse. If either Joey Porter Jr or Deonte Banks are on the board when the Ravens are on the clock, I think they will make the pick. The 3rd round is much more difficult to forecast but there are needs at EDGE, wide receiver and interior offensive line, so DeCosta will focus in those areas.

MR: The Ravens have the #22 pick in round one, and the #86 overall pick in round three. I’ve been saying as long as Jackson hasn’t signed the tender, treat the draft like he isn’t on your team. I tend to believe that the Ravens really think they can get a deal done with Jackson, to a fault. I could see a situation where one of the top four QBs is sitting there at #22, Ravens are on the clock. Earlier in the draft, one of Houston or Indy doesn’t get the QB they want. Instead of the Ravens taking one they entertain Houston to trade up from round two to snag one. The Ravens land maybe pick #33, and both their third rounders at picks #65 and #73. Of course Houston could simply take the QB Carolina doesn’t pick, then the ball is in the Colts court.

To go from #22 and #86, to #33, #65, #73, #86, seems like a very Ravens type move. Maybe they move from #33 back into the end of the first round for a minimal charge and take Hendon Hooker or Tanner McKee or something, giving them 5th year option rights by getting them in the first round rather than the second. On night two they have ammo then to draft guys at valuable non-skill positions where you can’t have enough depth. O-line. Cornerback. Edge.

3. Odell Beckham Jr is in the fold. He joins Nelson Agholor as the second free agent WR acquired this offseason. Thoughts on the WR group?

MF: People will always find something to complain about. These two guys make you ask one question: does adding them make the Ravens better. Absolutely, the answer is yes. Did they stretch themselves financially to bring OBJ in? Sure. Did they break the bank? Not quite.

JS: Regarding the wide receiver group, I think Nelson Agholor raises the floor of the group and Beckham, potentially, raises the ceiling. Both acquisitions come with questions. Beckham has health concerns but if he can stay on the field, he brings credibility to the group. Agholor, will stay on the field but he has issues with drops. He has averaged 12.5 yards per reception for hs career though. Overall, it was difficult not to improve this group, so in that regard, the Ravens wide receiver corps is better but I’m not over the moon.

MR: On name recognition it looks good. But I think people underestimate what Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay are capable of. It’s just a shame that Bateman hasn’t been healthy for a full season yet, and that the WRs as a whole were handcuffed by Greg Roman’s propensity to only have one out there at a time often, and give more playing time to the fullback and second and third tight ends. The moves don’t move the needle much for me. They look like upgrades over Proche and Wallace which counts for something. But I certainly don’t think either is going to be better than what Demarcus Robinson provided, or Sammy Watkins in 2021.

4. Assuming the Ravens do not enter the 2023 season with Tyler Huntley as the starting quarterback, what other areas on the team do you see a need for improvement?

MF: Edge, inside linebacker, interior OL are my Top 3 (apart from WR, obviously).

JS: My top priority is secondary help, specifically cornerback. Beyond Marlon Humphrey, the cornerback group is just guys. There’s no clear cut #2 corner or even a definitive slot corner amongst those on the roster at this time.

MR: Can’t have enough DBs. Marcus Peters is gone, and Chuck Clark was traded. Look around the AFC. Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Herbert, Rodgers is now a Jet, Lawrence turning the corner. Tua, when healthy, has put up great numbers with great weapons. Will Watson find his stroke again. Does Russ Wilson bounce back? How good will the rookies that Houston and Indy potentially draft be?

Point is you better be able to defend the pass in this conference. They have some stellar guys in Humphrey and Marcus Williams. But if Hamilton is playing in the box often, you’re going to need another safety. Brandon Stephens is serviceable on the outside. But one injury brings fringe practice squad guy Daryl Worley into the games. Have to have more depth here.

5. How about the coordinators? What might you expect from Todd Monken? Mike MacDonald has a year under his belt running the defense. What changes, if any, do you want to see in year two?

MF: Pace of play is the biggest thing I’m looking for out of Monken’s play calling. If the Ravens can eliminate delay of game penalties and the premature use of timeouts, I will be very pleased. As for Macdonald, no big changes are needed IMO. Of course, the 4th quarter needs to shore up, but I see that as player focus, not necessarily scheme. 

JS: On the offensive side of the ball, I would like to see Monken bring more balance overall. That balance would come from a more efficient passing game, with better route combinations and effectively spacing pass catchers. Also, I would like to see Monken get the other tight ends involved, even when Andrews is on the field.

On the defensive side, Macdonald just needs to build on last year. He showed that he could adapt his game plan to the competition, as opposed to Wink who clung to Cover 0, even when his personnel wasn’t congruent with that strategy. If Macdonald can take on a project, I would like to see him get more put of Odafe Oweh. The 3rd year edge rusher has flashed at times but has been mostly underwhelming thus far. I’d love to see Macdonald unlock Oweh’s potential.

MR: When it comes to Monken, coming from the college ranks the last few seasons, I expect a lot of the same things Lamar Jackson is used to. Shotgun or pistol formations. Running read options. It’s hard to tell what kind of things we’ll see as we have one NFL season of him as an OC to go by before he went to Georgia. Coming from Georgia he had some talented players. They scored big points against really good defenses in big games, meaning they were effective in the red zone which has to be improved here. I don’t think you should look at college stats as any measure. But the success they have had means he knows how to exploit a defense. He knows how to prepare for a big game. Those things aren’t that debatable. Mainly I’d like to see Monken NOT do some of the things Greg Roman would do. Run goal line sets 75 yards away from it. Have the second tight end your fullback out snapping guys like Rashod Bateman. Abandon J.K. Dobbins inside the ten-yard line. Take 25 seconds of the play clock to get a play in, giving the quarterback little to no time to read the defense.

MacDonald’s defense seemed to get right with the addition of Roquan Smith. Kyle Hamilton seemed to find his footing as the season went along as well. They checked a lot of boxes at season’s end, even if some individual games were stinkers at times. Good at keeping points off the board, good sack totals, good turnover totals. But I think around mid-season the Ravens schedule got soft as well. Without leading sacker Justin Houston, veteran big man Calais Campbell, biggest turnover creator Marcus Peters, I need to see MacDonald developing guys now. Odafe Oweh for one. His Michigan guy, David Ojabo in essentially his rookie year.

6. How hot is Coach Harbaugh’s seat? How hot would it be if you were in charge?

MF: Not hot. They’re always winning and overcoming adversity more time than not. Coaches like that aren’t easily found. To those who want him gone, be careful what you wish for.

JS: I have grown a little sour on John Harbaugh. Perhaps he’s catching some shrapnel from the Lamar saga but the way Harbaugh handled Jackson’s injury and subsequent media inquiries about the contract situation has been outright bad. With that said, Steve Bisciotti is all about continuity and regardless of how warm Harbaugh’s seat should be, barring an epic collapse, Harbaugh will be the Ravens head coach until he walks away.

MR: His seat is very comfortable. I’m convinced Steve Bisciotti will let Harbaugh be the coach for as long as he wants to, provided the Ravens continue to just barely do enough to sneak into the playoffs as a wild card team most years as the Bengals have become the class of the division.

If it was me, he would have been gone this past offseason. The circus around the end of the year would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Every time he’s in front of the microphone he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth. It’s not even what you would call coach speak, which I can live with.  I’m just over, all of it. Empowering players to be part of the decision-making process in the middle of a game. “4th down, wanna go for this?” “Should we go for two here?” These decisions need to be made well ahead of time. I think he does a great job Monday through Saturday, but Sunday I don’t think he brings anything to the table. The things he publicly says he wants to see them improve on, they don’t. So that message isn’t getting to his coordinators or position coaches. With an offensive coordinator search, and the possibility that Lamar Jackson might not be here, this was the perfect time to make a change. Let the next guy pick his OC, see what they can get out of Lamar, or draft their next QB.

7. Care to give a Lamar Jackson is our quarterback record/finish prediction for 2023, and a Lamar Jackson isn’t our quarterback prediction?

MF: Would like to see the schedule first, but as for now: With Lamar: 13-4. Without Lamar: 9-8.

JS: Record predictions are so tough at this point because there are so many unknowns between now and week 1. For the sake of fun, with Lamar, I think this team has a 13 win ceiling but will realistically be 11-6/12-5. Without Jackson, they would compete for sure but end up around 7-10/8-9.

MR: With Lamar Jackson, healthy all season I’ll say 11-6. I think they can win seven of the nine home games, but the road games and the west coast trips will all be tiny favorites, or underdogs. 11-6 is not enough to unseat the Bengals from the top of the division. 6 seed, maybe a repeat visit with the Bengals or a trip to Buffalo to open the playoffs. One and done.

Without Lamar Jackson, it depends on the quarterback. With a rookie, or a veteran still hanging around out there, I think the supporting pieces are there to win at most 10 games, but more like 8 or 9. With Tyler Huntley, more like 6 wins. He’ll make too many mistakes costing them games.