Here\u2019s some of what he told us, by not saying a word:<\/p>\n
Less Trey Hendrickson Is More<\/p>\n
If you were going to draw up a second-round prospect who could maybe put Hendrickson – oft-injured at 31 and coming off a lost season \u2013 a little more on a pitch count, this is it (and coupled with the Campbell signing, even moreso). In a pass rush class this spotty, no lower-production college prospect whose calling care was \u201chopefully pass rush\u201d would displace Hendrickson.<\/p>\n
However \u2026 a kid was the kind of power and trunk and anchor displayed by Zion Young at Missouri, yeah the Ravens will lean into that. Hendrickson ain\u2019t Maxx Crosby on the run front<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s not what you want as an everyday run stopper,\u201d NFL analyst Brian Baldinger told me on \u201cThe Daily Flock\u201d this week. Now there are adequate options to deploy first down looks that don\u2019t have Hendrickson on the field. That\u2019s going to be vital for a team in Super Bowl or bust mode.<\/p>\n \u201cIt tells me less Hendrickson early, Mike Green is a designated pass rusher in sub packages, Young doesn\u2019t have to play every down,\u201d said one NFL personnel executive very familiar with the Ravens personnel. \u201cThat works.\u201d<\/p>\n Oweh 2.0, The LA Version<\/p>\n The Young selection \u2013 which came at the expense of getting a potential immediate Isaiah Likely replacement as a top move tight end option (Eli Stowers) \u2013 is a throwback to a resume and body type the Ravens have struck out on so many times before going back to general manager Eric DeCosta\u2019s first draft in 2019<\/a>. Yet Young was the only premium pick they spent on that side of the ball.<\/p>\n Hmm.<\/p>\n Odafe Oweh was their first-round pick in 2021 who failed to register a sack that season and he measured just under 6-5, 257 pounds, 34 \u00bd arms and total athletic score of 80. Young finally registered sacks last season (6.5) but also doesn\u2019t have natural bend and flexibility like Oweh, and he is 6-5, 262, 33-inch arms and a total athletic score of 72.<\/p>\n Oweh ran into some sacks here and there with the Ravens but didn\u2019t get his fifth-year option picked up, spent a lot of time on the bench late in his stint here and then was traded to Minter\u2019s Chargers defense midseason where he became an instant pass-rush force.<\/p>\n \u201cHe looked like a different player in Jesse\u2019s system,\u201d Baldy said. <\/p>\n It will probably take some time, but in grabbing a Week 1 run stuffer over an entire run of potential immediate starting TE and centers, the Ravens were sending a message.<\/p>\n Declan Doyle\u2019s Side Of The Ball Needs More Help<\/p>\n Minter is a proven defensive savant who has had instant success in college and the NFL as a coordinator and he comes from a lineage \u2013 Mike Macdonald, now the latest former Ravens DC to become a head coach \u2013 that is tried and true.<\/p>\n Doyle, who just turned 30, is a rookie offensive coordinator who has never installed his own offense or even called a play and he comes from a Sean Payton coaching family tree that has produced almost no successive coordinators or play callers. Yeah, I have concerns.<\/p>\n So it shouldn\u2019t surprise anyone that the 14th overall selection \u2013 draft terrain the Ravens rarely expect to be selecting in \u2013 went to an immediate starter of a bad offensive line and five of the first seven picks went to Doyle\u2019s side of the ball. And they\u2019d best be doing more work on the offensive line<\/a>.<\/p>\n When you look at blue chip talent, or potential blue chip talent, under the age of 30 (assuming Nnamdi Madubuike truly is back) it\u2019s decidedly on the defensive side of the ball. I\u2019d anticipate them leaning into replenishing the offensive talent in future drafts as well, whether Doyle proves up to the job or somebody else gets the chance a year <\/a>from now.<\/p>\n
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