Mock Draft Has Ravens Making Huge Trade for Former Offensive Player of the Year
Mock draft season is starting to ramp up, and The Baltimore Sun's C.J. Doon's Ravens-centric seven-round mock has General Manager Eric DeCosta making a big trade on Day 3.
In Doon's scenario, the Ravens trade a fourth-round compensatory pick and a sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
"For Lamar Jackson and the Ravens to finally break through and win the Super Bowl, it's time to get aggressive," Doon wrote. "The salary-cap math is tricky, and the Ravens might believe that giving up two mid-round picks for a 31-year-old wide receiver is too expensive, but it's fun to think about what Kupp would look like playing a secondary role in coordinator Todd Monken's offense.
"Kupp is no longer a triple-crown threat, but he's still a productive receiver and relentless blocker who could thrive in the Ravens' ecosystem. Baltimore reportedly wanted to take him in the 2017 draft before the Rams swooped in."
Kupp has been slowed by injuries the past three seasons after his career year in 2021, when he led the league in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947), and touchdown catches (16) and was named Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP.
Doon noted that if the Rams are willing to pay a large portion of Kupp's remaining contract — $29.7 million and $27.3 million due in 2025 and 2026, respectively — the trade would make sense for both sides.
Only Two of Eight Sports Illustrated Pundits Predict Ravens Will Win a Super Bowl in Next Five Years
The NFL is hard to predict from week to week much less looking a year ahead, but Sports Illustrated’s NFL staff went to the extreme by taking a crack at predicting which teams will win the next five Super Bowls.
Surprisingly, only two of Sports Illustrated's eight writers and editors predicted the Ravens to capture a Lombardi Trophy in the next five years.
Mitch Goldich included the Ravens on his list because they are "a stable organization with a track record of success."
Greg Bishop wrote: "I like the Ravens in the near term and have them breaking up two Lions wins."
The Kansas City Chiefs were a unanimous pick, with two panelists predicting they will win two Super Bowls during the five-year span.
On a side note, Fox Sports' Ben Arthur picked the Ravens to win next year's Super Bowl.
"They still have Lamar, who seems to make history every regular season," Arthur said on the “NFL on Fox Podcast.” "I don't expect Derrick Henry to fall off a cliff next season. We have to remember that their defense was the No. 1 defense in the NFL at the end of last year. Zach Orr is going into his second year as defensive coordinator, so we know that side of the ball is going to be on lock.
"And just thinking about how their season ended this past season. In that AFC divisional round, they didn't have Zay Flowers; Mark Andrews, a very uncharacteristic performance from him. I think they have all the pieces to finally get over the hump."
Pundit Says Steelers Are Best Fit for Ronnie Stanley
Ronnie Stanley is the top left tackle set to hit free agency, so it's not surprising that pundits are linking him to contenders who have a need at the crucial position.
Yesterday’s Late for Work noted that one pundit said Stanley would be an ideal signing for the Chiefs. Now, FanSided’s Nick Vallano is making a case for the Pittsburgh Steelers to sign the two-time Pro Bowler.
"There is no better fit for Stanley than the Steelers," Villano wrote. "They are constant playoff contenders, so it's not like he has to go to the end of the standings to get paid. He does turn 31 this offseason, so there's age in consideration when discussing a contract, but we feel like the Steelers will be willing to pay for the top player at the position."
It would be a coup for the rival Steelers to sign Stanley, who would join former Ravens teammates Patrick Queen and DeShon Elliott in Pittsburgh.
Moving Kyle Hamilton Back to Slot Identified As Key to Ravens Returning to the Playoffs
The Athletic's Derrik Klassen looked at what each AFC playoff team needs this offseason to return to the postseason in 2025.
For the Ravens, Klassen said they have to "fix the safety room to let Kyle Hamilton play the slot again."
"Considering the 2024 Ravens defense was only good with Hamilton at safety, moving him back to the nickel seems counterintuitive," Klassen wrote. "But let's look back further than this season. For 18 months, from the moment they traded for linebacker Roquan Smith in the middle of the 2022 season, the Ravens had arguably the best defense in football.
"Hamilton, funnily enough, started that season handling more snaps at safety before eventually taking on a nickel role as the defense settled in with Smith. Hamilton's blend of length, special athletic ability and physicality make him a unique weapon at a nickel position that typically features smaller players. What the Ravens could do with Hamilton as a blitzer and coverage piece was special, not to mention what he gave them in run defense and when attacking screens on the perimeter."
DeCosta said during the season-ending press conference last month that adding a safety "would be really good for us."
"It gives us that multiplicity on defense and the ability to do a lot of different things. Kyle becomes that sort of [Swiss Army] knife again," he said.
Ravens Were NFL's Second-Best Tackling Team in 2024
Thanks in large part to Hamilton and Smith, the Ravens were one of the best tackling teams in the league this past season.
Next Gen Stats created a model that measures each team's tackling success, using metrics such as
tackle efficiency and missed tackle yards lost to come up with a final grade.
The Ravens had a 93.8 grade, which was second only to the Chiefs (94.6). They were the only teams to earn an A.
"Zach Orr preached aggressiveness on defense after he replaced Mike Macdonald as coordinator last offseason, and the Ravens seemingly took to his philosophy in outstanding fashion, posting the league's second-highest tackle efficiency this season (89.2%)," The Next Gen Stats Analytics team wrote via NFL.com. "Baltimore also allowed just 544 yards off missed tackles, 98 fewer than any other team, for a league-low average of 4.5 yards allowed per missed tackle.
"Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton easily exceeded 100 tackles apiece, with strong efficiency rates (92.8% for Smith and 86.3% for Hamilton). However, neither player led the Ravens in the efficiency category (minimum of 25 attempts); that honor belongs to DT Travis Jones, who missed just two of his 44 tackle opportunities (95.5%)."
