Draft Preview Day 1: Baltimore Ravens

Each day from now until the draft, there will be an entry written about each team in the NFL, along with their team needs.  Up first, the Defending Super Bowl champs, the Baltimore Ravens.

After winning the Super Bowl this past year in a game that looked like a blowout initially, the Baltimore Ravens come into the draft this year looking to fill some holes in their back 7 on Defense.  Specifically, they're lost both starting safeties (Ed Reed to Houston, Bernard Pollard to Tennessee), both starting Inside Linebackers (Ray Lewis retired to ESPN, Dannelle Ellerbe to Miami), and one of their top 2 Corners from the Super Bowl (Cary Williams to Philadelphia).  And while they also lost Paul Kruger to Cleveland through Free Agency, they did make a few good signings that could take OLB out of a needs perspective (Elvis Dumervil from Denver) and allow them to focus more on the interior of their Defense.

BAL needs: ILB, S, CB, WR (maybe)

ILB: As stated above, Baltimore lost both of their starting ILBs from the Super Bowl this offseason, with Ray Lewis retiring to ESPN and Dannelle Ellerbe signing in Miami long term.  This position is critical in their preferred 3-4 Defense, and an influx of youth can be considered a necessity.  In fact, it has been needed for a few years now, and once Ellerbe decided to bolt for Miami, it became even more critical.  I would look for Baltimore to try to fill this need early on if the right guy appears.

S: Again, losing both starting Safeties from the Super Bowl cannot be very good for your team.  While Ed Reed is undeniably getting older, he is still one of the biggest threats at Safety in the league.  In fact, QBs still tend to throw away from Reed due to how dangerous he can be.  As for Bernard Pollard, he is known now as a Patriot Killer (as seen by his taking out Brady, Welker, Gronkowski, and Ridley in recent years), but is almost like a bit of a Rodney Harrison-type in my eyes.  He is a Strong Safety who can knock you out, while also showing decent range in coverage.  This is an area that Baltimore should more than likely address in the early rounds as well.

CB: Not as much of a need as one thinks.  While Baltimore loses Cary Williams, they do get Ladarius Webb back from injury, which will more than adequately replace the departing Williams.  Webb was Baltimore's top CB when healthy, and will more than likely step back into that role.  The only real reason this is mentioned is that they might want another CB, if only for depth purposes.

WR: Again, not as much of a need.  However, with the departure of Anquan Boldin to San Fran, Baltimore could use a receiver to play in the slot.  Boldin led the team in receiving yards the last few seasons, so that could be a bit of a loss, but Baltimore does a good job of finding talent to fill needs.

Baltimore should be a good team again this year, but the biggest concern in my eyes is the amount of leadership they've lost so far this offseason.  Losing big names like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, players who have been the foundation of the franchise for over a decade, is a big blow.  How Baltimore replaces them could be huge in how well they do this upcoming season.

Flacco may have won this past year, but there are a lot of holes to fill in the draft.