Ozzie Newsome has a solid history of finding veterans who have been discarded by their previous employer. When the Jacksonville Jaguars no longer wanted the services of Daryl Smith, he was a welcomed addition in Baltimore. He had to fill the shoes of the greatest player in franchise history and he thrived in his time with the Ravens. The Panthers didn’t think that Steve Smith had much left in the tank. Aside from Joe Flacco, he’s been the most vital part of the Ravens offense over the last two seasons.
Long story short: Newsome is good at finding treasure in another team’s trash.
The Ravens front office will closely monitor the waiver wire again over the summer. Adding key contributors during training camp has been a key part of their success. The cornerback market is one they will assuredly be keeping their eye on.
Newsome and Eric DeCosta checked off a lot of boxes when it came to plugging holes in their roster during the draft. Cornerback, however, was not one of them. Considering the team’s struggles in the secondary the last couple of years, that’s somewhat surprising. Tavon Young is a talented young player who the Ravens are high on, but at 5-9, he’s slated to primarily be a nickel corner. Maurice Canady has the measurables to play on the outside, but is viewed as a raw prospect who will need to spend a lot of time with Leslie Frazier. The fact that either could compete for a starting job in 2016 shows just how thin the Ravens secondary remains.
Shareece Wright is currently slated to start opposite Jimmy Smith. Can the Ravens really feel good about that? Wright did play well in the second half of last year after a disastrous start in Baltimore, but the Ravens are Wright’s third team in five years. That’s not to say he isn’t a decent corner, but should he be the second best one on your roster?
Smith never returned to the Pro Bowl form he should before his Lisfranc injury in 2014. At the end of the season he told reporters that he never felt 100 percent. With reports that he had to have screws from his previous procedure removed this offseason it’s hard to say if he will be completely recovered going into 2016. What if Smith goes down again? The thought of Shareece Wright matched up with A.J Green or Antonio Brown is a terrifying one.
It will be an interesting storyline to pay attention to leading up to the season. The Ravens have to match up with Ben Roethlisberger and Andy Dalton twice a year, they’ve already witnessed first hand what can happen when they are short-handed in the cornerback department.
Newsome is getting high marks for his 2016 draft. The team brought in some quality players to ramp up the pass rush and hold down Flacco’s blindside. But despite the struggles their corners have had over the last two years, they haven’t done much to upgrade the position. Ozzie likes to say that you can never have enough good corners. At the moment, the only one he has is Jimmy Smith.
If that doesn’t change before the season starts, fantasy football teams will once again be licking their chops every time their quarterback has a matchup with the Ravens.
