Throughout the franchise’s history, the Baltimore Ravens have been known for great defense and for draft weekend savviness. But over the years Ozzie Newsome and as of late, Eric DeCosta, have pulled off some clever trades. Here are the best nine Ravens trades in team history, with a tip of the cap to Bill Belichick and the 1995 Cleveland Browns front office and scouting department, for the first.
Please vote for the best three Ravens trades in the poll below…
The Ravens Trades
1995: Ray Lewis
The Browns, behind Bill Belichick and some other front office staffers who made their way to Baltimore (Ozzie, Phil Savage, Eric Mangini, Scott Pioli and others), traded their first-round pick (10th overall) to San Francisco (which became J.J. Stokes) for the Niners first-round pick in 1995 (30th overall used for LB Craig Powell), plus the 49ers’ third (used for LB Mike Frederick) and fourth-round (later traded) picks in 1995 and San Francisco’s first in 1996. That pick became the 26th overall which the Ravens then used to select Ray Lewis.
105.7 The Fan’s Vinny Cerrato was then the Director of Player Personnel for the 49ers overseeing all college scouting and draft activities as well as pro scouting of NFL players and opponents. Apparently he really liked J.J. Stokes. Perhaps we should all send thank you notes to Vinny.
1999: Jamal Lewis
The 1999 draft was the Ravens first with Brian Billick as their head coach and naturally, he was looking to make an immediate impact. With their first pick that draft, the Ravens selected Chris McAlister. When the Ravens turn in the second round drew near (the 42nd overall pick), the Atlanta Falcons came calling. They had their sights set on Mississippi State tight end Reginald Kelly and were willing to give up their first pick in 2000 to make it happen.
The Falcons had just represented the NFC in Super Bowl 33 and Head Coach Dan Reeves had no reason to doubt that his Dirty Birds would be in the postseason mix during the 1999 season.
Billick didn’t want to make the deal. That would leave the Ravens with just 3 more draft picks. But Ozzie couldn’t resist. The gamble paid off in a big way. The Falcons finished (5-11) in ’99 and that draft pick ended up being the No. 5 overall pick, which Ozzie turned into Jamal Lewis.
As for Reginald Kelly, he had 8 catches for 146 yards his rookie season in Atlanta and totaled just 70 catches, 797 yards and 2 TD’s during his 5 seasons as a Falcon.
2006: Haloti Ngata
The Ravens held the 13th overall pick in 2006. The Browns sat at No. 12. Ozzie coveted Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata but was concerned that his former protégé Phil Savage, then Cleveland’s GM, would turn in the card for Ngata before the Ravens were on the clock. Savage, to his credit, gave the public impression that he might do exactly that when all along his preference was Florida State LB Kamerion Wimbley.
To swap positions, Savage demanded the Ravens 6th round pick, the 181st overall. Savage got his man Wimbley, and then used the 181st overall pick on DT Baba Oshinowo from Stanford. Wimbley played decently for the Browns and during his 4 seasons he registered 26 ½ sacks, 11 of which he delivered during his rookie campaign. He never achieved Pro Bowl status while teammate Oshinowo recorded a total of 2 tackles during his two seasons in the NFL. Ngata went on to be a 5-time Pro Bowler for the Ravens, a Super Bowl 47 champion and future member of the Ravens Ring of Honor.
2007: Marshal Yanda
It was clear that Ozzie wanted to beef up his interior offensive line during the 2007 NFL Draft. His first-round pick was Auburn guard Ben Grubbs. Then in the third round, the Ravens traded the 101st, 166th and 203rd-overall picks to Jacksonville for the No. 86 overall pick. With that pick the Ravens selected Marshal Yanda.
The Jaguars used the 101st pick on Maryland punter Adam Podlesh who played in Jacksonville for four seasons and the 166th pick on Notre Dame defensive tackle Derek Landri who never started a game for the Jaguars in three seasons. In a semi-ironic twist of fate, the Jags traded pick 203 to Atlanta who used it on a DB out of Maine who would later become a Raven best remembered for a very costly penalty in the AFC Championship Game during the 2008 season. His name…Daren Stone.
2008: Joe Flacco
The Ravens wanted a quarterback. During the 2007 season Steve McNair looked like a broken man whose body had just taken too many beatings. His backup Kyle Boller, was the author of far too many nightmares and Troy Smith was nothing more than a placeholder. Matt Ryan was coveted but the cost to move up from the 8th overall pick was just too much for Ozzie’s liking. With Ryan off the board to the Falcons, the Ravens traded back with the Jaguars who selected LB Derrick Harvey who was a bust, lasting only 4 seasons in the league and posting just 8 sacks.
In the exchange the Ravens picked up the Jaguars 26th, 71st, 89th and 125th-overall picks. Then, the Ravens moved newly acquired picks 26 and 89 plus their own 173rd-overall to Houston for the 18th pick which became Joe Flacco. With pick No. 71 the Ravens selected Tavares Gooden. They traded pick 125 which eventually was used by the Raiders on WR Arman Shield.
2010: Anquan Boldin
Ozzie loved him coming out of Florida State and when he had the opportunity to get him a few years later via trade, he eventually landed Anquan Boldin from the Arizona Cardinals for a third and a fourth round pick. The Cardinals used the picks to trade for safety Kerry Rhodes and to trade up for linebacker Daryl Washington.
2018: Lamar Jackson
His name was mentioned throughout the draft. The media pondered over and over where he might land. The Philadelphia Eagles were on the clock at No. 32 when VP of Player Personnel Joe Douglas got a call from an old friend. The Ravens wanted Lamar Jackson and moving back into the first would give them five years of control with the talented QB. To get to 32 the Ravens had to give up picks 52, 125 and a 2019 second-round pick. The Ravens also received the 132nd overall pick in 2018 during the swap, which became Jaleel Scott.
An MVP and a developmental receiver isn’t such a bad price to pay for a mid-2nd, a late-4th and a 2019 2nd that became JJ Arcega-Whiteside.
2019: 5th-Round Pick
Punter/Kicker Kaare Vedvik showed promise in 2018 – a ton! And that’s why the Ravens protected him as they did, in order to retain his rights despite his off-the-field mishap late in training camp. In 2019 the Ravens brought back Vedvik and he competed side-by-side with Justin Tucker. But there was never really a competition at all. The Ravens knew it, maybe the Vikings did too but Mike Zimmer was desperate for some consistency at the position. Like a lion in the Serengeti that seeks wounded prey, Eric DeCosta took advantage.
DeCosta dealt a kicker who had not even made so much as a PAT, one who they would surely cut, for a fifth-round pick. That’s like making chicken salad out of…well, you know.
Twenty days after Minnesota obtained Vedvik, they cut him on August 31, 2019. He was claimed by the Jets the next day only to be waived on September 10. Eventually the Norway native was signed to the Bengals practice squad on December 16. By January 6, 2020 he was back on the streets. Twenty-four hours later he signed a reserve/futures contract with the Buffalo Bills.
2019: Marcus Peters
During games 3 and 4 of the 2019 season, the Ravens defense was shredded. They gave up 503 yards of offense to the Chiefs and a week later yielded another 530 yards to Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns. In order to stop the defensive hemorrhaging, DeCosta and his staff went to work.
The interior linebackers looked lost so the Ravens pushed aside Patrick Onwuasor and Kenny Young before week 5. Then, just after week 6, DeCosta packaged the discarded Young and a 5th round pick for two-time Pro Bowl CB Marcus Peters.
Peters would be named to his third Pro Bowl as a Raven and was also voted in as a 1st-team All Pro.
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