Happy Friday, Flock Nation! With less than two weeks before the start of the new league year, we’re already starting to see the roster movement ramp up as teams position themselves to sign their top free agent targets.
Cowboys are “likely” to release WR Amari Copper by the start of the new league year, per league sources.
Cooper is due $20 million in fully guaranteed money on the fifth day of the new league year, March 20.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2022
One early cap casualty would appear to be Amari Cooper. He’s got no chance of ending up in Baltimore – the Ravens simply can’t afford him – but that won’t stop fans from dreaming.
If Amari Cooper wants to play for a crab cake as his salary then I’m cool with him coming to Baltimore 👍
— RAMEY (@HoodieRamey) March 4, 2022
In fact, don’t expect the Ravens to be extremely active in free agency anyway, unless they go the maximum restructure/extension route that could compromise their future cap flexibility.
One thing to keep in mind is teams also have to cover two more players, Psquad, and in season costs. That 8m will mostly be used for that.
Sorry to ruin the fun…— Daniel Rees (@DPRees8) March 3, 2022
A Tyrann Mathieu-sized swing might be just out of reach, though signing an impact starter like Ryan Jensen to shore up the offensive line could be in the works.
More rough news on the cap front:
Ravens' 2022 Cap took a hit as the NFLPA applied the Cap Adjustments for NLTBE incentives earned in 2021. Ravens adjustment was -$2,694,529. Main incentives earned were by Campbell, Murray, Board & Andrews. Ravens presently have $7,014,916 in Cap spacehttps://t.co/R9A7CPNrfg
— Brian McFarland (@RavensSalaryCap) March 4, 2022
Instead, the Ravens will be looking to their 10 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft to hopefully provide the depth to support future playoff runs.
A common projection for the Ravens’ first two picks – the 14th and 45th overall selections – are Michigan’s David Ojabo and Minnesota’s Daniel Faalele.
Ojabo has plenty of connections with the Ravens’ defensive staff already, including new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
Michigan EDGE David Ojabo called new Ravens DC Mike Macdonald a players’ coach who helps you play fast.
“He’s just so relatable. … He can explain the ‘why’ as opposed to telling you what to do.” pic.twitter.com/Yb7SVVgQNT
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) March 4, 2022
He has an extremely high ceiling as a pass-rusher and could be a deadly 1-2 punch with high school teammate Odafe Oweh for years to come. He’s one of the dozen or so players who’s deserving of the 14th pick, in my eyes.
Exact same 96th-percentile wingspan as Orlando Brown Jr. https://t.co/JpifFlvgCO
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) March 4, 2022
Faalele has earned a ton of comparisons to ex-Raven offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., and he’d be a strong pick at 45 to be Baltimore’s powerful right tackle of the future.
But I wanted to throw my hat in the GM ring as well, so here’s another mock draft, courtesy of yours truly.
At 14, I thought about trading back but ultimately went with Travon Walker, an extremely versatile defender who can play all along the defensive line and even drop back into coverage. He uses his arms extremely well in pass rush and run defense, and his leadership on Georgia’s national championship defense will make him well-suited to the NFL.
I then packaged the 45th pick and a fourth-rounder to trade up to 34 to select Michigan safety Daxton Hill, another versatile defender who has a relationship with Macdonald and would play a variety of roles in Baltimore’s defense.
Alabama’s Phidarian Mathis was a no-brainer at 76 as a high-floor run-stopper who consistently showed pass-rushing juice in college as well. He could be a Day 1 early-down starter.
I traded up again, packaging the 99th pick and a sixth-rounder to acquire the 82nd pick for Washington State OT Abraham Lucas. He’s an excellent pass-blocker who would need to beef up his run-blocking technique, though I think the Ravens could be a good scheme fit for the 6-foot-7, 319-pounder.
UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich impressed me at the Combine yesterday. Though he’s not a dominant run-blocker, he could be the vertical receiving tight end the Ravens need as their TE3 behind Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle.
Greg Dulcich runs a 4.61 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine
Fastest time of all TE’s so far 👀 pic.twitter.com/RLXLDfr4kB
— UCLA Barstool (@UCLABarstool) March 3, 2022
After that came a trio of value picks in Alabama CB Josh Jobe, Clemson WR Justyn Ross and Louisiana OT Max Mitchell.
The Ravens do need CB depth, and a physical specimen from a blue-chip school like Jobe would be able to learn a lot from Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey.
Ross is too good of a football player to pass up at the 126th pick, even with the Ravens’ WR depth at the moment.
I hope the Ravens double-dip in a deep OT class, and Mitchell might me a nice late-round flyer. Though undersized, he graded out well in both run blocking and pass protection with extremely good technique and balance.
My final trade was a little goofy; I don’t think it would cost the Ravens that much to get a late Day 3 pick in this draft. But I wanted to grab Cam Jurgens as a developmental center who certainly projects better as a starter than Trystan Colon.
