2015 49ers' Opponents: Baltimore Ravens Free Agency Edition

The Baltimore Ravens have been pretty busy this offseason trying to shore up some holes so that they can remain competitive in the powerhouse AFC North. Moreover, after the stinging defeat last season at the hands of the New England Patriots, I imagine that the Ravens want to create a nice niche for themselves among the AFC elite. With a Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, it's totally possible that the Ravens can maintain their position in the AFC elite with a few upgrades - they are certainly helped by the fact that the spending cap is going up each year, making Joe Flacco's contract seem, well, much more reasonable.

Speaking of the QB position, it is worth noting that the Ravens signed Matt Shaub as their back up QB. It was a position of need, and he should be an ideal back up candidate. Another major position of need was safety, and the Ravens attempted to address the position by signing Kendrick Lewis. I imagine the Ravens are going to bring in secondary depth in the draft (at both the S and CB positions), but this is a good start.

Besides that, the Ravens have mostly been re-signing their own players. The list includes: G Jah Reid, DE/DT Lawrence Guy, DE/DT Chris Canty, RB Justin Forsett, CB Anthony Levine, and WR Kamar Aiken. The re-signing of Forsett could be really important for the team, especially considering how well he did in Baltimore. Bringing back Levine adds depth to a position of need.

Finally, the Ravens have been pretty active on the trade front as well. First, they traded DT Haloti Ngata to the Lions, receiving 4^th and 5^th round picks in the process. Second, they traded C Gino Gradkowski and a 2016 5^th round pick to the Broncos and received a 2016 4^th round pick.

Draft Picks

The Ravens really played around with the board, making numerous trades that netted them picks and lost them picks (note that they don't have a seventh round pick at all and that most of their later round picks are either compensatory or from other teams). Ultimately, they have ten picks and a lot of flexibility to move around the draft board should they need to.

Round 1 - Pick 26
Round 2 - Pick 58
Round 3 - Pick 90
Round 4 - Pick 122 (from Lions for Haloti Ngata)
Round 4 - Pick 125
Round 4 - Pick 136 (Compensatory Pick)
Round 5 - Pick 158 (from Lions for Haloti Ngata)
Round 5 - Pick 171 (Compensatory Pick)
Round 5 - Pick 176 (Compensatory Pick)
Round 6 - Pick 204 (from Cowboys for Rolando McClain)

Potential Needs

As I mentioned above, the Ravens have done a nice job trying to add or retain depth at positions of need in the secondary (and the d-line for that matter). But, there are still a few areas they will likely need to address. With TE Owen Daniels leaving for the Broncos, WR Torrey Smith heading to the Bay Area, and WR Jacoby Jones now in San Diego, the Ravens will want to bring in some people to pass catches.