There are many schools of thought as to why the Baltimore Ravens haven’t been able to establish a consistently dangerous passing attack in recent years. One of the more popular theories simply has to do with a lack of top-end receiving talent on Baltimore’s depth chart.
No, we’re not being critical of All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews, but even as general manager Eric DeCosta pointed out, the receivers haven’t come close to living up to the standard set by Andrews. While it’s ironic for the team’s GM to be critical of his own roster, it’s hard to argue against his point.
We’ve seen the Ravens make a minor move to add Nelson Agholor to the receiver position, but Baltimore will need to make more impactful additions to the roster if they want to take the next step as an offense.
One potential solution could be trading for Arizona Cardinals star DeAndre Hopkins, who appears to be on the trade block. While Arizona’s asking price may be hard to meet, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes the Ravens have “at least looked into” adding a “high-end receiver” this offseason, specifically mentioning Hopkins and Denver’s Courtland Sutton.
Yet, one major issue could be Baltimore’s lack of draft capital this offseason. The Ravens have just five draft choices and are without their second-round pick after last season’s trade for Roquan Smith. While they do still hold the 22nd and 86th picks, they also have several other needs to fill.
Trading one or several picks for a 30-year-old receiver now could lead to bigger depth problems later. Perhaps that’s why we have yet to see the Ravens pull the trigger on a Hopkins or Sutton trade thus far.
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