Three unrestricted free agents Ravens need to aim for the NFL Draft in 2024.
The Ravens should consider including at least one of these players on their roster.
The Baltimore Ravens recently experienced yet another heartbreaking postseason loss. This time, the Ravens advanced all the way to the AFC Championship Game before losing a 17-10 slopberknocker to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The defeat made it clear that Baltimore needs additional attacking weapons. By using free agency, the team signed Derrick Henry, a running back, to a two-year contract. On that side of the ball, though, the Ravens still appear to need some additional talent for Lamar Jackson.
In 2023, Baltimore had the best record in the NFL with a 13-4 record, so not many problems exist. However, the Ravens’ yearly postseason exits raise red flags and suggest that the squad is not assembled correctly for a Super Bowl run.
Using their first-round pick on Clemson star Nate Wiggins and their fourth-round selection of Iowa State’s T.J. Tampa, the Ravens targeted the cornerback position in the NFL Draft. Nevertheless, some of their other, more pressing demands were unmet.
Thankfully, several players can still help Baltimore in 2024 who are available to sign free agents.
As training camp draws near, the Ravens should consider these three names.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling- Wide Reciever
Baltimore keeps ignoring the wide receiver position year after year.
The Ravens did not choose a wide receiver until the fourth round of the draft and did not sign any in free agency. They did, in fact, lose a vital member of the roster from the previous season when Odell Beckham Jr. signed a contract with the Miami Dolphins.
While Beckham wasn’t exactly the best backup to Zay Flowers in Baltimore this past season, he is still a better alternative than what the Ravens now have available.
In all fairness, Baltimore was unable to spend lavishly on Calvin Ridley, so it makes sense that the Ravens chose not to pursue that option. But you’re telling me that they were unable to put on a show for Curtis Samuel or K.J. Osborn?
Though there aren’t many elite wide receivers left, Marquez Valdes-Scantling might be the finest.
During his final years with the Kansas City Chiefs, Valdes-Scantling contributed to the team’s back-to-back Super Bowl victories. In the AFC Championship Game, he even made a couple of huge catches against the Ravens.
Undoubtedly, the 29-year-old is not a top-tier receiver. It’s unlikely that he is even a low-end No. 2. However, adding Valdes-Scantling to a receiving corps that already features Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, and upcoming rookie DeVontez Walker looks like a smart move because Baltimore needs depth at the position right now.
Two years ago, while playing for the Green Bay Packers, Valdes-Scantling caught 47 catches for 687 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also demonstrated big-play ability by hauling in 33 receptions for 690 yards and six scores in 2020. With 20.9 yards per catch that season, he topped the NFL.
For Jackson, who hasn’t really had a deep group of receivers since joining the league in 2018, he might be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Yannick Ngakoue-Edge Rusher
Two prominent players on the defensive end of the field, linebacker Patrick Queen and edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, left the Ravens this offseason via free agency. In 2023, the two stars combined for 13 sacks, and Baltimore hasn’t been able to match that total to date.
The Ravens led the league in sacks (60) last season, and a big part of their success was getting to opposing quarterbacks. However, with the departure of two essential pieces of its 2023 pass rush, Baltimore’s ability to accumulate sacks has just gotten harder.
The good news is that Clowney’s opposite, Yannick Ngakoue, is still available.
Ngakoue, who played for the Chicago Bears in 2023, had a lackluster season in which he recorded 22 tackles and four sacks. But before that, he had never had fewer than eight sacks in a single season since entering the NFL in 2016.
In actuality, Ngakoue has only been out of the game for two years after recording 9.5 sacks with the Indianapolis Colts and 10 sacks with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021. Maybe 2023 was just an anomaly for the 29-year-old because it’s difficult to believe that he plummeted off a cliff with the Bears.
After playing for five different clubs over his first four years of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ngakoue has virtually been a mercenary since 2020. Clowney, who is currently at his fifth ballclub since 2019, is in a similar situation.
Furthermore, what do you know? Most of Ngakoue’s NFL career, he has likely been a better player than Clowney.
The production that Clowney and Queen left behind must be replaced by the Ravens. Adding Ngakoue would be a crucial step for the AFC contenders, after they failed to make it through the draft.
Justin Simmons: Safety
Are the Ravens in desperate need of safety? No, but they did lose Geno Stone in free agency to the Cincinnati Bengals, their division rivals, and they haven’t been able to find a replacement for him.
How about pursuing Justin Simmons?
Surprisingly, Simmons is still available on the free agent market despite the Denver Broncos cutting him in the first part of March. Not only did Simmons record 70 tackles, a sack, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and eight passes defended in his previous season, but he also emerged from a Pro Bowl. It was also his fourth nomination to the Second Team All-Pro in the previous five years.
Why, therefore, is he once again available?
It is plausible that the 30-year-old is only requesting an excessive amount of money. Or perhaps he is just holding out for the perfect opportunity.
Simmons may definitely be given a lot of playing time by the Ravens, and if he signs with them, he’ll be a part of an impressive safety rotation that already includes Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton.
Once more, Baltimore does not desperately need a safety, and in any case, the safety position is no longer as important in the modern NFL. However, Simmons is a seasoned player with a strong record, and the Ravens are renowned for having strong, deep defenses.
Baltimore’s situation in 2024 would only become better with Simmons in the mix.
