Baltimore Ravens: 2021 NFL Draft and offseason team needs

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Baltimore Ravens wide receivers Marquise Brown and Dez Bryant (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

The Baltimore Ravens once again failed to make a major splash in the postseason after losing to the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.

Their offense could not get it going as the team struggled to score many points and yards for the majority of the game. Once you included the fact that quarterback Lamar Jackson was forced to leave the game with a concussion, then it was probably the team’s worst showing all season.

Yes, the Ravens’ defense kept them in the game, but heading into the 2021 offseason, the team will need to get better pieces to compliment Jackson in the offense.

This offseason could mirror that of the post-Super Bowl XLVII win where the team paid then quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco top dollar and were forced to lose many skill players.

In this year’s draft, there are some key and glaring needs the team must solve, wide receiver is the biggest, and some that could possibly become an issue depending on how general manager Eric DeCosta handles free agency. Let’s take a look at the top positions of need for the Baltimore Ravens this offseason.

Baltimore Ravens 2021 NFL Draft needs

Wide Receiver

Is it the lack of talent at the position, or is Jackson really not that good at throwing the ball?

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Either way you slice the question, the team needs to improve at the position. A group of Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown, Dez Bryant, Willie Snead, Antonio Gandy-Golden, and Miles Boykin are not getting the job done.

It was rumored that Jackson was pushing for the team to sign Antonio Brown, but they never did. Instead, the team would sign Bryant late in the season. Yes, this team has a great run game with Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins and a great tight end in Mark Andrews, but Brown is not the game-changing wideout they thought he would be.

In this draft, the team should target a big, physical, 50/50 ball wideout with their first-round pick. It’s a shame that Ohio State wideout Chris Olave opted out of the draft, but the team could target LSU wideout Terrace Marshall Jr. or Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman late in the first.

If the team chooses to take a rookie to pay much less and focus on paying Jackson, or signing a top-flight free agent wideout, it needs to solve this position for the sake of their offensive progression.

Wide receiver is the biggest hole on this roster, and if they can solve the issue, it will help their case in staying as a playoff team and developing Jackson further.

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