Welcome to my new column. I first have to thank John Harbaugh. His “I couldn’t care less what Ryan Mink thinksThe comment (with a smile) last week was the inspiration. So here goes nothing. Harbs won’t mind, but I hope so!
Dunkin ‘, Coca-Cola, chips, Pearl Jam and extra straws. These are things that Eric DeCosta likes, and he would probably choose the draft in the first round.
The Ravens have long been the king of the NFL’s compensatory choices. No team has been awarded more than 53 from Baltimore since the system was implemented in 1994 – two years before the Ravens even existed.
But this year is different. This year offers a unique opportunity to store extra selections that makes leaving good young talent even more understandable, even if it is still painful. This year, this makes the Ravens’ longstanding strategy even stronger.
After only getting two compensatory choices for the NFL’s 2021 Draft, a number that probably left DeCosta feeling a little undermined, the Ravens could get three extra compensatory choices in the third round next year.
Baltimore will already have one for the loss of David Culley to the Houston Texans, as part of the NFL’s diversity hiring initiative. With Matthew Judon’s departure for New England and Yannick Ngakoue’s departure for Las Vegas, there are two more potential gifts for the third round.
To protect them, Ravens cannot deny losses with other free agent additions – that is, unless they have been released by their previous team. For years, the Ravens scoured the cap casualty market for bargains. This year, the harvest is richer because of stricter wage cap restrictions.
That’s why guard Kevin Zeitler hit the market. It is not because he is not a good player (he is), but because the New York Giants were in purgatory with a salary cap. And there are more players like him.
If the Ravens can meet their remaining needs by adding players who have been cut off, re-signing their own free agents or signing deals that do not make up for the losses of Judon and Ngakoue, they will be richly rewarded. And with more free agents still around, the Ravens have a chance to add more compensatory choices in later rounds as well.
Sure, the Ravens would love to have kept Judon and Ngakoue, but after a dozen players went to the Pro Bowl in 2019, we all knew that Baltimore wouldn’t be able to keep everyone. They rehired Marlon Humphrey and Ronnie Stanley for mega deals last year, and there’s only room for so many of those contracts when Lamar Jackson is coming.
With Jackson approaching what will be a second massive contract, the Ravens will have to build a cheaper list around him, while maintaining a high level of talent. The best way to do this is with more draft options.
So keep accumulating those choices, because the Ravens will need more jewelry from Mark Andrews and Orlando Brown Jr. in the third round. They will need more robberies from Judon in the fifth round. And each choice is another chance.
Four choices from the draft of the third round next year? You can bet DeCosta’s mouth is salivating thinking about that possibility as he dips his donut this morning.