How does the probable Snead signing affect the Ravens draft plans?

It’s official: the Baltimore Ravens believe they’ve rounded out their starting wide receiver corps by signing Saints’ slot man Willie Snead to a two-year $10.4 million dollar offer sheet. New Orleans has five days to match, but given their acquisition of Chicago’s Cameron Meredith, this seems unlikely.

So where do the Ravens stand with the NFL draft only six days away? Many fans and pundits speculated Baltimore will trend heavily to the offensive side of the ball, but with this move all from being officially made, should that still be their approach? The answer is a resounding yes.

Snead presents some promise for them as a slot receiver, but if Baltimore is serious about setting Joe Flacco up for success, this current group of pass catchers isn’t a complete solution. To round things out, they’ll need to look to the draft.

Honestly, at this point, their specific approach isn’t important. What they need to do is use their first few picks to get as much help for Joe Flacco as possible, whether it is keeping Joe upright, or drafting targets.

Targets could be wide receivers, tight ends, or even the right type of running back. Keeping him upright means protection in the form of a right tackle. Mike McGlinchey out of Notre Dame is a name that has been mentioned once or twice for them in round one, as has Calvin Ridley at wideout and Hayden Hurst or Mike Gesicki at tight end.

That list of names isn’t nearly the whole gamut; it’s just a shortlist of possible names in round one. Day two could see them target D.J. Chark, Michael Gallup, Dallas Goedert, and many other guys to help the passing game.

Regardless, Baltimore must continue their aggressive approach on building up the offensive side of the ball. They need to approach it as they did building up the defensive side of the ball in 2017, which was a tunnel-vision type perspective which only somewhat paid off.

The defense was great, as we all know, but the offense was left hamstrung and it cost them. All of those defensive pieces return in 2018, meaning if the Ravens build this offense up to a modern standard, they could be looking at a return to the playoffs.