MVP of the Week: Eric DeCosta

The Ravens are on their bye week, but that doesn’t mean that I will not be handing out an MVP award. Baltimore made headlines last week by trading for edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue from the Vikings for a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2020 fifth-round pick.

At 25 years old, Ngakoue gives the Ravens that premier pass rusher that the defense has been missing. Ngakoue will reunite with former teammate Calais Campbell and will join Matthew Judon, Pernell McPhee, Brandon Williams, Derek Wolfe, and Tyus Bowser to give Baltimore one of the deadliest defensive fronts in the NFL.

This acquisition, along with the reports that Dez Bryant is expected to sign to the practice squad, is why I’m giving this week’s MVP award to none other than general manager Eric DeCosta.

DeCosta has made quite the name for himself in just his second year on the job after replacing Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome. In his first year, DeCosta rebuilt the defense during the season by signing several free agents such as ILB Josh Bynes, ILB L.J. Fort, DT Domata Peko Sr., and DE Jihad Ward. The biggest move DeCosta made towards turning Baltimore’s defense into one of the league’s best last year, however, was when he traded a fifth-round pick and ILB Kenny Young to the Rams in exchange for future All-Pro CB Marcus Peters.

Nobody takes advantage of fifth-round picks more than DeCosta. Prior to the start of the 2019 season, he traded backup K Kaare Vedvik to the Vikings for a fifth-rounder, and just this offseason traded a fifth-rounder to the Jaguars for Campbell.

DeCosta has shown that he is willing to make the required trades to bolster the roster during a Super Bowl window with an MVP QB on a rookie deal. The question is, is another move up DeCosta’s sleeve before the trade deadline on November 3?