Eric DeCosta’s roster construction succeeds vs. Titans

A year ago, the Tennessee Titans beat the No. 1 seed Baltimore Ravens on national television. After 12-straight wins in the regular season, the Ravens were bounced after their No. 1 seed bye week. This left the franchise reeling.

That offseason, Eric DeCosta constructed the Ravens’ roster to never allow such postseason embarrassment to the Titans again.

List of moves made by Eric DeCosta

1. Traded for Jaguars DE Calais Campbell
2. Attempted to sign DE Michael Brockers, before signing DE Derek Wolfe
3. Drafted Patrick Queen
4. Drafted Malik Harrison
5. Drafted Justin Madubuike
6. Drafted Broderick Washington
7. Traded for Vikings DE/OLB Yannick Ngakoue

While many expressed frustrations on the lack of offensive weapons, DeCosta stuck to his structure of building up the Ravens’ defense, proven by his midseason acquisition of Ngakoue.

And after all was said and done, the late-season surge of wins to land the Ravens in the playoffs, the injuries, the chaos, the NFL script emerges with a Titans vs. Ravens rematch.

This game was the pass/fail test for DeCosta’s first roster construction. He spent the money and trade capital to build this roster. Regardless of injuries, this was his first true 53-man team of his design.

DeCosta passed the exam, and not by a small margin.

The narratives surrounding this team were quashed with this victory. This team proved:

• Lamar Jackson can win in the NFL playoffs.
• The Ravens can win after falling behind by double digits.
• The Ravens defense can contain Derrick Henry.

Regardless of the next matchup, DeCosta’s roster was a success. Obviously, it’s best if this team continues their winning in the playoffs and hoists a Lombardi Trophy, but for now, they accomplished their mission to win in the playoffs and not just be a regular season juggernaut.