Ravens News 3/5: All AFCN Team and more

2020 All-AFC North Team - Rob Weintraub

RB: J.K. Dobbins, BAL

Dobbins grabbed the featured runner spot in Baltimore with both hands as a rookie and wound up leading the league in DVOA.

TE: Mark Andrews, BAL

Andrews was easily the top tight end, though he was well off his 2019 standard.

OT: Orlando Brown, BAL

Brown, already a damn fine right tackle, took over for the injured Ronnie Stanley on the left side with such aplomb that he demanded a trade from Baltimore so he could do it full-time.

LB: Matt Judon, BAL

CB: Marlon Humphrey, BAL

K: Justin Tucker, BAL

RET: Devin Duvernay, BAL

Tucker actually looked human this season, leading up to his postseason debacle, but still was easily the best foot in the division. Duvernay led the Ravens to the most kickoff return points of any team, earning him the nod over Ray-Ray McCloud, who handled both kickoff and punt return duties for the Steelers, neither with any particular aplomb.

2021 NFL free agency: Projected market value for each position, who could earn the most at QB, RB, WR and more - Cody Benjamin

Offensive line

Top 2020 free agent earners: Jack Conklin ($14 million), Graham Glasgow ($11 million)

Projected top 2021 free agent earners: Trent Williams, Brandon Scherff, Joe Thuney

Projected market value: $13 million-$20 million per year

Quality blockers are always in high demand, and this year, there’s actually a solid group of plug-and-play starters at each position — Williams at tackle, Scherff and Thuney at guard, and Corey Linsley at center. Contenders with money to spend could easily dish out close to $20 million for a blind-side starter like Williams, while both Scherff and Thuney are Pro Bowl-caliber interior men.

Pass rusher

Top 2020 free agent earners: Dante Fowler Jr. ($15 million), Robert Quinn ($14 million)

Projected top 2021 free agent earners: Shaquil Barrett, Bud Dupree, Yannick Ngakoue

Projected market value: $15 million-$20 million per year

Teams have paid a pretty penny for pass rushers for a long time, which is why they easily have the highest monetary floor of any position group. Barrett could be tagged, but if he isn’t, he’ll want to rival the average salaries of guys like Cameron Jordan ($17.5 million), Frank Clark ($20.8 million) and Demarcus Lawrence ($21 million). Neither Dupree nor Ngakoue are necessarily elite on their own, but like others in this class (Trey Hendrickson, Matt Judon, Leonard Floyd), they’ll almost certainly get top-25 edge rusher money.

2021 NFL free agency matchmaking: One fit for each AFC team - Marc Sessler

Baltimore Ravens

Marvin Jones

WR | Age: 30

“What’s the point of having souljas when you never use them (Never!!)”

This quickly deleted November tweet by Ravens wideout Marquise Brown was not the final reminder that Baltimore’s blinding, run-heavy offense tends to leave some feeling unwanted. Adding a reliable veteran pass catcher for Lamar Jackson is overdue. He’s 30, but Jones led the Lions with a respectable 978 yards and nine scores last season. He’s rugged, keeps drops to a minimum and offers proven consistency. Ravens fans can scream for Kenny Golladay, but how do you convince a blue-chip wideout in his prime to join an air attack that ex-Ravens wideout Steve Smith Sr. labeled as “elementary school”?

2021 NFL Draft: Landing spots for PFF’s top 8 defensive line prospects - Anthony Treash

EDGE AZEEZ OJULARI, GEORGIA: BALTIMORE RAVENS

Ojulari may not be the biggest nor the strongest defensive line prospect, but he wins with his athleticism and is the most polished pass rusher in the class. Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who has his five-most played edge rushers set to hit free agency, would perk right up if he read that. Ojulari’s profile is precisely what the blitz-heavy Ravens are looking to add.

The speed rusher broke out in a big way in 2020, raising his 71.4 pass-rushing grade to 91.7, second in the FBS. Ojulari also forced three strip-sack fumbles and generated a 24.3% pass-rush win rate, ranking top five at his position in the FBS.

Ravens to propose revolutionary “spot and choose” overtime procedure - Mike Florio

Per multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, the Ravens will be proposing a pair of overtime procedures premised on the concept of “spot and choose.”

It works like this: One team picks the spot of the ball to start overtime, and the other team chooses whether to play offense or defense.

If the one team picks, for example, the offense’s own 20 yard line, the opponent would then choose whether to play offense from their own 20 or to play defense, with the other team having the ball on its own 20. This would minimize greatly the impact of the coin toss; under this proposal, the coin toss would be used only to give the team that wins the toss the right to pick the spot of the ball (along with the end zone to be defended) or to choose offense or defense.

Under one of the two proposals to be made by the Ravens, overtime would proceed in sudden-death fashion, with the first score by either team ending the game and up to 10 minutes of extra time. (If the game remains tied at that point, the game’s outcome would be a tie.) Under the other proposal (favored, we’re told, by Patriots coach Bill Belichick), the game would continue for another seven minutes and 30 seconds, without a sudden-death component. Whoever leads after the extra time has ended would be the winner. (Again, if the game remains tied after the extra session, the game’s outcome would be a tie.)