Ravens 2022 Draft: Biggest remaining needs after Day 1

After a wild opening night of the 2022 NFL Draft that saw the Baltimore Ravens receive high grades and plenty of praise for their first-round selections, they still have several needs left to address. While Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton and Iowa Center Tyler Linderbaum are the top players at their respective positions in this year’s draft, neither pick filled the biggest holes on their roster and by trading wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, the team created a new one.

EDGE

After refusing to stop the freefall of Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson, twice, and bypassing Purdue’s George Karlaftis who had been linked to them in several mocks heading into the draft, the Ravens are still in need of reinforcements on the edge at outside linebacker. Thankfully, there are several quality options at the position still available and they are equipped with enough mid-round picks to move up to the top of the second round if there is one they like in particular, or if a run at the position starts before they’re first slated to be on the clock on Day 2. Some of the top remaining edge defenders include Arnold Ebiketie of Penn State, Boye Mafe of Minnesota and Josh Paschal of Kentucky.

Offensive tackle

Even though they signed Morgan Moses in free agency and Ronnie Stanley’s latest medical checkup was positive, the Ravens still lack depth at offensive tackle. As of right now, Patrick Mekari is the primary backup at center and will be in contention with Ja’Wuan James to be the swing tackle. However, after being snake-bitten by the position in 2021, additional insurance behind Stanley in case he suffers a setback in his recovery or gets hurts again is needed. There are still several promising prospects at tackle left on the board that will be ripe for the taking on Day 2, such as Bernhard Raimann of Central Michigan, Daniel Faalele of Minnesota and Nicholas Petit-Frere of Ohio State.

Cornerback

While the Ravens’ secondary got a major boost with the selection of Hamilton, who possesses a diverse skill set, he doesn’t play corner and they are still razor-thin at the position behind starters Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey heading into Day 2. Luckily, there are still some starting caliber prospects at the position available, including, Kyler Gordan of Washington, Andrew Booth of Clemson and Rodger McCreary of Auburn.

Wide receiver

For the first time in what seemed like franchise history, the Ravens entered a draft in which wide receiver was not one of their top perceived needs. That was until they traded Brown to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for the No. 23 overall pick, which was then used in a trade down scenario to acquire Linderbaum at No. 25. The cupboard isn’t bare in Baltimore, but they now find themselves in need of a speedster and could use some more size at the position as well after the release of Miles Boykin last week. Even though there was a run on wideouts in the first round, there are still several prospects that could fit the roles they need to fill to pick from. They could explore taking George Pickens of Georgia, Skyy Moore of Western Michigan and Christian Watson of North Dakota State.

Defensive tackle

After the Philadelphia Eagles leapfrogged the Ravens to take Jordan Davis, who had been projected to them in countless mock drafts, many believed it caused them to pivot their plan. Given that this class isn’t perceived as one rich with interior defensive line talent, Day 2 might be where the team could target some young talented prospects at the position. Some options slated to come off the board in the second round include Travis Jones of UConn, Logan Hall of Houston, and Phidarian Mathis of Alabama.

Tight end

This position is one of their most underrated yet necessary remaining needs as they have yet to fill the complementary pass-catching role after Hayden Hurst was traded to the Atlanta Falcons back in 2020. Thankfully, there weren’t any tight ends selected in the first round so the Ravens will have their pick of the talented litter starting Friday night and they might even wait until Saturday to take one. Some intriguing Day 2 prospects at the position include Trey McBride of Colorado State, Jeremy Ruckert of Ohio State, and Greg Dulcich of UCLA.

Running back

Day 2 and particularly early in the second round has been a sweet spot where many of the top running backs in the league have been selected. Given that the Ravens don’t need a featured back, they might wait until the third round or perhaps even Day 3 to take one so don’t be surprised if another day goes by without them addressing the position. Some of the top options that will likely fly off the board early on day two are Breece Hall of Iowa State, Kenneth Walker III of Michigan State, and Isaiah Spiller of Texas A&M. However, some players in the range that they’re most likely going to consider taking one are Dameon Peirce of Florida and both James Cook and Zamir White of Georgia.