Ravens remodeled defensive line could be the best in the league

In the past, the Baltimore Ravens defensive line depth chart has been littered with 300 plus pound behemoths that specialize stuffing the run first in foremost with their massive space-eating frames and stocky builds.

After watching their beefy interior that included gap fillers Brandon Williams and Michael Pierce—who were widely recognized as the best run stiffing tandem in the league—got torn asunder in their divisional round defeat this past postseason and then witnessing the San Francisco 49ers’ uber-athletic defensive front wreak shop throughout the playoffs and nearly secure them a Superbowl title, the Ravens and General Manager Eric DeCosta were inspired to stray away from their typical archetype for their interior defensive linemen this offseason.

DeCosta and Co. saw that the best way to disrupt modern-day offenses whether they’re run heavy like the Tennessee Titans or pass-happy like the Kansas City Chiefs is to have athletic defensive lineman that can get great penetration to not only stuff the run consistently but put constant pressure on opposing quarterback’s at a high rate as well. This inspired them to target players and prospects of a different ilk to remake their depth chart at the position.

It all started with the acquisition of Calais Campbell via trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2020 fifth-round pick. Then they let Pierce walk in free agency and he went on to sign a sizable contract for the Minnesota Vikings—he’ll fetch a pretty high compensatory pick in next year’s draft.

In free agency, they resigned Jihad Ward and Justin Ellis who was part of the midseason reclamation project of the defense last season and were able to get former Denver Bronco Derek Wolfe for a steal on a one year deal after their contract with Rams’ Michael Brockers fell through. A month later in the draft, they picked up a pair of young defensive linemen from the lone star state with the selection of Justin Madubuike (Texas A&M) in the third round and Broderick Washington (Texas Tech) in the fifth.

With the exception of Ellis who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 350 pounds, all of the other aforementioned defensive linemen are taller, weigh under or right around 300 pounds, and have slender athletic builds than the traditional bulky interior players that the Ravens have employed in years past. Former franchise greats and fan favorites like Tony Siragusa, Kelly Gregg, recently Pierce and currently Williams to name a few, have all been more or less built the same and weighed well over 300 pounds.

What’s the significance of mentioning the size and dimensions of Ravens past and present?

The Ravens got more athletic and more versatile in the overhaul of the middle of their defense this offseason and it could pay major dividends in the fall. These new additions will not only improve their interior pass rush but their edge rush as well. The presence of Campbell, Wolfe, and Madubuike wreaking havoc up the middle will take some of the attention and pressure away from their outside linebackers crashing off the edge.

That means that Matthew Judon could break the double-digit sack threshold in a contract year after being franchise-tagged this offseason, rising sophomore Jaylon Ferguson could break out big time in year two, veteran Pernell McPhee could have a nice bounce-back year after ending last season on injured reserve and Tyus Bowser could see a boom in his production in the final year of his rookie deal.

Interior pass rush and interior pass rushers have become very valuable in recent years with the accession of players like Aaron Donald and Chris Jones who routinely finish among the league leaders in sacks and pressures. Even though he is the elder statesmen of the bunch, Campbell is still a game wrecker up the middle and his 71 pressures in 2019 were the second most among interior linemen and 11th among all defensive linemen.

Wolfe’s potential impact on the defense and the value at which the Ravens were able to get him at can’t be overstated or underestimated. He was on pace for a career year through the first 12 games of 2019 with seven sacks before his season was cut short by an elbow injury. He’s an upgrade from a pass rush standpoint over what they would’ve been getting from Brockers and the fact that he’s coming at about a third of the cost makes the overall value of the acquisition an absolute steal of a deal at a base salary of just $3 million with another $3 million in incentives.

He could have an even greater impact than Campbell on the production of the edge rushers this season. For years, he did the dirty work for the Broncos in the trenches and set up their outside linebackers like Von Miller, Demarcus Ware and Bradley Chubb up for sacks, pressures and quarterback hits that otherwise could’ve been his but the play wasn’t drawn up for him to be the looper on stunts, twists and in certain blitz packages.

A big reason why he was enjoying his best season to date last season is that his former head coach Vic Fangio brought over his system from his time in Chicago with the Bears that schemed up plays for every one of his players to make plays and get sacks, not just the perimeter guys. While he’ll get his fair share of one on one opportunities in Baltimore since they have so much talent around him, the fact that he excels at gobbling up blockers to spring his teammates to come off the edge or up the middle without hardly being touched will be a huge asset that defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale will most certainly take advantage of.

While Washington will likely be relegated to a backup role as a rookie that will have to fight to make the game-day roster, Madubuike has the potential to play a significant role in the defense in year one. He could be both Campbell’s and Wolfe’s primary backup at either three or five-technique which means that he could see a decent-sized workload in what will be a heavy rotation upfront for a Ravens’ defense that want’s to spell their veterans early and often to keep them fresh.

In a rotational role on this defense that is now loaded from front to back and even in between thanks to his draft classmates Patrick Queen (LSU) and Malik Harrison (OSU), the former Aggie could be dark horse candidate to win Defensive Rookie of the Year honors if he piles up sacks and pressures while being groomed by one of the best in the game in Campbell as his mentor.

Williams will still be the anchor in the middle of the unit and the best run defender of the bunch. He was playing some of his best football down the stretch last season and has improved as an interior pass rusher even though it doesn’t reflect itself in the stat sheet—he did record a career-high five quarterback hits in 2019. He’ll be an excellent mentor for rising sophomore Daylon Mack who spent nearly all of last season on injured reserve but plays the same position and at 6-foot-1 and 340 pounds is built like Williams who is 6-foot-1 and 336 pounds.

While some may point to the lack of a premier pass-rushing talent on the edge as a knock on this unit, the collective talent and skillsets of this group will both complement and elevate the play of defense as a whole.

The moves that DeCosta made this offseason will enable the Ravens’ defense to generate more pressure and get to the quarterback quicker without having to send more than five or six defenders. This will lead to more coverage sacks and possibly even more turnovers from quarterbacks making rash decisions because they are being flushed out of constantly collapsing pockets. The Ravens 37 sacks as a team ranked 21st in the league last season and thanks to some new additions, that number could go way up in 2020 thanks to their brilliantly remodeled defensive line that could emerge as the best unit in the league this year.

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