The Baltimore Ravens are coming off an injury-plagued 2015 campaign that saw them finish with just five wins, the team's worst record since 2007. Joe Flacco, Justin Forsett and Steve Smith missed a combined 21 games.
Equally as important, the Ravens' defense took a major step back. Terrell Suggs missed 15 games on the defensive side of the ball. This led to a regression from a pass-rush standpoint. More than anything, it also led to some major struggles against the pass.
In attempting to overcome major holes on both sides of the ball, Baltimore finds itself in a precarious position heading into the offseason. What are the team's biggest needs?
In continuing with this 32 article series, here's a look at the top needs for the Baltimore Ravens as well as a seven-round mock draft we ran through the FanSpeak mock draft simulator. We manually picked for Baltimore while the picks for all other 31 teams were selected by the simulator.
1. Cornerback
With a struggling Lardarius Webb moving to free safety, Baltimore needs to address what was a major weakness last season. In fact, an argument could be made that the team needs to find two rotational corners, including at least one starter opposite Jimmy Smith. Neither Kyle Arrington nor Will Davis are starters in the NFL. And outside of that, the team doesn't have a single corner that should see the field on a consistent basis on a good pass defense.
2. Offensive Tackle
Rick Wagner did improve to an extent from the right tackle position after struggling through his first two NFL seasons. But in no way is he an above-average player, let alone a plus-level pass protector. Needless to say, Wagner can't be relied on should the Ravens be forced to move him to left tackle. That might become an eventuality with current blindside protector Eugene Monroe missing a combined 15 games over the past two seasons.
Needless to say, Baltimore finds itself in position to potentially have to add two offensive tackles in the offseason, including someone that can step in at left tackle. In this, Notre Dame's Ronnie Stanley might make sense at six.
3. Wide Receiver
Steve Smith is planning on returning next season after tearing his Achilles this past year. But at 36 years old, there's no telling whether he will ever return to full health. Baltimore also saw rookie first-round pick Breshad Perriman miss his entire first season in the NFL due to injury. This left veteran journeyman Kamar Aiken as the team's leading receiver with 75 receptions for 944 yards.
While Aiken should continue to play an important role in Baltimore's offense, he's not a No. 1 receiver on a good team. And in reality, there's no telling whether Smith or Perriman will return anywhere near 100 percent. This makes wide receiver a huge need, likely as early as the second round.
4. Running Back
Can Baltimore rely on Justin Forsett to carry the load next season? He did have one good year back in 2014, but struggled big time prior to injury this past season. Joe Flacco could very well have success moving forward, but it's been proven that he needs a running game to lead the Ravens to the postseason. With two top-end running back prospects expected to go in the first round, there's a decent chance Baltimore could take a chance later in the draft. That would be my bet right now.
5. Defensive End
Chris Canty is gone after the team released him earlier this month. All said, Ravens defensive ends recorded a total of 5.5 sacks last season. While this isn't necessarily a defense that requires defensive ends to get to the quarterback, there should at least be some threat in front of the team's elite-level outside linebacker duo of Elvis Dumervil and the aforementioned Suggs. In addition to this, the Ravens simply need to get someone to fill the gaps to create outside lanes for these EDGE rushers. The only guy they have on the roster to do this right now is Lawrence Guy.
Mock Draft | Round | Player | Position | Team |
| 1 | Vernon Hargreaves | Cornerback | Florida |
| 2 | Josh Doctson | Wide Receiver | TCU |
| 3 | Kyle Murphy | Offensive Tackle | Stanford |
| 4 | C.J. Prosise | Running Back | Notre Dame |
| 4 | Maliek Collins | Defensive End | Nebraska |
| 4 | Hassan Ridgeway | Defensive End | Texas |
| 4 | Maurice Canady | Cornerback | Virginia |
| 5 | Kenny Iloka | Safety | TCU |
| 6 | Kevin Hogan | Quarterback | Stanford |