The Baltimore Ravens are dark-horse Super Bowl contenders heading into the 2023 season. A lot of that potential rests on Lamar Jackson remaining healthy, but the Ravens locking him into a long-term deal enabled the front office to get to work upgrading the roster around him.
For the first time in Jackson’s career, Baltimore dumped assets into the wide receiver position. The team signed Nelson Agholor and Odell Beckham Jr. in free agency before using their first-round pick on Zay Flowers out of Boston College.
That trio will be joining 2021 first-round pick, Rashod Bateman, and Devin Duvernay to form a deep, talented group of pass catchers. Don’t forget that the team also has all-world tight end Mark Andrews to lean on in the passing game as well.
If the Ravens were going to upgrade anywhere else on their offense, it would probably be at running back. The team has had some horrible luck at the position the last few years with multiple players suffering devastating injuries.
Last season it was Kenyan Drake that led the team with 109 carries as J.K. Dobbins recovered from a knee injury along with Gus Edwards. Edwards is heading into the final season of his contract, while the team could be concerned about Dobbins’ workload and health. The Ohio State product is also heading into the final season of his contract.
If that is the case, they could look to make a splash at the running back position. Whoever lines up in their backfield finds success as the Ravens led the league with 4.9 rushing yards per attempt.
One potential trade target for the Ravens could be Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers. There were some rumors earlier in the offseason that Green Bay could look to move Jones in an attempt to save some money. Instead, he had his contract restricted.
If Green Bay changes its mind, Baltimore would be a good landing spot for Jones. What could a trade between the Ravens and Packers look like? Eric DeCosta could offer a second and fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to Brian Gutenkust in exchange for Jones.
With A.J. Dillon in the fold, the Packers could be comfortable moving on from Jones and giving Dillon an expanded role in the backfield. In Baltimore, he would share the backfield with Dobbins and Edwards but provide the team with a more than capable lead dog.
Dobbins has excellent production but has only one career game in which he topped 15 carries. Looking to keep his workload in check, the Ravens would benefit from adding a player of Jones’ caliber who is versatile enough to handle whatever role is asked of him.
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