ExtremeRavens Posted 12 hours ago Posted 12 hours ago INDIANAPOLIS — The connective tissue between Ravens coach Jesse Minter and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald goes back years, to the long days inside the Ravens’ defensive meeting rooms from 2017 to 2020. Minter handled the defensive backs. Macdonald oversaw the linebackers. The friendship endured after their paths diverged, and the conversations never really stopped. So when Macdonald’s Seahawks lifted the Lombardi Trophy earlier this month, in just his second season as a head coach, Minter didn’t have to search far for the lesson. He had seen it before, this year and last with the Philadelphia Eagles. “It’s an O-line, D-line driven league,” Minter said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine. “Just look at the Super Bowl winners of the last couple of years. I think that’s really where you start. How have these teams won that final game? Two years ago, it was the Eagles’ O-line, D-line driven. This year, Seattle — same deal. That’s always an area you’re trying to get better.” For Baltimore, that search is already underway. When the Ravens go on the clock with the 14th overall pick, Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods or Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell could fit the bill — disruptive, forceful players who reflect the kind of line-of-scrimmage dominance Minter is describing. Woods, a 6-foot-3, 310-pound interior defender, was among the prospects who met with Baltimore this week. Draft analyst Lance Zierlein described Woods less as a space-eating anchor than an “active brawler,” a player whose value lies in helping form what he called a pocket-collapsing collective. The most common comparison: Christian Wilkins. The main critique attached to Woods — shorter arms — doesn’t seem to trouble him. “It’s easy to say his arms are short, but what’s on tape is on tape,” Woods said. “One of the best things I do is getting control of a man who presumably has longer arms than me, striking him and discarding him. I don’t really see that as a problem.” There are already a few Baltimore threads in his orbit. Woods has known Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins since their recruiting days at Clemson. Production hasn’t been absent, either. Over the past two seasons, Woods recorded 12 tackles for loss and five sacks, along with 58 tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble — the sort of interior disruption that could help a Ravens defense that, per ESPN analytics, finished 28th in pass rush win rate and produced just 30 sacks, third fewest in the league. Help is needed on the edge, too. Outside linebackers Dre’Mont Jones, Kyle Van Noy and David Ojabo are all scheduled to reach free agency. The defensive line needs depth, too, given the uncertainty surrounding Nnamdi Madubuike’s neck injury. “There’s such immense pride in that building for how you play defense, and it hasn’t been up to their standard,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Wednesday. He should know since he once worked in Baltimore’s scouting department. “When they’re at their best, they are big — big everywhere. “They want to be kind of a bully, and I think they got away from that a little bit.” Texas A&M defensive lineman Cashius Howell recorded 25 sacks over the past three seasons, including 11 1/2 last year. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) Howell, meanwhile, offers a different kind of appeal. The 6-2, 248-pound edge rusher piled up 25 sacks over the past three seasons, including 11 1/2 last year, and scouts are intrigued by the burst. “He’s got legit giddyup speed,” Jeremiah said, suggesting that Howell could threaten the 4.4-second range in the 40-yard dash. Both Woods and Howell are widely expected to hear their names called in the first round. But the Ravens could also pivot — perhaps toward Penn State guard Vega Ioane — and still address the defensive front later, given the depth of this year’s class. Penn State edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton, a former standout at Owings Mills’ McDonogh School, fits another familiar Ravens archetype: versatile, relentless, comfortable moving across the front. The organization has mined Penn State before, selecting Odafe Oweh and Adisa Isaac in recent years. “I feel like I could do whatever on the field,” Dennis-Sutton said. “I could play on the edge. I could play inside if you need me to. I could rush the punter.” The Ravens’ options are not confined to the draft. Free agency — beginning with the legal tampering window March 9 — offers another path. One of the most prominent names potentially available is Cincinnati Bengals star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who led the league in sacks two seasons ago. He would come at a steep cost, though Baltimore could create cap flexibility if it extends or restructures quarterback Lamar Jackson’s contract. “It depends on a lot of factors,” general manager Eric DeCosta said. “Who’s available? What’s that contract going to look like? We certainly know that we have to augment the pass rush and improve there. When we look at the best defenses, we see a ferocious pass rush, and that was lacking this year for different reasons.” DeCosta also acknowledged that he likes this year’s class of pass rushers. “I feel certain that we’ll have a chance to add a couple draft picks this year who can help us on third downs,” he said. However it unfolds — draft, free agency, or some combination of the two — the need is clear, and the philosophy behind it is not particularly complicated. It is the same principle Minter saw up close years ago and again this winter from afar. “[With] the pass rush, there’s a lot of factors that go into rushing the passer well,” Minter said. “Sometimes it’s playing with the lead, sometimes it’s blitzing more. There are a lot of ways to affect it. I feel like we have some young, ascending players who can help us there. “And it’s always a position you’re looking for more.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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