Getty The Baltimore Ravens are an ideal fit for a Pro-Bowl pass-rusher who's on the trade block.
Rolling into the 2023 NFL season with inexperienced duo David Ojabo and Odafe Oweh as their primary edge-rushers is a risk the Baltimore Ravens don’t need to take. Not when Danielle Hunter is potentially on the trade block.
The Minnesota Vikings’ defensive end fits how the Ravens have recruited at pass-rusher in recent years, according to Pro Football Network’s Dallas Robinson: “In recent seasons, the Ravens have received ample snaps from aging edge defenders like Houston, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Pernell McPhee. Compared to that group, the 28-year-old Hunter would be a spring chicken.”
Hunter’s a three-time Pro Bowler, but he’s sitting out of mandatory minicamp because of a contract dispute with the Vikes, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who also noted how his colleague Ian Rapoport reported there have already been calls about a potential trade.
The Ravens should take advantage with the kind of deal they’ve been fond of making in recent seasons, with Robinson noting how “Baltimore has been willing to trade draft picks for veteran assets in the past. Just last year, the Ravens shipped their second-round selection to the Bears for linebacker Roquan Smith, whom they subsequently made the highest-paid player at his position.”
A trade for Hunter would add the missing link to an otherwise potentially dominant defense. It would also give the Ravens a marquee, longer-term replacement for aging edge defenders Justin Houston and Jason Pierre-Paul, both of whom remain free agents.
Ravens Know the Value of Experience on the Edge
Pierre-Paul and Houston are both 34, but they still combined for 12.5 of the team’s 48 sacks last season. The Ravens knew what they were getting from Houston and JPP, proven commodities with a natural flair for hunting quarterbacks and pressuring the pocket.
It’s a talent shared by Hunter, who recorded the fourth campaign with double-digit sacks of his career. Hunter logged 10.5 QB takedowns despite transitioning to outside linebacker in the Vikings’ 3-4 defense.
The switch means Hunter would be a fit in Baltimore, where the Ravens still run a hybrid version of a 3-4. Mixing three- and four-man lines means there are still ample opportunities for Ravens’ edge-rushers to put their hands on the ground and rush, the same alignment from which Hunter does his best work.
No. 99 showed how effective he is rushing from a four-point stance with this strip-sack of Daniel Jones against the New York Giants last season.
Hunter fits with what the Ravens like to do defensively, and he’d help them generate more consistent pressure. Coordinator Mike Macdonald’s unit mustered a pressure percentage of just 19.2, one of the lowest in the NFL, per Pro Football Reference. The same source detailed how Hunter created 34 pressures by himself in 2022.
Acquiring Hunter could be done for a reasonable price, with Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport outlining a scenario involving the Ravens parting with second and fourth-round picks. That’s a relative bargain for a prolific sack artist who would elevate the young edge-rushers the Ravens are betting on in a big way ahead of the new season.
Ravens Need Experience Among Pass Rush
The Ravens remained so reliant on players in the winters of their career like Pierre-Paul and Houston because their obvious successors struggled. Injuries were a big reason why, but Oweh and Ojabo still combined for just four sacks.
Expectations are understandably higher for ’23, and the early signs are positive Ojabo and Oweh can match the hype. The duo has been “very noticeable” at minicamp, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic: “David Ojabo came off the edge to end another play, which was whistled dead to signify a sack. Ojabo continued to flash as he did throughout OTAs.”
While these are positive glimpses, the Ravens still lack experience and a proven track record on the edges. Ojabo is a second-year pro whose rookie season was limited to just two games after he tore his Achilles at Michigan’s pro day, while Oweh has recorded a mere eight sacks in two years.
The experience should come from Tyus Bowser, but the six-year pro is still dealing with the Achilles injury that limited him to four starts last season. Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh isn’t expecting Bowser to be fully up to speed before training camp, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
There’s room for an established pass-rusher, and Hunter is better than most. Snapping him up for less than first-round draft value would be classic Ravens.
