{"id":41858,"date":"2025-04-18T02:09:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T02:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=41858"},"modified":"2025-04-18T02:09:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T02:09:04","slug":"breaking-news-ravens-to-prioritize-adding-dl-through-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=41858","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS: Ravens to Prioritize Adding DL Through Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Baltimore Ravens plan to pluck from a deep group of defensive linemen in this year’s NFL Draft.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Nov 23, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Mississippi Rebels defensive tackle Walter Nolen (2) and defensive end Princely Umanmielen (1) celebrate a sack against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images \/ Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Following the retirement of veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce this offseason and with Travis Jones heading into the final year of his rookie contract, the\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0need to reinforce and replenish their ranks along the interior of their defensive line.<\/p>\n

During a pre-draft press conference on Tuesday, general manager Eric DeCosta proclaimed that adding to the unit will “certainly be a priority” and fortunately, the 2025 crop of incoming defensive trench players is “fairly deep” by both his estimation and those of all the most prominent draft analysts.<\/p>\n

“We’ve always been a team that wants to be big and strong and powerful on both sides of the line, both sides of the ball,” DeCosta said. “I think there’s an opportunity to get better on the defensive line for sure.”<\/p>\n

This year’s class of defensive linemen is littered with players who can come in and contribute right away as specific role players, rotational pieces and even Day 1 starters if needed. The Ravens will be able to land difference-makers and quality depth pieces throughout, especially in the early and middle rounds.<\/p>\n

Pierce wasn’t just a space-eating one-technique who was integral to the Ravens’ top-ranked rush defense last season when he was healthy: he was also an underrated interior pass rusher who could generate pressures and flush the quarterback as well as take on and shed blocks to gobble up ball carriers for little to no gain.<\/p>\n

Some prospects they could target to\u00a0replace him from a run-stuffing standpoint\u00a0include Michigan’s Kenneth Grant in the late first round, Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams and Texas’ Alfred Collins on Day 2, and Indiana’s CJ West and Maryland’s Jordan Phillips early on Day 3.<\/p>\n

When it comes to prospects who can contribute right away as\u00a0interior pass rushers, a pair of first-round targets could be Oregon’s Derrick Harmon and Ole Miss’ Walter Nolen. A trio of prime Day 2 targets include Toledo’s Darius Alexander, South Carolina’s T.J. Sanders and Texas A&M’s Shemar Turner. An early Day 3 option who could prove to be a gem and whose only knock is being undersized is Virginia Tech’s Aeneas Peebles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Baltimore Ravens plan to pluck from a deep group of defensive linemen in this year’s NFL Draft. Nov 23, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Mississippi Rebels defensive… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING NEWS: Ravens to Prioritize Adding DL Through Draft - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=41858\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS: Ravens to Prioritize Adding DL Through Draft - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Baltimore Ravens plan to pluck from a deep group of defensive linemen in this year’s NFL Draft. 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