Moving beyond the initial disappointment of trading one of the greatest players in franchise history, the Ravens should feel good about the return they received in trading defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to the Detroit Lions.
Baltimore’s salary cap issues were no secret to anyone, so general manager Ozzie Newsome fetching fourth-round and fifth-round choices in this year’s draft for a 31-year-old entering the final year of a contract paying him $8.5 million this season is a strong haul, especially when most expected Ngata to be released if the Ravens couldn’t sign him to an extension. Mid-round picks shouldn’t be dismissed for an organization that’s seen two recent fifth-round choices — Arthur Jones and Pernell McPhee — receive big deals in free agency in the last two offseasons after strong runs in Baltimore.
The Ravens are now projected to have no fewer than 10 selections in this year’s draft as they currently hold seven picks and are expected to be rewarded at least three compensatory picks later this month. Newsome has his original draft choices in the first four rounds, the two picks from the Lions, and a sixth-round selection acquired from the Dallas Cowboys in last summer’s Rolando McClain trade.
Newsome dealt his original 2015 fifth-round pick to Tampa Bay for center Jeremy Zuttah last year and his 2015 sixth-round pick to Cleveland in order to draft wide receiver Michael Campanaro last year. The Ravens also traded a seventh-round choice to Detroit as part of the Ngata trade.
With obvious needs at wide receiver, tight end, running back, and in the secondary and just under $10 million in cap space to address them, Newsome and the Ravens will need to seize their opportunities in the draft beginning on April 30.
