5 names to consider ahead of the draft

Baltimore will need to hit the jackpot to fill positions of need with just five picks

After a 24-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night in the AFC wildcard round, the Ravens enter one of the most important offseasons in franchise history.

While questions about quarterback Lamar Jackson’s contract, pending free agents and the team’s salary cap are expected to linger for months, one piece of business has been finalized: where the Ravens will pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Baltimore owns the No. 22 overall selection in the first round, which begins April 27 in Kansas City. For the first time since 2010, the Ravens are not expected to receive a compensatory draft pick. That means, pending any additional moves, they have just five selections: No. 22 (first round) and No. 86 (third round), plus to-be-determined selections in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds. They traded their second-round selection and one of their fifth-round picks to the Chicago Bears for linebacker Roquan Smith, who last week agreed to a five-year contract extension worth a reported $100 million. Their seventh-round pick is also heading to the New York Giants as part of the deal for guard Ben Bredeson in August 2021. The Ravens’ fifth-round selection came from the New England Patriots, who acquired cornerback Shaun Wade in a 2021 trade.

With a potential extension or franchise tag coming for Jackson, the Ravens will need to rely on the draft more than ever to

fill out their roster. That puts even more scrutiny on their first-round selection, especially after safety Kyle Hamilton (No. 14 overall pick) and center Tyler Linderbaum (No. 25) contributed immediately this season.

Here are five players at positions of need who could be targets at No. 22.

Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba

It wouldn’t be a proper Ravens offseason without discussing wide receivers. Even with Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay returning next season, the Ravens need another weapon to boost one of the league’s worst passing attacks. Early 2023 mock drafts had the 6-foot-1, 200-pound SmithNjigba comfortably in the top 10 after his record-breaking Rose Bowl performance, but a disappointing 2022 season might push him toward the bottom of the first round. A hamstring injury limited the junior to just five catches for 43 yards in three games a year after he led the Buckeyes’ receiving corps — including future first-round draft picks Garett Wilson and Chris Olave — with 1,606 yards.