2008 Baltimore Ravens Team Needs

Quarterback: This is clearly the most glaring need for the Ravens.  Steve McNair is an injury waiting to happen now at this stage of his career.   Kyle Boller has never lived up to his potential, and he appears to be a career backup.  Troy Smith is not exactly the long term solution at the quarterback position either, which means Baltimore will look to the draft to try and find their signal caller of the future.

Offensive line: Jonathan Ogden has all but retired, and it appears that the Ravens front office will not be able to talk him in to returning for another NFL season.  Baltimore did draft Marshal Yanda last season, and he played good in spurts.  Look for the Ravens to bring in even more young offensive linemen into camp to give them some much needed depth.

Cornerback: Last season, the Ravens played the majority of the year without Chris McAllister and Samari Rolle.  The secondary suffered when the aforementioned duo were not in the lineup.  David Pittman and Derrick Martin did not play like they were capable of being starters in this league, and opposing teams often picked on Corey Ivy when he was in the game.  The Ravens will likely start rebuilding the cornerback position via the draft.

Linebacker: Ray Lewis and Bart Scott are entering the final years of their contracts.  In 2007, the linebackers underachieved as a unit for Baltimore.  The major reason was the absence of Adalius Thomas, who left for New England via free agency. Speaking of free agency, Baltimore did sign Brandon Ayanbadejo away from the Chicago Bears.  Ayanbadejo should help steer the unit back in the right direction.  However, the Ravens figure to still look to address the need at linebacker by bringing in some much needed competition at the position as well as preparing for the future that could be without Scott and/or Lewis.

Draft Candidates: QB Matt Ryan, Boston College, QB Chad Henne, Michigan, OT Anthony Collins, Kansas, OT Kirk Barton, Ohio State, CB Trae Williams, South Florida, CB Antoine Cason, Arizona, LB Tavares Gooden, Miami, LB Vince Hall, Virginia Tech