MW: I think you really need to address the whole offensive line. That, to me, is their biggest weakness right now. I think Michael Oher has been a little bit disappointing. He’s certainly better at right tackle than he is at left tackle, but he’s not one of the best right tackles in the league. He’s fine. I don’t think you do anything to replace him. I think [Marshal] Yanda is as good of a right guard as you’re going to find in this league. He’s a stud. All’s well there. I still think [Matt] Birk can give you another solid season, but you have to be worried about his age. I think a replacement needs to be considered ASAP. Peter Konz out of Wisconsin would be a great Ravens first pick because he could probably come in at left guard, which I think is the weakest spot on the line. I don’t think Jah Reid is the answer; he’s a tackle. A guy like Konz could be your starter at guard and maybe he takes over at center full time. I’m not a fan at all of Bryant McKinnie, either. I think he had a couple games here and there that were good, but he’s really hard to count on. Inconsistent. Questionable work ethic. So to me, they pretty much need two starters and maybe long-term they need three.”
Matt Williamson talks about the Ravens' draft needs
MV: In a recent article, you listed the Ravens as one of a few teams that need to have a strong draft…
MW: There are lofty standards there. Much like Pittsburgh, it wasn’t a really kind offseason to them. … The division is difficult. Cincinnati has two first-round picks and they brought back a lot of their own talent. It’s not going to be easy for the Ravens to maintain the status that they’re at and they can’t afford to miss on a pick or two because they have plenty of needs, including some smaller ones, too. They need to find a legit backup to Ray Rice. They certainly need a receiver but that might be a luxury they can’t afford. Maybe they need three starting offensive linemen in the next year or two -- that’s hard to come up with. And we talked about the defense. They need a safety. They need another pass rusher opposite [linebacker Terrell] Suggs. They have a pretty long laundry list, but if anyone’s going to pull it off, I trust [Ravens G.M.] Ozzie Newsome to do so.
MV: Is it a deep offensive line class this year? Will there be solid prospects in the later rounds?
MW: Yeah, I think they can certainly find a starting-caliber guard in the second or third round. I’m not really high on the center class in general, so I think Konz should be a key target for them because of his versatility and his ability to play center for them in the future. At tackle, I think they could do OK there. … One thing that’s nice about [their situation] is that finding two interior offensive linemen won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
MV: What about the wide receiver class?
MW: One guy I really like for them is LSU’s Rueben Randle. He’s kind of a do-it-all guy with a lot of ability. He had really poor quarterback play at LSU, a Stone Age type offense. I think he’s a much better pro than he is collegian. If you look at the draft, I think it’s a really deep wideout draft. They could do well to find one. There’s a plethora of slot-type guys -- quick guys with speed -- and that would certainly be a nice complement to Smith on the outside and Boldin. I think they can do well in the second or third rounds at that position, too.
MV: You talked about finding someone to pair with Suggs. Down the stretch last season, teams were able to neutralize Suggs and no one else really stepped up. What type of player do they need to target?
MW: They need that edge guy. Losing Jarret Johnson isn’t going to kill you there, though he is a good player. They need Sergio Kindle, really. They drafted that guy two years ago but for a multitude of reasons he hasn’t been able to help. If they had a really speedy player there opposite of Suggs, that would go a long way. You kind of touched on it, that’s a lot of pressure to put on Terrell Suggs. As great as he is, if he has an off day or is consistently getting doubled, somebody else has to step up in that situation. They don’t really have that guy.
