Denny Medley-Imagn Images
The Baltimore Ravens may have won the AFC North with a 12-5 record and knocked their division rivals out in the Wild Card round, but they fell short of their ultimate goal of capturing another Lombardi Trophy as they fell to the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round.
This offseason, the Ravens haven’t done much, adding wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and linebacker Jake Hummel, as well as re-signed fullback Patrick Ricard, guard Ben Cleveland, wide receiver Tylan Wallace and safety Ar’Darius Washington.
As they look to improve their chances of at least making it to the AFC championship game, Baltimore should consider adding to their secondary. Recently, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox identified the Ravens as one of the best fits for free-agent safety Julian Blackmon.
Blackmon, 26, played collegiately at Utah from 2016-19, earning All-Pac 12 honors once during his time with the Utes before the Indianapolis Colts took him with the 85th overall pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft.
In his five seasons with the Colts, Blackmon appeared in 66 games and recorded 300 tackles (13 for a loss), 21 passes defensed, 10 interceptions, four fumbles recovered, three quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks. The only significant time he missed came in 2021 when suffered a torn Achilles which ended his year after just six games.
Pro Football Focus gave Blackmon a 69.3 overall grade for his performance last year, ranking him 48th of the 171 qualified NFL safeties in 2024. He also earned a 73.5 coverage grade (23rd), a 69.4 pass-rush grade (23rd) and a 55.1 run-defense grade (148th).
While the Ravens were great last year, they finished as the sixth-worst defense in the league against the pass, surrending 238.3 yards per game to opposing quarterbacks. Upgrading the secondary should be a necessity for the team and with Kyle Hamilton locked in at one safety spot, Blackmon could slide in as the other starter and make Washington a depth piece.
Spotrac projected Blackmon to receive a three-year, $24 million deal this offseason, and they currently have the Ravens with $13.93 million in cap space, so a deal could make some sense.
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