NFL
Ravens Seeking Edge Rushers; Linked to Chargers Duo Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh
At the scouting combine, the Ravens are expected to focus on improving their pass rush, a major weakness in 2025. Coach Jesse Minter may target edge rushers like Oweh and Mack, with a strong emphasis on revamping a poor defense and lackluster sack production. The team is likely to make significant upgrades despite limitations in the free agent class.
Pittsburgh Steelers v Los Angeles Chargers by Harry How | Getty Images
Conversations between teams and agents are heating up this week at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, with a strong expectation in league circles that the Ravens, perhaps the league’s biggest disappointment in 2025, are focused on addressing their pass rush deficiencies early in the offseason.
It will be difficult for good teams to make significant upgrades given the limitations of this free agent class, but there are some intriguing edge rush options, including two who have very strong ties to Ravens head coach Jesse Minter.
Minter spent the last two seasons running the Chargers defense, where both Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh thrived; Oweh, a former first-round pick in Baltimore, played the best football of his career after being dealt to the Chargers midseason, leading several rival executives to brace for his return to Baltimore.
“They love to hoard comp picks and do it through the draft, but that was probably the worst pass rush in the league, them and San Francisco,” one NFL GM said.
“You look at this free agent class, a lot of us think they’re going to get Oweh or Mack. Minter needs some of his guys there. They can’t go into the draft with this group of edge rushers. No way.”
An Acute Problem
Minter is being charged with revitalizing a poor defense and improving what has been the NFL’s worst fourth-quarter defense dating back to 2021.
The Ravens ranked 31st in sack rate last season, and they were also near the bottom of the NFL in pressure rate. No one on the team registered more than five sacks, and of the entire group of edge rushers only 2025 second-round pick Mike Green has any true upside, although his rookie season was something of a wash.
Former second-round pick Davis Ojabo was a passenger his entire rookie contract and the roster lacks any proven his individual pass rush brilliance; Oweh made his debut for the Chargers in Week 6 and managed to post 7.5 sacks himself with the team.
“Baltimore has to be in the pass rush market,” a second GM said. “And they’re going to have to be ready to spend. Have they had a pass rusher making any money there since (Matt) Judon left?”
That answer is a resounding no. And it’s quite likely to change next month.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.