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In the 2010 draft, the Ravens feel like they made significant improvements in three areas of need: at tight end, at defensive tackle, and in the pass rush.
But there was one perceived weakness which did not get addressed. That position, of course, is cornerback.
Some fans are frustrated by the Ravens' decision not to draft a corner with one of their seven picks, feeling that entering the 2010 season, the pass defense needs to be improved.
Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome feels that the pass defense did improve, just not in the way that many fans hoped it would.
"I think how you can affect the passer is get after the passer," Newsome said at the Ravens' post-draft press conference. "Sergio [Kindle] can do that and we think Arthur Jones can do that also. We know what Terrence [Cody] can do. As we move forward, the roster is still fluid...There are probably going to be some opportunities to do some other things there.
"But we feel good about it. If you hit the quarterback and hit him enough times, then you don't have to be as good in the secondary."
Newsome also said that the Ravens had some cornerbacks targeted at points throughout the last two days, but that a run of corners (nine were taken in the third and fourth rounds combined) took the guys they liked off the board.
"Every year, there's a run," Newsome said. "At a position, there's going to be a run on players. You can either be in the mix, or you can be outside of the mix. Can you say that we were interested in some of the ones who went? Yes. But when you're outside of the mix, for us, we don't feel like we have to reach."
After losing cornerbacks Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb to ACL injuries last season, the Ravens ended the year with a rotation that featured Domonique Foxworth, Chris Carr and Frank Walker.
Washington and Webb are question marks to return for the start of the season and Walker is currently an unrestricted free agent, meaning that as of right now, the only healthy corners on the Ravens' roster are Foxworth, Carr, Marcus Paschal and Cary Williams. The latter two have combined for just one career start.
Head coach John Harbaugh had said prior to the draft that he would like to add two new corners to the roster, something he says is still possible.
"You'd like to get one of them through the draft maybe, and one through some other means, but we weren't able to do that," Harbaugh said. "I don't think it was a real deep corner class, myself. I think there was a group of corners at the top of the draft that we really liked, and after that, it was second-tier guys. With those guys, it's kind of like rolling dice, you never sure which of those guys is going to make it.
"We were looking at some of those guys in the fourth round, but we couldn't justify one of those guys over [Dennis] Pitta. We just couldn't do it, as far as him being the type of player we know he's going to be.
"That's where we're at right now. As Ozzie said, we'll find a way to add a corner. We've got guys that can play. The two guys [Washington and Webb] are getting healthier and I'm really excited about what we're going to do in the secondary. We'll be fine."
Not surprisingly, when asked if bringing Walker back was still a possibility, Harbaugh responded in the affirmative.
"Sure, absolutely," he said. "Frank's a possibility."
For some reason, I feel like that news won't cheer up those of you who were hoping for a corner sometime in the draft.
