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By now, we're all aware of the fact that the Ravens currently own only five picks in next week's draft.
Look around the rest of the AFC North, and you'll see the Steelers, Browns, and Bengals sporting a much larger allotment of picks (11, 10 and nine, respectively).
Does that bother Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome?
"Does it bother me that they probably don't have as good of players as we have in Baltimore?" Newsome joked at yesterday's Pre-Draft Media Luncheon. "No. No, I mean, hey - it is what it is. To me, what we did to get Anquan Boldin and what I did two years ago to get Marques Douglas on this football team was worth it."
Because of the Boldin and Douglas trades, the Ravens will not have third, fourth or seventh-round selections this year. As a result, the Ravens won't have as much flexibility on draft day as in years past, but Newsome is OK with his situation.
In fact, he's more than OK.
By acquiring Boldin from the Cardinals last month, the Ravens' GM filled a major void on his roster, and gave up only two mid-round picks in the process.
Now, instead of needing to weed through the murky wide receiver pool and trying and find a guy in the first couple rounds, Newsome can let the draft unfold naturally and take the best player on the board.
"I'm better off with Anquan Boldin than to be sitting here with six picks, you know?" Newsome said. "Because you'd probably see some sweat on my brow."
Check that - there would be a river running off Newsome's brow right now if Boldin was not in Baltimore.
If the trade with the Cardinals hadn't come together, we'd currently be in the midst of an intense debate about whether the Ravens should trade up and acquire Dez Bryant, the talented yet troubled wideout from Oklahoma State.
Behind Bryant, the only other consensus first-round receiver is Georgia Tech's Demaryius Thomas, but he is battling back from a broken foot and has yet to work out for scouts this offseason.
While both bring plenty of upside, each also brings a large set of question marks.
We've grown accustomed to the annual "Which wide receiver do the Ravens need to take?" discussion. This year, that conversation isn't necessary. A rookie wideout might end up in Baltimore, but if that's the case, Newsome says it will be because that player is the highest-rated guy available.
Newsome might only have five picks at his disposal, but he no longer feels intense pressure to take a receiver. That's a trade-off that he, Eric DeCosta, and everyone in the front office are just fine with.
