An audible gasp sounded around town when the Ravens traded Haloti Ngata to the Detroit Lions in March 2015.
Ngata was a franchise icon who had made Pro Bowls and spearheaded the rushing defense for almost a decade. How were the Ravens going to keep stuffing the run without him?
Fortunately, they had Brandon Williams, a wide-body nose tackle emerging as a force. Although salary cap considerations dictated their move with Ngata, the Ravens pulled the trigger on the deal at least partly because they knew they had Williams.
In the end, the Ravens fared decently against the run without Ngata in 2015, but they did experience a bit of slippage.