The Ravens lasted longer in the 2014 playoffs than either of their chief AFC North rivals, but heading into the 2015 NFL Draft, they definitely didn’t have as many young offensive playmakers as the Pittsburgh Steelers or Cincinnati Bengals.
They faced an explosiveness deficit of sorts, if you will.
The Steelers have running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown, and the Bengals have running backs Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard and receivers A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu – all homegrown talents. The Ravens, meanwhile, had to import Justin Forsett, Steve Smith and Owen Daniels, the veterans who were their most productive running back, wide receiver and tight end last season at ages 29, 35 and 31.