The Baltimore Ravens have a well-reasoned philosophy come draft time every year.
"The key thing is not chasing needs," coach John Harbaugh recently told the team's website. "You can't chase a need."
Luckily for them, just about anyone they take is going to chip away at a vacancy on their roster.
Baltimore heads into the draft needing help at tight end, defensive back, pass rusher, wide receiver, running back (though likely not in the first round) and offensive line.
Just about any way they go, they'll be fine.
"We take the best player," general manager Ozzie Newsome said this week, via CSN Baltimore. "I don't go in with any preference as to what side of the ball. Sometimes there are more needs on defense, and the board is set up that way, so we tend to stay with the board. But I don't go in with any preconceived ideas that I'm going to draft offensive players. I'm an offensive player myself, but I do believe you win with defense."
This will be a fascinating time to watch Newsome, who helped build one of the best defenses in NFL history ahead of a 2000 Super Bowl win. He rebuilt the team again for a Super Bowl win in 2012 and, depending on how you look at it now, is remolding the team dramatically for the third time.
Torrey Smith, Pernell McPhee and Haloti Ngata, among others, aren't coming back.
It's time to watch one of the league's best general managers go to work again.
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