Ravens Going Young for Wink’s Replacement?

The big Ravens news from Wednesday is that Anthony Levine, a constant on Baltimore’s Defensive and Special Teams units for years, has retired. “Co-Cap” wasn’t always a standout member of Baltimore’s roster, but he was an integral part of what made the team click.

“My goal was to make it to the NFL.. not knowing that I’d play in the best organization in the world.”

Co-Cap announces his retirement @ALevine41 pic.twitter.com/BMBgxVQX5i

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 26, 2022

Once a Raven, Always a Raven. pic.twitter.com/Db3lM1wZDV

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 26, 2022

Only missing one game in his 10 seasons in Baltimore, Levine has reliable and always in the right place on defense. Where he truly shined, though, was on Special Teams. We saw how important this third facet of the game is while watching Green Bay and San Francisco duke it out this past weekend, and Levine ensured that the Ravens’ unit was sound.

For years, the Wolfpack was Long-Snapper Morgan Cox, Punter Sam Koch, and Kicker Justin Tucker, but I’d nominate Levine as a fourth member of that consistent group.

Moving forward, Levine won’t be far from the field. The Ravens stated shortly after his announcement that he will be joining the 2022 Coaching Staff, though his role remains unclear. In my eyes, Levine could be an incredible Special Teams Coordinator down the road. He’s a true leader and was a smart, trustworthy player.

Speaking of the coaching staff, it appears the Ravens are making moves to hire Michigan DC Mike Macdonald as a replacement for Don “Wink” Martindale. Macdonald met with Baltimore’s front office this week, and he was a member of the staff before heading to Ann Arbor.

Nothing finalized yet for the Ravens but as others have said, Michigan DC Mike Macdonald has emerged as Ravens top choice for their DC job. Macdonald interviewed in 2018 for same job that went to Wink Martindale. Now he looks like Martindale’s likely successor.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 26, 2022

Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh admitted that Macdonald was previously groomed to be Wink’s replacement as Defensive Coordinator, and it appears that’s coming to fruition. He got his start with the Ravens in 2014, and served as a defensive assistant (2015-16), defensive backs coach (2017), and linebackers coach (2018-20) before going to Michigan a year ago. Pete Thamel reports that an agreement is expected by the end of the week.

Can confirm via sources that the Ravens are targeting Michigan DC Mike Macdonald to the the next DC there. A deal is expected to come together by the end of the week. Macdonald isn’t on the road recruiting this week for Michigan.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 26, 2022

I’ve written about this before, but the new Defensive Coordinator will likely have a big say in the revamped defense Baltimore will need to build. Personally, I feel the defensive line and MIKE linebacker are the biggest needs for that unit, with the secondary and EDGE positions needing depth.

This week, I put together my first 2022 Mock Draft, where I think those focuses were addressed well.

Devonte Wyatt should represent a plug-and-play starter on the interior, while Chenal and Paschal should quickly contribute in other areas. Kerby Joseph could be the ball-hawking safety that the Ravens have missed, while Marcus Jones was simply too good to pass on late in the 4^th-Round.

While I fully expect GM Eric DeCosta to trade up with his plethora of selections this year, I didn’t bother predicting when that would happen, and although this draft is heavy on defense, I still think the offensive selections would bring good players in positions of need.

This certainly won’t be my last Mock Draft for 2022, but let me know what you think! Would this put too much emphasis on defense? Are there positions of need I’m missing?

Finally, to wrap up this week’s OTL, wanted to shoutout Mo Gaba, a Baltimore legend, who was surely celebrating his birthday somewhere on Wednesday.

Happy Birthday, Mo.

We miss you pic.twitter.com/6wRznlQbAr

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 26, 2022

Gaba continues to be an inspiration, and as we head into the weekend, let’s all strive to be more like him.

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