marcus spears

The difference between lining up over left tackle and the left shoulder of the left guard may not seem vast, but defensive tackle Haloti Ngata of the Baltimore Ravens admits he felt lost in space when asked to play the five-technique defensive end position in 2012.

It's not exactly where the Ravens want to see one of their most accomplished defensive players. However, training camp is still about a month and a half away and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh believes that Ngata is "right where he needs to be."

Preston never put a lot of stock in OTAs because the season is still a few months away and there could be some significant changes to the roster before the regular season opener. But here are a few casual observations from watching the first workout open to the media Wednesday.

The Ravens have bolstered the talent and depth on their defensive line this offseason with the additions of Chris Canty and Marcus Spears and the selection of big nose tackle Brandon Williams in April's NFL draft. But with all that shuffling on the defensive line, what role will fourth-year defensive end Arthur Jones have?

As the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Ravens had an extremely eventful offseason where they overhauled their roster and dealt with a tight salary-cap situation by making a series of tough decisions.

The Ravens decision to re-sign Bryant McKinnie reverses an offseason trend that has seen the roster get younger at several key positions.

The Baltimore sports scene is blessed with a bunch of talented bloggers who bring their unique perspective to the conversation. This week, we exchanged emails with blogger Gordon McGuiness, who writes about the Ravens for Pro Football Focus and also contributes to Russell Street Report and the Purple Reign Show.

Here is a roundup of which first-round draft prospects the Ravens are linked to in 2013 NFL mock drafts.

We have known for a couple of weeks that defensive lineman Bryan Hall would be slimming down to move to inside linebacker. But Tuesday was the first time that the Ravens acknowledged publicly that Kelechi Osemele may play left tackle and that defensive end Pernell McPhee would become a hybrid linebacker.

The conversations didn't just start in the aftermath of the Ravens' victory in Super Bowl XLVII. They actually began four months earlier when Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, owner Steve Bisciotti and coach John Harbaugh started to meet and plan for 2013 and beyond.

Here is a roundup of which first-round draft prospects the Ravens are linked to in 2013 NFL mock drafts.

The Ravens enter next week's draft with a total of 12 selections, including multiple picks in every round from the fourth to the seventh. As the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Ravens will have to wait until the 32nd overall pick Thursday before they are on the clock for the first time. However, DeCosta sees plenty of options and plenty of good players that figure to be available when the Ravens make their first pick.

The Ravens' top cornerback suffered a right knee injury last October against the Dallas Cowboys that ended his season prematurely. Now, Webb forecasts a sound recovery for the upcoming season

The Ravens are interested in inside linebacker Rolando McClain, a former top-10 pick of the Oakland Raiders. Would McClain be worth the risk for the Ravens?

Jeff Zrebiec analyzes the Baltimore Ravens, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Christian Thompson, Manti Te'o and much more.

Here is a roundup of which first-round draft prospects the Ravens are linked to in 2013 NFL mock drafts.

Safety Michael Huff made it clear that he's not in Baltimore to fill anybody's shoes.

I couldn't help but notice a couple of trends with the Ravens' four offseason additions. First, the Ravens signed four players who were cut by other teams this past offseason. Second, these players seemed to have picked the Ravens for a reason: They want to win a Lombardi Trophy. Sound familiar? That's how the New England Patriots have operated this past decade.

The acquisition of outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil creates questions about how the snaps will be divvied up amongst him, Terrell Suggs and Courtney Upshaw, but the Ravens' coaches will tell you that it's a good problem to have.

You probably shouldn't judge an offseason until, well, it is over. The Baltimore Ravens reminded everyone of that on Sunday afternoon, agreeing to a deal with former Denver Broncos pass rusher Elvis Dumervil.

Baltimore Sun staff members analyze the Ravens' signing of former Denver Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil.

The following players have signed with other teams: outside linebacker Paul Kruger (Cleveland Browns, $40.5 million), inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (Miami Dolphins, $35 million) and cornerback Cary Williams ($17 million).

The Super Bowl champion Ravens aren't totally hamstrung by a relatively tight salary-cap situation.

The reunion between former Dallas Cowboys defensive linemen Marcus Spears and Chris Canty was prompted by the Ravens' need for an influx of size and toughness at the line of scrimmage.