The Baltimore Ravens are off to a brutal 1-4 start, and their defense is a big reason why. Baltimore has given up 35.4 points per game — the most in the NFL — and the Ravens have surrendered at least 37 points in each of their four losses.
But now one of their former first-round picks on that side of the football is headed to an AFC rival, via a trade.
According to multiple sources, the Ravens are trading pass rusher Odafe Oweh, their first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, to the Los Angeles Chargers. Per Adam Schefter, the Ravens are receiving safety Alohi Gilman and a 2026 fifth-round pick in the trade, while the Chargers are receiving Oweh and the Los Angeles Rams’ seventh-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Baltimore received that pick from the Rams as part of a deal last November involving cornerback Tre’Davious White.
Oweh has ten total tackles this season and has not recorded a sack. The Ravens’ pass rush has been one of the least productive in the NFL season, with only six sacks (ahead of just the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears) and 33 pressures, ranking them in the bottom half of the league in that metric.
However, the move might help Baltimore shore up what has been a porous secondary this season. Ar’Darius Washington has been out since last spring with a torn Achilles suffered during offseason conditioning, and Kyle Hamilton missed last week’s loss to the Texans with an injury.
Baltimore has given up an Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 7.8 this season to opposing passers, fourth-most in the NFL. While not all of that falls on the secondary — the pass rush has not been great, as noted above — the injuries are mounting.
The trade is not the only move the Ravens made on Tuesday to address their secondary. Baltimore signed veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to their practice squad, days after the Texans released him.
Is this move a sign that the Ravens, who at 1-4 are at the bottom of the AFC North, are becoming sellers? Or is Baltimore simply trying to address a secondary that has been depleted by injuries ahead of the 2025 NFL Trade Deadline?
As for the Chargers, who enter Week 6 with a 3-2 record and sit atop the AFC West, the move not only builds on one of their strengths — Los Angeles has 14 sacks this season, tying them for fourth in the NFL, along with 41 pressures — but it gives their pass rush a boost while Khalil Mack recovers from an elbow injury. Mack suffered that injury in the Chargers’ Week 2 win over the Las Vegas Raiders and was placed on Injured Reserve.
Mack can return after missing four games, depending on his recovery and rehabilitation.
