OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said before the draft that he wasn't going to lobby team officials to address the holes on offense.
After three rounds, he might want to rethink that strategy.
The Ravens didn't use any of the first four picks of the draft on an offensive player for only the second time in their 22-year history. Instead, Baltimore landed a top cornerback (Alabama's Marlon Humphrey), two explosive pass-rushers (Houston's Tyrus Bowser and Alabama's Tim Williams) and a potential starting defensive end (Michigan's Chris Wormley). This comes in an offseason in which the only additions to the NFL's 17th-ranked offense was running back Danny Woodhead and backup quarterback Ryan Mallett.
Flacco has to be wondering whether this offense will consistently reach the end zone. He lost his security blanket when wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. retired as well as two starting offensive linemen when right tackle Rick Wagner left in free agency and center Jeremy Zuttah was traded. The Ravens have yet to fill any of those voids for a team that scored the seventh fewest offensive touchdowns in the league last season.
Ravens officials insist it wasn't the plan to ignore the offense for the first three rounds.
"If you would have told me [Thursday] at 3 in the afternoon that I was going to pick four defensive players, I probably would have told you that you would not be correct," general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "But that is the way that it played itself out. There were some offensive players that we were targeting and trying to get, and they got taken right before us or two or three picks before us."
The Ravens don't appear to be panicking about their inability to improve their offense. If they are, they're certainly not showing it.
Coach John Harbaugh joked that there were a parade of people who gave offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg a hug after his side of the ball was ignored Thursday and Friday.
"You try to build the strongest team that you possibly can based on what is available," Harbaugh said. "I know we say that a lot; we take the best available player."
The Ravens got no argument from Mornhinweg about this. When talking about how Baltimore's defensive draft was unfolding after the first two rounds, Mornhinweg looked at the draft board and noticed Williams was sitting very high on it.
"Marty just came over and said, 'Hey, you have to take that guy [Williams],'" Harbaugh said. "It is a team effort, it is a team game."
This offseason, Baltimore has put nearly all of its resources into upgrading the league's No. 7 defense. The Ravens signed three starters -- retaining nose tackle Brandon Williams and adding safety Tony Jefferson and cornerback Brandon Carr -- for a total of $56.75 million in guaranteed money.
Then the Ravens used their first four picks on defense while the Cincinnati Bengals drafted wide receiver John Ross and running back Joe Mixon, the Pittsburgh Steelers added another wide receiver in JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Cleveland Browns landed big-play tight end David Njoku.
"We are just trying to get very, very strong on defense with the opportunity that was presented to us in the first three rounds," Newsome said, "and we took advantage of it."
Nothing has seemed to fall the Ravens' way in terms of boosting their offense. In free agency, Baltimore couldn't lure wide receiver Brandon Marshall from New York, and the team failed to outbid the 49ers for wide receiver Pierre Garcon. In the draft, the top three wide receivers (Ross, Corey Davis and Mike Williams) all were selected in the first nine picks. The Ravens never had a chance at them at No. 16.
Baltimore still can add a couple of veterans after the draft. The Ravens expressed interest in wide receiver Anquan Boldin and center Nick Mangold.
"We are not done acquiring players," Newsome said. "Before we play Cincinnati, this roster is still not complete. For those of you that have been here for years, you know there are going to be players that are going to be released after the draft. There are going to be players that are going to be released in training camp.
"We are not done. The draft is a big part of it, and we are not done with the 53-man squad that we are going to play with when we open up against Cincinnati. We probably will still add some after that."