Ravens News 4/11: Essential Draft

Ravens draft will be more essential in 2024, offensive linemen abound and playmakers wanted

Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun

The draft will be more essential to building the 2024 Ravens than it was for last year’s team.

Both Harbaugh and DeCosta made a point of saying the Ravens have no plan to take even a half-step back this season. Come September, they aim to field a team at least as good as the one that won 13 games and clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a week to spare. To do so, they’ll return to a bedrock principle established by DeCosta’s predecessor and mentor, Ozzie Newsome: build through the draft first.

“There’s a real opportunity for us to build that depth up again,” DeCosta said, referring to the flood of picks the team is expected to make over the next two drafts.

This isn’t just about back filling behind the team’s highly compensated stars and young Pro Bowl starters, however. The Ravens need multiple players from this class to compete for snaps right away, especially on the offensive line but also potentially at wide receiver, edge rusher and cornerback. Even if they don’t need immediate starters at all those spots, they need players who might shove their way to the front of the line heading into 2025, when players such as left tackle Ronnie Stanley, cornerback Brandon Stephens, wide receiver Rashod Bateman and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh aren’t guaranteed to be around.

“We’ll have some opportunities for sure. There’s going to be some spots that need to be filled,” DeCosta said. “The burden is on me to find those players.”

Is this a make-or-break draft? Not quite, but the Ravens’ talent pipeline needs feeding.

The state of all 32 franchises ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft

Gordon McGuinness, PFF

BALTIMORE RAVENS

Remaining Starter Needs: OT

Remaining Depth Needs: WR, OL, EDGE, LB, CB, S

Baltimore lost a lot of talent this offseason, seeing several starters depart in free agency and trading away right tackle Morgan Moses. The team’s need at right tackle could be filled by Patrick Mekari, but his best role is probably as a swing tackle to cover for injuries.

The Ravens’ top priority is to rebuild their depth, and with that in mind, they could easily select the best player available on the offensive line, at wide receiver, cornerback or edge defender in the first round.

NFL Draft primer: Ravens don’t have many holes, but pass rusher and wide receiver need addressed

Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports

Top needs

Offensive line

EDGE

Wide receiver

The Ravens experienced some losses in free agency, including defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, and they’re still in search of a dominant edge rusher. Having a top pass rusher on the outside would boost a defense that is already good rushing the quarterback. On the other side of the ball, the Ravens are still trying to build depth at receiver, though Zay Flowers is a good start.

Best first-round fits

Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State

Best Day 2 fits

Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon

Patrick Paul, OT, Houston

Get to Know Cornerbacks in This Year’s Draft

Clifton Brown, BaltimoreRavens.com

Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama

2023 stats: 9 games, 35 tackles, 4 passed defended, 1 interception

Why he may fit: The Ravens love drafting Alabama players, and McKinstry could join Marlon Humphrey and Jalyn Armour-Davis as the third former Crimson Tide corner in Baltimore’s secondary. He’s a physical corner which also fits Baltimore’s style. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. had the Ravens taking McKinstry in his latest mock draft.

T.J. Tampa, Iowa State

2023 stats: 12 games, 44 tackles, 7 passes defended, 2 interceptions

Why he may fit: Many mock drafts predict that Tampa will fall into the second round. If that happens, he could be a superb Day 2 value pick as a cornerback who could add to the Ravens’ depth. At 6-foot-1, Tampa did a superb job in college battling for contested catches against potent Big-12 passing attacks.

Max Melton, Rutgers

2023 stats: 12 games, 32 tackles, 6 passes defended, 3 interceptions

Why he may fit: Melton showed off his athleticism at the Combine and had impressive film against Big 10 heavyweights like Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. He’ll likely be a Day 2 pick, but if he falls into Day 3, he’s the type of physical cornerback the Ravens could pounce on.

2024 NFL offseason: Projecting performances of running backs who changed teams

Kevin Patra, NFL.com

Derrick Henry

Year 9 · Age: 30

Average salary: $8 million

With Titans in 2023: 17 games | 280 att | 1,167 rush yds | 4.2 ypc | 12 rush TDs | 28 rec | 214 rec yds | 0 rec TDs | 0 fumbles

2024 numbers will be: WORSE

I’m not expecting some precipitous fall-off here, but I do struggle to see Henry getting an overwhelming share of carries in the Ravens’ offense. Henry has led the league in carries in four of the past five seasons, including 2023. Assuming Lamar Jackson will still get a slice of the rushing attempts in Baltimore, Henry could struggle to get back to the 1,100-yard mark. Since breaking the 2,000-yard barrier in 2020, Henry has seen his YPC dwindle; last season, he tied a career low with 4.2.

Yes, he’ll be playing with a better O-line than the patchwork quilt he ran behind last year in Tennessee, but Baltimore is also dealing with attrition up front. How Henry fits into Todd Monken’s scheme will be one of the more interesting things to track when training camp opens in July. So far, both the back and coaching staff believe it’s a match made in heaven. However, it’s all just projection until we see Henry lined up next to Jackson. He has the potential to be the biggest boom-or-bust free agent signing of the offseason. Admission: The recent Injury Curse of the Ravens Running Back has me spooked when it comes to projecting Henry’s 2024 campaign.

Every NFL team’s best draft class since 2000: Revealing top 32 drafts of 21st century

Bryan DeArdo, CBS Sports

Baltimore Ravens: 2018

1 25 Hayden Hurst TE

1 32 Lamar Jackson QB

3 83 Orlando Brown Jr. T

3 86 Mark Andrews TE

4 118 Anthony Averett CB

4 122 Kenny Young LB

4 132 Jaleel Scott WR

5 162 Jordan Lasley WR

6 190 DeShon Elliott S

6 212 Greg Senat T

6 215 Bradley Bozeman C

7 238 Zach Sieler DE

While Baltimore’s 2008 draft class produced two players (Joe Flacco and Ray Rice) who played a prominent role in the team’s 2012 championship run, the Ravens’ 2018 class has the potential to be even better. The ‘18 draft class includes former league MVP Lamar Jackson, four-time Pro Bowl right tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (who is currently with the Bengals after winning a Super Bowl with the Chiefs in 2022) and perennial Pro Bowler Mark Andrews.

Baltimore’s ‘18 draft class also includes offensive lineman Bradley Bozeman, a starting-caliber offensive lineman, plus another key contributor in linebacker Kenny Young, who was part of the trade that landed the team corner Marcus Peters. Tight end Hayden Hurst has enjoyed a productive career.