BOLDnPurPnBlacK

Im actually starting to think that the interest and reported intrigue with Cam Robinson is a smoke screen. I find it odd that if we were serious about taking a RT in the 1st, why would Cam be the only one we've shown interest in? No Ramczyk, Bolles, or Lamp for that matter?? Yet at WR we met privately with all 3 top guys. At pass rusher we've privately met with or worked out Reddick, Tim Williams, Taco, Takk, etc.. But not OL. Thinking that could be Ozzie recognizing that Denver or NYG could covet Cam and recognizes they're maybe his best or only possibility to trade back. So, to keep that door open he's feigning serious interest. Of course it could be that he knows they could move up but like Bolles or Ram better, so theyre doing the homework on Cam as a potential pick if they do that trade back. Hate this time of the year. These last cpl days are maddening.

I thought of a little less freaky/long Dion Jordan. With the natural athleticism, but even while very raw displayed awesome pass rush and coverage potential. He may be even a little more powerful than Jordan, and i like his pass rush potential better. As long as a 4-3 team doesnt try to fit square peg in round hole like the Dolphins did, i think he could be very, very good.... with a role right away bc of that versatility and ability to cover right away. Plus hes not an idiot off the field like Jordan.... at least as far as I know.

I agree -- but i think the line is set at 3.5, meaning 4 of each would have to go for the "over" to hit. At least that's the line I saw.

Hes incredible in space. I think ive said this before, but i worry just a little bit about his use in our offense... but Marty did do a good job with a somewhat similar player in Westbrook. Not really all that similar but some similar traits. Samuel much less a back of course with a load more potential in the slot as a true wr that can run routes. I think he'll make plays within a base offense, but i think to maximize him - hes a guy you have to have a plan for and scheme him some opportunities in space, or set up some mismatches for him to exploit. I dont think thats impossible, but i dont have as much faith in us doing so as effectively as i would, say the Pats, Saints, Eagles, GB, Mia, etc.. Not to mention the little bit of a question id have with Joe hitting such a small, quick target consistently enough not to waste his targets. While you can hand him the ball, youre not gonna do that more than maybe 3-4 times a game. A bulk is going to be designed dump offs, screens, wheels, slants, etc.. But i dont think anyone is sleeping on him. Pretty sure most recognize the match up nightmare he could become and the diverse skill set he brings. I think its just a matter of fit and finding the team thats willing to commit building him into their offense, and not trying to squeeze him into a role that already exists in their offense.

I take the under on both. Dont see Zay Jones, JuJu, Godwin or anyone else sneaking into the 1st with all the pass rushers and CB's that will be available. And definitely the under on RB's. I wouldnt be surprised at all to see Cook fall out of the 1st... but even if he doesnt i dont see any way Mixon, Kamara, Foreman, etc... go in the 1st -- again bc of the all defensive talent available. Plus, after TB there really arent many RB/WR needy teams. Det/Sea/GB/KC maybe for RB. But i think all will have better players at bigger needs.

I'm thinking early 2nd. Could be the 4th WR or 4th RB off the board depending on how you classify him. I could see Philly as a real good spot for him in the 2nd...

I like Pocic as a player, but not as a fit for what the coaching staff and FO say their vision is for the OL. He's more of a finesse, technical blocker that's good in space, can pull, etc... and will prob be a great fit for a stretch zone team. I worry some about his height though and with a bunch of big, low center of gravity NT's and DT's in the AFCN - i could see him having trouble getting low enough to maintain leverage and anchor down against those guys. Elflein i do like better just in general, but especially bc he's got a better anchor, plays with more power, is nastier, and loves to finish. Hes got good footwork, generates good push off the line, and climbs to the 2nd level well. I think hes scheme diverse, but fits best in a gap or power scheme -- which it sounds like we want more of. If he falls to the 3rd i think its a no brainer.

It's gonna stay a dream. Barnett is possible, and its possible to end up with a cpl of the guys you mention, but..... Foster isnt dropping much if at all, and especially not to the 2nd round. Even if he did (he wont) Hue Jackson wouldnt let him get past 33. And theres probably 13 other teams that wouldnt either. JuJu might be around 3rd and i bet Tankersley will, but Juju could be gone 2nd and Tank sucks. Dawkins is going 2nd round. We might not even have a shot at 47. Though id be very happy with him there. Myrick and Banner might be ok. So, choose one of Barnett/Foster.... though my guess is we'll be lucky to have even 1 of them fall to us. Both might be long gone. And you prob have to pick one of JuJu or Dawkins. Though there is an outside chance JuJu falls to the 3rd so its prob ok to project that in a dream scenario. And if Tank's your dream in the 3rd - get a new dream. Prob would say the same for Myrick and Banner - but to each their own.

Yea, trubisky especially. Id prob snag him with one of our 3rds if that happened. With a couple years to develop... thats a rare possibility to get a QB prospect with that much upside that late. I could understand Tennessee trading up there. They want an explosive playmaker for Mariota.... and with both of the other WR's off the board and us having shown a lot of interest in Ross during the pre-draft process, coupled with the Redskins having lost their starting WRs and Ross being a possibly more skilled Desean -- they could very well see both teams immediately in front of them as threats to take him and want to guarantee the pick. I imagine the Redskins would want to go DL or LB... but i could definitely see them going RB if they love Cook. While Kelley, Matt Jones, and Thompson all showed flashes at times, i dont see any of them as more than the 2nd or 3rd back in a good rotation. None capable of being the lead guy in a very good rush attack. And with the exodus of receivers they could want to protect their QB with a good run game. Cook is an explosive runner and receiver. And idk if you are perplexed by Allen being available at 5 or going that early... but it wouldnt be crazy for the top 4 players to be BPA for those teams or closely graded to Allen but fitting a bigger need. Lattimore is the 1 kind of questionable one to me with both safeties still on the board; but ive heard theyre looking at the secondary with an outside chance of QB. Adams/Hooker would make more sense imo, but still in this scenario Allen would still be available. And that not even taking into account his shoulders which could easily drop him to 5 imo. In which case i wouldnt be surprised at all to see him fall even further.

Well the athleticism jumps off. Burst, closing speed, power -- its all there. Hes got natural bend. Pretty good bull rush already and can jolt blockers off balance with his punch. Doesnt have the most extensive tool kit, but has the ability to win inside or outside. His speed will often get tackles to panic with their footwork and over step to flatten his rushing arc, and hes got a real quick step back inside to win. Hes got pretty long arms and good tackle radius. Hes a finisher. Some of it is a projection for sure... but a lot of the unteachable traits are there and his instincts for how to pass rush are pretty advanced for such a raw prospect. With the right coaching where he learns some better technique and expands his move set; and he starts to understand why he does some of the things he seems to naturally understand and do anyways -- that light bulb can really come on for him and he could be a terror off the edge. Not to mention he already is passable dropping into coverage on natural ability alone. Hes a former basketball player so hes got light feet and very good footwork for hanging with TEs in coverage. Not many of the high end pass rushers in this draft have the experience or the athletic traits to project excelling in coverage which can limit their potential and effectiveness. That fact that he could be dropping or rushing on any passing play gives him the advantage of being unpredictable... and keeps him on the field. And hes actually pretty good against the run too. Pretty disciplined and very good footwork. Needs improvement there and his size hurts him. Struggles sometimes to disengage against bigger players. The only negatives i see are that hes a little on the small side which could hurt him against NFL size.... and that hes relatively raw. But the drastic improvement he showed this year over the prior tells me that he absorbs coaching and will improve. And i dont think hes played football all that long, so the potential upside is intriguing.

Cohen and Thomas are my two, late round/UDFA gems at RB if we're looking for the 3rd down, receiving type back. Jahad is just so smooth... looks like hes gliding. Im not comparing him to Leveon on talent level, but hes got that Bell-like ability to patiently sit behind blocks and see creases a split second before theyre there. His speed/size are the big knocks on him, but you dont need to be big if youre not taking a pounding... and the speed will limit his break away ability, but you can overcome it to consistently gain 5, 10, 15 yard chunks if you can anticipate things and quickly find space before the defense even realizes its there. Glad you like him and see the same things i do. At the very least hes a kid that wont take no for an answer, and i trust will do absolutely anything and whatever it takes to get himself on the field. Thats what i look for in late round/UDFA picks. This past year he was in more of a time share at RB with Ryquel Armstead who they used as their power back.... but they supplemented Jahad's carries with more touches in the passing game and he excelled there too; putting up well over 100 yds combined in most games. (Armstead btw could be a good prospect in a year or 2... if they give him a full carry load he could break out... over 900 yds this year as mainly a short yardage, goal line specialist.) Fancy spin moves and lightning fast cuts to barely avoid tackles or booming hits to bowl over would be tacklers are nice and make the highlight reels... and Jahad has some of those as well; but his prowess is his vision and intelligence to just see things before they happen and keep himself in space. And hes quick enough to hit the spaces in just the right time. I doubt hes ever a household name nationally... but i can definitely see him carving out a very nice role for himself on the right team. He can contribute in all 3 phases, so ST might be his ticket to getting drafted or making a roster; but his desire and intangibles will be what sets him apart eventually and gets him to stick.

Well thats kind of the point of doing the mock... to role play and imagine who the teams before you are going to take to see if the guy you want will be there; and see who might realistically be there. Its all well and good to say "I want Malik Hooker!!!" But without projecting who you think will be taken and where you cant really evaluate how far you'd have to move up, and who might be on the board at 16. If Hookers your favorite but you think he's going to go 5th overall which would cost a boatload to move up for, but you think another player who you have rated just slightly below him will be there at 16 -- why would you give it all up? Or, mocking the other teams may make you realize that no one worth while might be there at 16, so maybe i should consider trading up to get my guy. Just saying -- here's who i predict the Ravens take, without the context of who the other teams are taking makes it a little hard to understand. And a mock draft isnt about who you want the Ravens to take -- its about what you think will happen. Sometimes the two things come together and thats great... but a lot of the time they dont. Btw, players selected 16th overall -- Taylor Decker, Melvin Gordon, Zack Martin, Ryan Kerrigan, Derrick Morgan, DRC, Shawn Andrews, Troy Polamalu, Jevon Kearse, Hugh Douglas, Jerry Rice. 15th overall -- Corey Coleman, Ryan Shazier, Bruce Irvin, Mike Pouncey, Jason Pierre-Paul, Brian Cushing, Brandon Albert, Lawrence Timmons, Derrick Johnson, Albert Haynesworth 17th overall -- Keanu Neal, Arik Armstead, CJ Mosley, Dre Kirkpatrick, Nate Solder, MIke Iupati, Chad Greenway, Steve Hutchinson, Sebastian Janikowski, Damien Woody, Emmitt Smith, 14th - Star Lotulelei, Karl Joseph, Devante Parker, Kyle Fuller, Darrell Revis, Robert Quinn, Earl Thomas, Malcolm Jenkins, Thomas Davis, Eddie George, Jim Kelly 18th - Ryan Kelly, Marcus Peters, Melvin Ingram, Maurkice Pouncey, Robert Ayers, Joe Flacco, Leon Hall, Will Smith, Calvin Pace, Willie Gault, Art Monk And that's just recent history with a few real stand outs going back to as early as 1980. Plenty of very good players and difference making talents right in this range. And with Ozzie, historically any pick in this range or higher has been money. Boller at 19 is the only real blemish on the record.... otherwise hes landed difference making talent with pretty much every pick higher than 20.

Im high on Harris. I have him 3rd in my edge rusher rankings behind only Garret and Barnett. But i was buying what seemed to be consensus that he was most likely a late 1st round, early 2nd type of guy in most teams' minds. But everything im hearing now is that he'll be a surprise Top 15 to Top 20 pick. According to multiple sources there are several teams that view him as the 2nd best pure edge rush talent behind only Garret and is in play for some top 10 teams (especially those who run attacking 4-3 schemes). Ive heard from reliable sources that Philly is really, really high on him... and while they may have 1 or 2 CB's rated higher, and maybe a WR or RB as well; there's a decent change that all others could be gone and if so they wouldnt hesitate to take Harris there. He and Humphrey are my 2 sleeper picks that will shock most and be gone by the time we're on the clock. Which is actually a good thing bc itll drop other highly rated prospects to us.

Oh and welcome to the Jahad Thomas bandwagon. Live in the Philly area and most of my close friends graduated from Temple.... been watching him tear teams up for a couple years; even against some top teams like Clemson, Notre Dame and Penn State. Posted about him a month ago in the RB thread. He wont be a 3 down back obviously, because he'll go down with any substantial contact.... but hitting him isnt a given proposition. He possesses great vision and patience.... and then can change direction in the blink of an eye. And hes quicker than he is fast. But he's a tough dude and a willing and capable blocker. Could be a nice 3rd down option with flexibility to move into the slot. And I trust Temple players. Matt Ruhle built that program with undersized, overlooked prospects and rejects. He runs a very professional organization with emphasis on getting an education so i trust his kids to be clean in the NFL. And he gets those boys hitting day 1 of spring ball. They open almost every practice session with full contact and tackling drills in pads. Very tough guys that love contact, have high character, and are very used to having to overcome physical limitations to stand out. The past 2 years theyve knocked off or taken to the limits some real heavy hitter programs. 6th round, or more likely a priority FA... but id be happy with any of the Temple guys - Reddick, Dawkins, Hairston and Jahad. And fyi, hes at Baylor now. So expect some really high level prospects to start coming out of that school in 3-4 years once hes had a chance to implement his program, and his recruiting classes are coming out in the draft. His ability to identify talent that no one else does and develop has been remarkable. With access to a much bigger pipeline and more naturally gifted athletes -- keep an eye on that program.

I might hurt someone if we trade back to get another 3rd (awesome, yay!) and somehow Barnett's is still on the board and we don't take him (What the heck? OZ!!!!). Thats the things my dreams are made of... and not that I dislike Lamp or would hate the pick -- I just think Barnett is a Top 5-10 player in this draft... and happen to think Ozzie&Co feel the same way. The fact that he's literally like the only 1st round prospect at a position of need thats widely speculated to be one of the higher prospects that could be available (met w/ Mike Williams, Corey Davis, John Ross, Foster, Takk, Taco, Cam Robinson, etc...) and we havent had a reported even conversation with him tells me that either a) they're supremely confident he wont be available, or B ) as a team that relies almost exclusively on the tape that they're so confident in their evaluation of him and his high placement on the board that theyve already decided its a no brainer if hes there to take him. I think B is the case. So, with that in mind... to magically acquire another Day 2 pick and pass up my fav prospect -- ill revolt.... for like a day or 2. and re-revolt when hes Defensive Rookie of the Year with double digit sacks. But enough about me. Back to Jake's Butt.

I'd be happy with either in the 2nd... so long as we go a different direction with our 1st pick obviously. But wouldnt be too ecstatic if they were trade back targets for the 1st round. And id probably prefer Tim Williams to either of them -- though i think Bowser especially could have similar upside in terms of his athletic traits.... and doesnt come with same baggage. Though ive also heard a bunch of smart people say that anything you hear at this point in the game about who a team likes/doesnt like is completely unreliable and most likely smoke screen. Theyre not suddenly going to realize they like a prospect or release their intentions.... and any team employee that would leak legitimate information about how the team views a prospect would likely be fired. So, when i hear this i think immediately that its BS; someone kind of adding more importance than is really there to a throw away comment with a personnel guy like "what do you think about the day 2 pass rushers?... oh, Bowser and Willis look good" Breaking - Ravens high on Bowser and Willis!; or a guy connecting his own dots from the fact that we've recently met with these guys. Who knows? We probably never will. Unless we draft one.

He's got the power. Definitely. Hes the same exact size as Chubb... and pure muscle. His lower half is huge. It's just that he usually can go around guys or jump over them to make them miss. But when necessary he lowers the pads, lays the boom and keeps the legs churning. This kid is going to be GREAT. If he improves his pass protection, he's the best back coming out since AD imo.

So..... in your rules you stated "no trades" and then proceeded to trade our 1st pick... 🤔

Barring no trades... then the best possible score is 16? Here goes nothing... Pass rushers 1. Derek Barnett 2. Haason Reddick 3. Tim Williams 4. Trey Hendrickson 5. Ryan Anderson 6. Tyus Bowser Wide Receivers 7. Corey Davis 8. Juju Schuster-Smith 9. Kenny Galloday 10. Noel Thomas 11. Deangelo Yancey Offensive Line 12. Cam Robinson 13. Dion Dawkins 14. Dan Feeney 15. Dorian Johnson 16. Pat Elflein 17. Jordan Morgan 18. Jon Toth 19. Jermaine Elumenor 20. Aviante Collins 21. Justin Senior Linebackers 22. Reuben Foster 23. Harvey Langi 24. Keion Adams 25. Marquel Lee Defensive Backs 26. Damontae Kazee 27. Sidney Jones 28. Ahkello Witherspoon 29. Malik Golden 30. Ashton Lampkin Defensive Line 31. Chris Wormley 32. Eddie Vanderdoes

Yea that was ridiculous. Idk why they pay Ike Taylor or half of their employees. He clearly does 0 research or preparation when asked for his "expert" opinion. His CB ranking during the season always crack me up. And that's supposed to be his thing.

I was just reading another Ravens websites forum.... And the majority of posters there want John Ross or Christian McCaffery. My gosh im going to miss this place. Please.... please let's stick together.

It seems odd to me that we have no reported contact with Barnett. Idk if its bc we like him THAT much and don't want anyone to know.... if we don't expect him to be an option... but certainly surprising. Looking at last year, we had a private workout and another meeting with 3 prospects. Jalen Ramsey who we tried to trade up for, Ronnie Stanley who we took and Tavon Young who we took. Takk is the only first rounder that fits that narrative right now. It's not exactly a trend so I guess it doesn't necessarily reveal anything. Just pointing it out.

I feel like I've narrowed down our pick to 6 players. Reuben Foster, Haason Reddick, Derek Barnett, Mike Williams, Corey Davis or Cam Robinson 90% confident it will be one of them. With Mike Williams and Reddick the least likely of the group. If Barnett's on the board he's the pick. Not quite ready to make a definitive prediction yet though.

I'm actually thinking there may be a sort of hand shake agreement with Mangold. A deal they both like on the table but both sides wanted to wait til after the draft. Mangold so he can enjoy a full offseason and also keep options open in case a vet goes down early in OTA's or something. But I have a feeling he ends up a Raven. Which imo does make the Cam pick more likely as he and Mangold would give us a big, nasty run blocking line. Stanley-Cam/Lewis-Mangold-Yanda-Cam/Lewis..... I like that. Grab Elflein if possible in the 3rd for the future and let one great Ohio State center help develop the next great one.

While I don't personally like him a ton I think Moton is more likely to go 2nd round than he is to last past the 3rd let alone all the way to the 5th. I like Humphrey but can't see us passing on Barnett or Allen especially to go with Humphrey. Wouldnt be surprised if we had Humphrey as the top CB on our board but I have a bunch that both Allen and Barnett are top 5-7 guys on our board. Only way we'd pass on Allen there is if we took him off the board completely for medical reasons. And to go a step further.... no way Wilson is the 2nd CB off the board. All I've heard is that he's fallen to the 2nd round and a lot of teams project him more to S. In this scenario Philly would almost definitely take Conley or Humphrey imo. But to each his own. I doubt Humphrey is there when we pick and even if he was I can't see any way we'd take him with the other players on the board -- so wouldn't be happy if this happened.... but the 2nd and 3rd rd picks I like a lot. A lot. So after Friday I'd ease up on not liking the first round pick seeing who we were able to get day 2.