balfan23

1 hour ago, ALI624 said:

Reuben Foster.

1 hour ago, ellicottraven said:

I doubt he gets past Cincy and if he does then New Orleans and after that Indy. But, hey if he's available I won't mind him at all. But if Corey Davis and Lattimore or the two top safeties Adams and Hooker slip they'll be taken for sure. It all depends really on if there is a small run on QBs and RBs in the top 15....

I don't know. The off the field stuff is starting to pile up. The latest being a failed drug test. 10 years ago, maybe not a big deal, but the league is so draconian on their punishments for missteps, that teams are going to really start questioning investing a top 10 or 15 on the guy. Honestly, since I'm bent on other players being a better fit, I won't mind seeing him come off the board ahead of us. 

16 hours ago, bigcatfrank1 said:

Robinson may just come off the board at 16

I've seen a significant increase in the number of mocks that have us taking him at 16. What concerns me is that the vast majority of other mocks I see where we go a different direction ... Robinson doesn't even appear in the first round. 

What is or is not a reach depends on how things pan out for the selected player (which we won't know for a couple years) and whether that player would have been taken next or wouldn't have been taken for another 20 picks (something we can never know). Nonetheless, based on conventional wisdom, that selection will feel like a reach. 

3 hours ago, ByTheBay said:

I think if we spend some draft capital on the Oline it will make everyone on the offense look better. Marty just has to do his job and scheme to our strengths like run first and play action. Kubiak made Forsette look like a top 5 RB and Joe was on fire in 2014. Line and OC will matter more than using a first rounder on a RB or WR.

I'm all for them expending draft capital on the O line... but I don't know about them spending the 1st rounder - not this year. If they do, it needs to be a part of a trade back, but even then, I'd find it disappointing, because it will appear that there were true playmakers that they wanted did not fall to them. 

Let's just put it this way ... if Davis and/or Williams are available and we pick Robinson ... I'll certainly have to give the nod to our FO and hope they made the right move, but I'll not be able to help feeling like we shied away from getting a difference making offensive weapon and went with the safer play in an area of need. 

If we go O line, then I'll have the sense that the draft did not break well for us. I think there are a fair number of players at other positions that we view as being bonafide playmakers. Going O Line will be saying that they've all been taken ahead of us. Therefore, like many others on this thread have said, if that happens, I'd hope we'd be able to trade back and get an additional pick and still be able to get the guy we want. 

37 minutes ago, Raven in ATL said:

anyone but a WR at 16,unless they trade back a few spots to like 20. i just dont see any of the WRs worthy that high, and our WR track record is bad as the browns picking QBs. im all for trading back a few spots and picking up extra picks and someone like Ramzcyzk or the best available push rusher, then going for either Zay Jones or Kupp in the 2nd.

If you don't believe any of the WRs are worthy of a pick as high as #16 (and virtually every analyst alive would disagree with that) ...  that's a valid reason to not pick a WR .. but the notion that we're bad at picking WRs - that is NOT a valid reason to avoid a WR with our 1st pick. Using your logic, had OBJ fallen to 16 a couple years ago, we should have avoided him, because we're bad at picking WRs. That makes zero sense. 

Yes, we've picked 3 disappointing WRs in the 1st round, however the jury is still out on one (Perriman) and the other 2 were made 13 and 16 years ago. To think that draft busts from over a decade ago will shape your draft approach is mind-boggling. 

11 hours ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

Would be nice, but I'll have to counter that and say kaufusi barely sees the field, meanwhile Jonathan Bullard and Andrew billings look like steals who we passed on for kaufusi. 

I think kaufusi has a lotttt of work to do before he's an effective NFL player. Even camp reporters who overhype the hell out of everyone said kaufusi struggled to make any impact before the injury, which doesn't come as a surprise 

Well, perhaps my "bold prediction" is nothing more than "wishful thinking". 

3 hours ago, iceripper said:

3 QBs will be drafted in the top 15. 

... and by extension ... we get a stud at #16. 

I really hope your bold prediction comes true. 

Most people's bold predictions are draft related. I'll go for something different ....

Kafusi leads all Ravens D linemen with 7 sacks this season. 

For the record, Jeremiah has Foster being picked ahead of us. Actually, I rarely see any mocks showing him falling to us. He could ... but the odds are definitely against it.

As with almost all coveted players, the odds grow dramatically if there are QBs selected in the top 15. Really, really hoping that we see at least 2.

1 minute ago, hn68wb4 said:

I know, and I think it's really ridiculous. Guy is not a top 5 talent and the 49ers don't need another Dlineman, I don't see it happening. But stranger things have happened on draft day.

Yeah - I am no talent scout so I'm not sure where he should go ... but these mocks at some point appear to just start parroting each other. 

6 minutes ago, hn68wb4 said:

Solomon Thomas goes nowhere near top 5 and all the "experts" will act amazed on the draft broadcast - fingers crossed John Lynch is at least somewhat competent for this one to come true

I'm looking at a series of 20 mocks and only 1 has him going somewhere other than 2nd overall. 

5 hours ago, Chuckx999 said:

Free Agency was all defense and we needed all the help we could get. Now it's the offense and we need a TE and Howard from Ala. is it. Trade up and get this guy, cut all our TE benchwarmers. Then go for a LB and/or Edge rusher. There are plenty of other WR's in the later rounds and we know WR's are NOT Ozzie's best choices so why waste another #1 or #2 on someone who will washout or have a year/career ending injury.
Draft for need not the so called best on the board crap.

I'm not as eager to give up on the investment we've made in the draft and FA at the TE position. Whether because of health or suspension, Williams and.Boyle haven't had sufficient opportunity to prove whether they are going to be players or not and to give up on them would be premature. I think it will be interesting to see what they can do if given a full camp and season. So unless O.J. is going to become a generational player at TE, I just don't know about our taking him.

As far as WR goes - are Mike WIlliams and/or Corey Davis going to be top WRs? If so - how about we take one? They both seem to be the exact kind of wide out we need - big and physical who can work the middle of the field and move the chains. This unwillingness a segment of the fan base to have Ozzie take a WR early is silly. He's done it so rarely it is sort of hard to call what he's done a failure. 

I'm not sure what mocks have him falling to us. I've scanned 20 different mocks and only one has him out of the top 10 and that is at 13. The majority have him going either 3rd or 5th. 

Nothing adequate can be said. This is so sad. Hoping that the Heap family finds a way to recover from this tragedy. 

1 hour ago, ALI624 said:

Anyone O-linemen just think we can get better value later in the draft. Really the only prospects that I would really like at 16 are M. Willams, Davis and Barnett. Which means none will be there. 😩

I agree ... I don't think there are any that are worthy of the #16 pick. I guess it could make sense to draft one of them if we traded back, but of course trading back has some level of disappointment, because the sense is that if we go that route, there were players we were hoping would fall to us that simply didn't. 

1 hour ago, Sami84 said:

I'll disagree here..im certain one of those 3 will be there at 16

M. Willams, Davis and Barnett - as ALI624 said are his hopefuls - are I think a very common group of guys that fans are hoping fall to us. I'm not as certain as you as to whether one will be there - but not as pessimistic as ALI624.

Honestly, I think it all comes down to the QBs. If everyone tries to act smart and say they aren't reaching for a QB in the top 15 of this draft (despite their obvious needs), I do think the odds are good that they will all be gone. If 1 team ahead of us goes QB, the chances are greatly improved and if 2 go QB, I think the odds are better than 50-50 that one of these 3 will be there. IMO, only 1 will be taken (Cleveland with pick #12), so to me it is kind of a coin toss as to who would be there for us and if I were to guess which of the 3 it would be, I'm guessing Davis. 

Then - the Ravens will take someone else, because they don't necessarily go with what is "conventional wisdom". 

34 minutes ago, PurpleHorseman said:

Derek Barnett. Could be a solid player. But he doesn't bring anything that threatens NFL tackles. And if we go defense it has to be a game changer. Many of sec players thought their numbers remain the same in NFL. Because it is the SEC. Only to learn the SEC isn't the NFL. Jonathan Allen and Derek Barnett are about to learn that themselves. As is who ever drafts.

Huh ... I find Barnett to be an unexpected entry on this thread. I have to think that, if he's available, there is a strong likelihood that you will be upset by our selection. 

32 minutes ago, jboy19 said:

Cam Robinson and John Ross by far. 

I'm with you on this. I'd be stunned if they took Ross. I think I'd extend Cam Robinson to really any O lineman - unless we trade back (which in and of itself will be a little disappointing). I'll thrown in O.J. Howard ... cause unless he turns out to be a true generational talent at his position, it would just sicken me to see us giving up on all the TEs we've invested in unless we're talking about an astronomical upgrade.

My avatar will remain Johnny U. While 6'2" 185 doesn't sound bad ...  I'm also over 55 so I'll spare everyone the horror. 

My son started this account and I totally hijacked it. We shared it and I posted 10x more than he did. Balfan23 is his invention. I indoctrinated him into Baltimore sports (made a Ravens and Orioles fan out of him), but his passion has always been UNC basketball (he was raised in Chapel Hill) and he is graduating UNC next month. So - Balfan is for "Baltimore Fan" and I'll leave you to guess what the 23 represents (hint: ceiling = roof). 

I'm often too busy to post much and I've never been the most active moderator (my peer moderators have done most of the heavy lifting) ... but I'll still miss coming out here. The negatives were always far outweighed by the positives. 

As I listen to names getting called from the podium, the 3 guys I'm praying I don't hear called out are M. Williams, C. Davis and D. Barnett. No one else that would be a better fit for us has any chance of falling that far, so this is the group I'm focused on. Of course, it could be that none of these 3 are still there, I'm just hoping at least one of them is.

For more than one of those to be available, it will be really interesting to see which we opt for (or if we go a completely different direction). Need matching BPA and I think any one of these guys are going to be excellent pros.

1 hour ago, stixfix69 said:

Starting to really like Mike Williams in the 1st if he is available....Wallace probably gone next year, and never know with Perriman's knees....

Regardless of whether Perriman breaks out, Williams is a different animal and would be a great complement to what Perriman could bring to the table. 

This year, it seems none of the experts have a clue of what is going on. Not that they ever really do ... it just feels like this year they are all over the map. You'll see guys going top 10 in mocks that don't even appear in another guys 1st round. And that's not just with QBs ... it is with so many different players. 

Williams is projected pretty widely as well. I happen to be leaning toward the mock projections that have him going before us. It will be super interesting ... if he's on the board, do we take him? I kinda hope so, but what do I know? If he's there and we pass, I'll just assume the guy they picked will serve us better and will give them the benefit of the doubt until they are proven wrong. 

1 hour ago, JD08 said:

Just not sure why the franchise is so in love with Benjamin Watson, he seems like a obvious cut to me, 4 mil would be a nice number to get back. He's a yr older coming off of a torn Achilles and we already have plenty of TE's already

Count me among the bewildered. 

Gotta like Timmy's attitude on the swap. No parting jabs at the Ravens ... just eyes forward, looking to help improve his new team and see what new opportunities can be there for him given the change in defensive scheme. 

A far cry from the noise KO was making after we insulted him by not paying LT money for an LG as the Raiders did. 

1 hour ago, jravens1313 said:

We should be drafting a QB every year. Flacco is a good QB, but we could definitely improve at the position. I'm not saying use a 1st-2nd day pick, but take some shots on guys. It seems ridiculous that we speak of BPA all the time yet would refuse to draft a QB that could compete with Flacco. This year Mahomes is the guy I would target.

Then you better be prepared to use a 1st or 2nd day pick to get him. 

1 hour ago, Steve32 said:

The Ravens have stated that they prefer Lewis at Guard and believe that he is best suited to play guard.

... but they have also acknowledged that moving him is an option. 

4 minutes ago, law215 said:

You making my point. The Raider got their act together because they CHANGED drafting every fast player from the combine in the first round to getting a solid coach like Del Rio and evaluating talent. The Raiders are trending up.

They are doing a better job ' today' than the Ravens.

The Raiders also got their act together by drafting in the top 10 year after year and eventually some of these "can't miss" picks actually didn't miss. 

They are trending up ... partly because there was nowhere else to go. They did make the playoffs, but I'm sorry, that is not a team I am convinced is on their way to being a championship contender. The separation between them and us last year was by no means massive. It is not like the Raiders man-handled us. That is still the 1 most irritating game from last year. That absolutely should have been a win for the Ravens.

Look - I agree to some extent that we can't take the approach that when we hit it on the draft, then Ozzie is a wizard and when we don't, well, what can you do - it's a crap shoot. But sometimes, the teams that get touted as doing so much better than us seems to be a bit of a stretch.