I apologize in advance for such a long post. I have not posted in a very long time and just thought I would throw in my two cents. I don't feel the need to run anyone down for their opinion or blast anyone who does not like this draft. I will however, give reasons why I loved this draft. I think Ozzie and the front office have done EXACTLY what they said they were going to do. For those that remember, right after the super bowl, Ozzie stated that his first order of business was to bolster the middle of the defense. Last years draft he did exactly that. We drafted a Safety, a MLB, and a DT with our first three picks. We also added several stop gaps. ( Daryl Smith turned out to be outstanding for us ) For those that think rebuilding a defense in one off season while being under the restraints of the salary cap is easy, all I can ask of you is to think about that. Elam , I feel is going to be a great strong safety for this team. The guy has shown he has the skills needed to excel at that position. Brown, I still have a load of confidence in, he may just need a little more time. Williams, I honestly feel is going to be a beast and could end up being a fan favorite. ( just an opinion ) That draft class is a fine start in the rebuilding process. Was I personally a bit disappointed that we did not get a stud flashy offensive player early in the draft? Of course. But I could see the plan and I like it. This team went eight and eight. We were just a few plays away from making the playoffs. After the super bowl I could see how many players we lost. We were picked clean in free agency and retirement. It was definitely time to rebuild this defense. Yes, we took a chance on offense and injuries and murphy's law bit us in the backside. It happens. It happens to every team. Teams have to take chances on players and schemes. It is the nature of the business. (again, cap restraints) But we did manage to infuse the defense with some very promising young blood. And just as Ozzie stated, it was all in the middle of the defense from front to back. Fast forward to this years draft. I will agree there was a lot of talented offensive players on the boards. We can all agree or disagree on where these players should have been ranked on a value basis. I understand that right tackle is a big question mark. Certainly wide receiver is always a question mark on the Ravens. I just feel that we as fans do not have nearly the information on these players as the front offices of NFL teams have. Players slide and drop frequently. But typically we do not have a clue if they drop or rise on ACTUAL teams boards. All we have is what pundits feel about certain players. We as fans do not get to sit in on interviews or individual workouts. With all this being said, I feel the actual value of a player to a team is very very subjective. I for one trust our front office. I feel this team always seems to get a lot more from their draft picks than most other teams. Sure, sometimes we miss. But I would stack our FO up against anybody in the business. Not Everyone is going to be a star but a lot of our draftees tend to provide value to our team in one way or another. This is where I feel a lot of the trust in Ozzie comes from for a lot of people. Certainly for me. Once again we end up taking a MLB, a DT, and a safety. The front office said it was purely chance. Hmmmm. I am not sure if that is 100 percent true or just FO talk. I do however, believe that we got outstanding value with our first three picks. Remember that draft picks are always a risk. There is always that chance you take in the player being NFL ready of a project. Mosley, this guy is outstanding ! I am surprised we were able to get him to be frank. Make no mistake. CJ and Arthur are going to be a outstanding duo at mlb in the future. Jernigan, Another very high value pick. Kid is a monster. Ohhh and he did not fail a drug test. I guarantee if I took a test I would show up as diluted as well. I drink about 6 to 9 liters of water a day. Its up to you if you believe him or not. The FO apparently did and I feel they scored in the draft with him. Brooks, SCORE ! This kid has tremendous potential at free safety. I feel his upside at FREE SAFETY is the highest in the draft. As a pure FS at this moment I would have him ranked maybe second. There is a difference between being better suited for FS or SS. Take a step back and look. The entire middle of our defense has been filled with very promising, young, cheap, defensive players. Jernigan and WIlliams middle front. Mosley and Brown Middle. Elam and Brooks Back end. I love it. In two drafts we have set ourselves up for a dominant defense again. Yes it may take a year for these guys to kick in. But just think of the possibilities. The talent is there. As far as Marlon goes. I honestly do not feel that there was a more NFL ready receiver in this draft after the top three than he is. I put Brown above all of them as far as being ready to go. This guy has very real and very big upside. The guy gave us very good production on an anemic offense last season. He was a UDFA coming off a serious injury and yet still did very well. He handled the responsibility like a seasoned pro. I do not feel he is anywhere near his ceiling and that to me is reason enough to give him his chance. Seriously, Why draft a high pick rookie to sit at the bottom of the depth chart? Frankly I think we are sitting good at receiver. We can not carry a all pro player sitting behind every position. I know, I get it, What if so and so goes down? Are you comfortable with such and such behind them? Come on , that is always a question on every team in the NFL. Backups and backups to backups can NOT all be all pro. And to answer the question...... Yes, absolutely I am very comfortable with Marlon as our third receiver on this team. And then if that happened that would make Jones number three. Still that is pretty darn good. ( again, my opinion.) Corner. Yup it is a question mark after Jimmy and Webb. It is time for the youngsters to step up and show they can handle it in camp. If not.... We find a stop gap vet. Same thing applies with Right tackle. Those are the two biggest question marks I see. Seriously, that is not bad for a team in rebuild mode. That is my reasoning for loving this draft. I know I probably wont change anyone's mind and that is ok. I just wanted to ramble on. LOL Ohhhhhhh.... and YES............ I wear the purple glasses and drink the purple kool aid and I am proud of it. I am a Homer and always will be. But I can still form a opinion based on what I see. 5 of last six seasons making the playoffs, ( a few plays away, during rebuilding year for the sixth) three afc championship games one superbowl tells me that Ozzie knows how to build a team. The man deserves a little faith even from the doubters. Thanks for letting me vent.
