Alabama Raven

Every report I've seen about Stanley is the knock on him is his run blocking. He's an elite pass blocker, that struggles to pave the way. Tunsil is reportedly excellent at both, which is why he was projected to be the #1 pick for months. The Chargers may still shy from Tunsil because of health concerns, but it won't be because Stanley is the better run blocker.

That's still a positive result in my mind, I think the only qualifier to consider at that stage is who comes off the board between picks 3-5. If it's something along the lines of Ramsey/Tunsil/Bosa then I probably do trade back. At #15 we're still getting a top line talent, and I think the value increase from an extra player at the beginning of the second round would be immense. We could address DE/OLB, CB, WR, OT in the first three rounds with high ceiling players. We've been attempting to seriously address needs in the middle rounds for the past 5 years to only a moderate degree of success. 15, 33, 36 would still far and away the best three picks we've had in a draft in recent memory. That's not even counting the two in the 3rd and three in the 4th. The more I think about it, the more the trade down makes sense, and to be completely honest with you if Tunsil is available I think Tennessee ABSOLUTELY comes back up in exchange for 2 second round picks. In all likelihood we would need to give up a 4th or possibly a 3rd, but they would push much harder if Tunsil were on the table. He actually gives us more leverage. Trading back maximizes our value, and allows us to address more needs with players of similar caliber. It's the responsible move.

Myles Jack, if healthy, would be a great player. I have no doubt about that. Unfortunately, the Ravens can't afford to spend #6 on a player who may not be healthy. We can't afford back-to-back first round misses on injury. We'll be sitting in the top 10 of the draft again next year unless tonight and tomorrow go well for us. We've got to land an immediate difference maker at #6. I love Myles Jack. We just can't pick him unless we're able to trade back and do so.

The only time I don't consider a trade back is if Ramsey falls and we address our biggest need - Secondary. I can't imagine the haul we could land if we're picking at #15, #36, #43, #45. That's a franchising altering opportunity.

I think your first two projected picks are very realistic. I'm "meh" on Tunsil at the moment, but understand the value behind the pick at 6 and fully expect that to be our pick if he's available. Moving up for Spence makes sense considering the organization hasn't exactly made their infatuation with him a secret. The rest of the draft I'm a bit disappointed in. I think we've got to find a way to take one of the early-to-mid second round CB prospects, even if we're trading up for Spence. We're in desperate need of CB help, and that's going to limit what we can do with the rest of our draft. One of Jackson, Burns, Alexander, or Fuller must find their way to Baltimore. We're horrendous at CB right now.

You lost me at "Fire Newsome". I centered myself afterward and then you lost me again with the inability to see the value in a potential trade back. If you can get a pair of 2nd round picks by moving in to the middle of the first, we absolutely should considering how many holes we have presently. Especially considering this is a talented second round. That's an aggressive trade by whoever is moving up to our spot, so it may not be realistic to think we could acquire a pair of 2nd rounders, but if we can get solid value I'm absolutely open to trading back with somebody like Tennessee at #15, which is still higher than we almost ever get to pick. I think the ballsy move is to trade back. It would be easy to take someone at #6.

As a lifelong Alabama fan (And Franchise long Raven's fan) I can pretty easily set college allegiances aside when I talk about Alabama players moving to the NFL. Some of Alabama's players are, as always, a fit with us. Some of them are not for various reasons. Here's my take: Take: Ragland Robinson Kelly Drake Do Not Take: Reed Jones Potentially Divisive: Henry Ragland fits very well at ILB. Robinson is fine, but not stellar. His maturity and work level is to be commended, he was easily the team leader on defense last year. Kelly is a good, not great Center. Under no circumstance should be taken in the first round. Drake is an absolute baller, and played the entire season recovering from a very serious injury. The further removed he is, the faster he'll be. 2014 Drake was a sight to behold. Would love this guy in the 3rd/4th if he's available. Jarran Reed is a good player, don't get me wrong, but we don't need him. He's a limited ability pash rusher, who will struggle to set the edge against the run at the next level. Think a more athletic Courtney Upshaw, but who's guaranteed to go in the 1st round. If Reed were available in the latter part of round 2 he would be a great choice, but the value isn't there. Cyrus Jones is a different story. We should NOT select him under any circumstance. He was the third best cover corner for Alabama in 2015. He was exploited by a handful of talented Wide Receivers. As a return man, I'm skeptical of his performance. Alabama has traditionally produced really solid return men who have essentially overperformed at the college level. Javier Arenas for instance, is one of NCAAF's all-time leaders in return yards, touchdowns, and yards per return. Cyrus Jones is a hard worker by all accounts, but his lack of ability to play CB really limits his value. The absolute earliest we should touch Jones is if he falls to the 5th round. Anything before then is aggressive. Henry is divisive. He's one of the most impressive athletes I've watched play at Alabama. He's a very large, bulky, yet fit RB. He can handle mass amounts of carries and is the epitome of "Gets stronger as the game goes on". Interestingly, he won't blow you away with physicality. He's more elusive than some here give him credit for, but his lack of lateral agility, acceleration, and deficient hands are all legitimate concerns. Ultimately, I think he will be a useful NFL RB, who I would have been willing to take in Round 2, if not for the stable of RBs we currently have on roster. I don't believe Henry would get the playing time required to take advantage of his best features in Baltimore with the number of backs we have, and we have too much need at other positions to select him.

The best case scenario for tomorrow is Ramsey falls to #6. If Ramsey doesn't fall we should take the best possible trade offer and fall back into the middle of the first and collect picks for the second round, which in my opinion is absolutely full of prospects that could be massive difference makers: Alexander, Dodd, Joseph, Jackson, Burns, Boyd, Fuller, Thompson, Shepard, Cravens, among others.

To answer the original topic, If Ramsey is available I wouldn't hesitate one moment to pick him.. And that's not a knock on Tunsil, who is an incredible LT.

A star RB doesn't make the Ravens any better as it stands now. We have obvious deficiencies in a lot of places, and we have capable RBs on roster. For that reason alone we should either draft Tunsil/Ramsey/Bosa/Jack. We have serious needs for performance at all of those positions. I think Elliot will be a very good NFL back, but it's borderline irresponsible for us to draft him at #6. We have too many holes.

I'm all for picking Tunsil if he's available, but to do it while writing someone else off for injury problems is comical. Tunsil has a concerning and serious injury history. Even better yet, Eugene Monroe was the poster child of health in Jacksonville.

Right - I didn't mean to make it sound like you did. Beside, my experience with the NFL is that if there is a Free Agent that is appealing and would fit with the Ravens they inevitably sign with either the Patriots or the Steelers. I have very little hope here, it's just an interesting move by Gettleman. Brass balls, that guy.

A 28 year old CB with one plus season under his belt? He was undoubtedly very good this year, but he'll be looking for $16 Mil+ annually according to some. I'm all for putting in due diligence but this seems so far from plausible for us. Which is unfortunate because outside Jimmy Smith we're so awful at the position.

Carolina has rescinded their franchise tag on CB Josh Norman, making him an unrestricted Free Agent. That's interesting.

Yeldon absolutely was the starter. He had 182 carries last year (More than any Raven in 2015). I agree that they probably are over-hyped because of their college success, but to have so many consecutive players contributing meaningfully at a single position like that is remarkable. I would definitely put in due diligence with Henry, even if ultimately they decide they have plenty of options at RB currently (Which is my opinion).

TJ Yeldon just had a strong rookie season in Jacksonville. Lacy is good, Ingram is good. Who knows what Richardson is anymore. I'm not advocating for Henry, as I don't think we should spend a draft pick on an RB at all considering our defensive needs and our current plethura of RBs (Even if there's not a clear #1). I think having three starters in the NFL right now means you're putting out a good bit of talent and it's worth looking at. Still, Henry is a really risky pick when you factor in his lack of lateral mobility and deficient hands.

Don't count on it. He struggled in coverage at Alabama against quality receivers. I wouldn't touch him.

As an Alabama fan who has watched every down of football for the Crimson Tide for the past 20 years, there's some interesting opinions flying around about two players, Cyrus Jones & Reggie Ragland. 1) Do not touch Cyrus Jones until the 4th/5th round at the earliest. He will not contribute as a CB in the NFL for several years, if ever. He is a good return man, but that doesn't merit the early round pick. Stay away from him. 2) Ragland is a solid. Linebacker. He would pair well with Mosley. Yes, he would struggle in coverage as many true MLB's do. However, he's more athletic than some in this thread have given him credit for. We would be lucky to have him. I imagine he'll go somewhere around 15-20 overall, and rightfully so. The best LB Comparison I could make is Donta Hightower. He's a good starter in the league within his first 2ish years.

I think you could potentially add Derrick Henry to the list here. With the speculation that we're interested in Ezekiel Elliot with the #6 pick, it would make sense that we would show interest in Henry here. I think his lack of lateral mobility and explosive first step makes him available at #36. I'm not convinced he would be a great pick, but he was outrageous in college.

I'm not happy to lose Hill, but it sounds like it's his own fault. That's extremely disappointing, but good on the Ravens for moving on.

Oh wow. This feels like a horrible mistake.

IMO This is the most well thought out and explained mock I've seen this offseason - from anyone.

Does Daryl Smith's release mean that Myles Jack becomes a more likely target for us on draft day?

This was insightful. Trent does a good job describing how easily you can lose your way when you step outside of a regimented college life and into the NFL. I'm glad he's getting another chance with the Ravens. I'd love to see him succeed.

This is probably overstating DePriest's ability. He's a downhill gap stuffer, but that's likely all. There's not a lot of precedence for players like this succeeding in the NFL. It should also be considered that he struggled to learn the playbook through the first two years of his career at Alabama, which severely limited him. He obviously cannot afford that here. This is far too harsh, though. Will he be able to play in the NFL in coverage or on the outside with what we saw in College? No. I wouldn't knock his instincts though, and I don't personally think I saw enough of a reason to knock his motor. He doesn't have great speed, but I don't think the lack of a high gear means he was giving up. All in all he is deserving of a go at it. The odds are against him and he'll have to improve his game significantly to stick at the NFL level. I'm happy it's with the Ravens though!