Ravens2343

I am off work for the holiday already and was bored so I decided to put together my "ideal" offseason for the Ravens. I have taken points from posters on this board and combined them with my own thoughts. Before Free agency Extend Flacco Resign Tucker Resign Chris Givens Cut: Arrington (CB), Canty (DE), Levine (SS) and Pitta (TE) I think we bite the bullet and either cut Pitta or he retires, we will suffer a hit in dead money but we will see some immediate cap savings as well. Our 3 young tight ends will be good enough. Free Agency Sign Pierre Garcon (if cut) WR Sign Nick Perry OLB Sign Keenan Lewis (if cut) CB Trade a 2016 4th round comp pick for Zach Mettenberger (QB) Draft For the sake of this post I am going to say we end up with the #3 pick. Losing Flacco will cause us to lose the last 6 games and finish 3-13. I believe we will receive (2) 4th round comp picks and (1) 5th round With no trades for simplicity sake, here we go. Round 1: Laremy Tunsil OT With the signing of Nick Perry and Keenan Lewis in free agency we are able to take the absolute best player available and in this mock it is Tunsil. He is projected to be a franchise left tackle and he can slide into LG for his rookie year as we let Monroe have one more chance. Round 2: Emmanuel Ogbah DE/OLB He has been gaining a lot of attention lately, but there are quite a few pass rushers who will all be competing to go in the first round. Someone out of Lawson, Ogbah, Nassib, Calhoun or Buckner may fall to the top of the 2nd round. In this case we get lucky and land Ogbah at the top of the 2nd round. Round 3: Pharoh Cooper WR We help out Flacco in picking Cooper who is very shifty and makes defenders miss. He is not looked at as a polished route runner, but he has great speed and vision to make defenders miss and keep the chains moving. Round 4: Kevon Seymour CB Round 4 comp: Ryan Kelly-OL Round 5: Tyler Johnstone-OT Round 5 comp: Nelson Spruce-WR I decided to stop at the end of round 5. I used various sites to view player rankings and projections are where they may fall to construct this draft. 53 man Roster QB: Flacco, Mettenberger RB: Forsett, Allen and Taliaferro FB: Juice WR1: Garcon, Cooper WR2: Perriman, Waller, Givens Slot WR: SSS, Spruce TE: Gilmore, Williams, Boyle LT: Monroe, Johnstone LG: Tunsil, Myers C: Zuttah, Kelly RG: Yanda, Urschel RT: Wagner ST: Tucker, Koch, Cox DE: Guy, Urban NT: Williams, KLM DT: Jernigan, Davis LOLB: Perry, Suggs, Smith ILB: Smith, Brown ILB: Mosley, Orr ROLB: Doom, Ogbah CB1: Smith, Walker SlotCB: Webb, Seymour FS: Brooks, Lewis SS: Hill, Elam CB2: Lewis, Davis In this scenario I believe Spruce will take Campanaro's spot. Taliaferro and West will battle it out for #3 duties, which I have Taliaferro winning that. Hurst will be let go in favor of Johnstone, Myers will make good on his year on the practice squad and provide depth at LG. I believe SSS will return for one more season and will have his workload dialed back a bit with Perriman, Garcon and Cooper all getting a lot of looks. Defensively I think we will be better on the backend, but it still remains a question mark. Signing Lewis gives us an experienced outside CB who can push Webb into the slot and safety looks from time to time. Perry is a huge signing because now he can give Suggs adequate rest and Ogbah will start over Doom to keep him fresh. Please provide feedback as I was bored and probably missed a ton or made a far-fetched offseason forecast.

I really liked what I saw from Osemele at LT today. If there is any possible way we can unload Monroe without taking it on the chin and resign Osemele then we may have our future LT. I know it was just one game, but if we could have that happen and still get Tunsil or Stanley in round 1 then we would have a very good group of versatile lineman.

If we cut Monroe wont he count a lot in dead money? I would love Joe Thomas, but that doesn't seem like the type of move the Ravens will make. I am starting to really warm up to the idea of us taking Tunsil or Stanley at the top of the draft it the situation presents itself. Either way, we need to upgrade the LT spot and the swing tackle spot

I would love to have Joe Thomas on the Ravens, but no way can we afford his salary and Monroe's. Plus Monroe probably would not make a good guard and he is virtually untradeable this year due to his contract and injury issues. If we were to do that trade I would prefer we just resgin KO and still take a LT high in the draft to eventually replace Monroe. I like your idea of making a trade though because if we land a top 3 pick, I could see Ozzie pulling the trigger on a blockbuster type deal

I understand what you are saying and i refer to CBSSPORTS draft rankings frequently to see where players are ranked. They had Ogbah as a 1-2 round prospect so i undervalued him a bit. Nonetheless, I would be more then happy with someone like Ryan Nassib or Calhoun at the top of the 2nd instead of Ogbah. Either way in my mock offseason I would prefer us to sign Nick Perry and still acquire a big time edge rushing talent in the top of the second round. Johnstone would be a great value pick for us in the 4th-5th round due to his medical issues, but he was thought highly of before the injuries.

Johnstone tore his acl twice and has struggled with injuries at Oregon, I think he could easily slip in the draft with those medical red flags. A lot of draft sites have him as a 4th-6th round pick at this point, obviously this early that can be taken with a grain of salt but its a base to start with. Ogbah is skyrocketing, but anything can happen from now until May. We as Ravens fan love him because he looks to be a perfect fit for a 3-4 OLB, but that does not necessarily mean every team will feel that way. I believe this draft class will see a big run on offensive lineman and wide receivers in round 1, maybe Ogbah, Nassib or Calhoun fall to us at the top of the 2nd. I really like Cooper and I think he can make an immediate impact his first year, picking him though is based off of us signing a veteran receiver and getting SSS back.

I may be in the minority here, but I think it is paramount that we sign a mid-level free agent at corner, free safety or outside linebacker. Perry in my mind would be a better, more worthwhile investment then Eric Weddle or someone like Casey Hayward. Perry should come cheaper then McPhee did for the Bears also, but pairing him with Ogbah would do wonders for Suggs and Doom. After watching Dural this past weekend I was not as impressed with him as some are, he may even go back to school depending on how it all shakes out at LSU. But to me both players would be upgrades over who we currently have. I am a huge Hargreaves fan, but if we sign a veteran corner then picking a corner in the top 3 would not be necessary in where Tunsil could be our next Ogden. Either way I would be happy with Tunsil, Hargreaves or Ramsey because all 3 guys fill an immediate need for us

He is, but he is an excellent run blocker and I am sure he would have no problem moving to LG while Monroe gets 2016 as his last chance with the Ravens. I am pretty sure Jonathen Ogden started his rookie year at LG before moving to LT the next year? Others have done it also, it is not that uncommon I don't believe

Id take any veteran corner who may be cut or is going to be a free agency. Brandon Carr, Sean Smith or even Leon Hall could be options. Myers was not worth a 5th round pick, but maybe working with Castillo for a year and developing under Yanda and KO will help him. If not, then a cheap veteran signing at guard or a draft pick would be worthwhile.

I have KO walking and us filling his spot with Tunsil. Tucker can be franchised or resigned long term, either way he is going to be here in 2016. Garcon or Jackson are two well known veterans who probably will be cut, either one of them to me is a good signing. I have us keeping Lewis in this scenario because we failed to get Ramsey or sign Weddle or Gipson. The FS spot in my scenario is still a weak spot, but signing a veteran corner like Lewis will allow us to play Webb at safety once in a while. Nelson Spruce is a wide receiver form the University of Colorado. He is a little bigger then Campanaro but has the same versatility and shiftiness in the slot that Camp has. He would be an upgrade for the simple fact the Campanaro is never healthy

That may be true as of right now, but once pro days and the combine goes by then that is when QB's usually get all the hype. Even so, if we land in the top 5 I cannot see us trading out of the top 10 unless we were to get some ridiculous haul. It will cost the Browns virtually nothing to bring Gordon back so I don't see him hitting the market, especially since he might not even be reinstated for 2016. I think we sign a veteran receiver regardless of SSS and I think we draft one in the first 3 rounds on top of that. I think we have to sign a mid level free agent to help our defense out, whether that is someone like Nick Perry, Tambi Hali, Keenan Lewis (If cut) or Leon Hall, we cannot rely solely on draft picks again to produce. I like your first 3 picks though in the mock draft, all 3 guys fill big time needs on our team and Theus would be a big upgrade over Hurst. Overall though I think in your scenario we would be exposed in the secondary and at wide receiver again, two positions we absolutely have to upgrade via free agency and the draft.

I think that would be the best way for us to address the receiver position. If SSS returns I still think we should do this and sign a veteran along with a high draft pick. Givens should be resigned and only 2 out of Campanaro, Brown, Aiken, Waller and Butler should make it. Id vote Campanaro and Aiken with Waller spending time on the practice squad

He would be a decent stop gap option for us, but I don't think he would address the position the way we need to. Id prefer we spend more and get Gipson or Weddle if we don't go Ramsey in the draft. A player from the Bengals I wouldn't mind if we signed though would be Leon Hall, he could be a cheap veteran option to provide good depth (especially if we go Hargreaves in round 1). If/when he is cut, what would fans think of bringing back Paul Kruger? If he is cheap it would be a good option for us to replace Upshaw and provide good depth while potentially someone like Bosa, Ogbah or Calhoun learns from Suggs and Doom.

If there is any chance Flacco will not be ready to go by the 3rd game of the preseason next year then I think the Ravens need to find a capable starter. Instead of drafting a rookie, a scenario I would explore is floating a trade proposal to the Titans or Bucs for Glennon or Mettenberger. Now that we can trade comp picks we could offer a 4th or 5th rounder in 2016 or 2017 for either one of those guys and let them start the first couple weeks of the season if need be. Id rather have either one of those guys for a 4th or 5th rounder then draft a rookie in the late 4th or 5th round and have him not be ready week 1 in a worst case scenario.

If we land the #1 pick we could trade back to pick #4 or #5 and still get Hargreaves (depending who picks before us) and have the extra picks to trade back up into the middle-to-late part of the first round and have a shot at Ogbah. I really like Ogbah as well and the fact he fits so well in a 3-4 scheme may help us in terms of him slipping a little in the draft. I also really like Shaq Lawson at OLB, but he will probably go in the top 15 picks. A trade back to get Hargreaves then a trade back up to get Ogbah would net us two immediate impact starters on this defense and would be a huge get. Its a huge dream at this point but depending on how the chips fall we could have that opportunity. It would also allow us to have a pick in the 3rd and a few in the 4th to round out the wide receiver position and offensive line depth.

Injuries are part of this brutal but awesome game and unfortunately the Ravens have suffered a ton of them. As far as toughest to follow I wouldn't put this at the top for me because these players have fought hard each game no matter who was out there and what was against them. They are competitive in every game and are using the opportunity to develop some young talent that can help us in 2016 and beyond. It is disappointing to have to watch these guys suffer these injuries after working so hard and being so close last year, but I am proud to be a Ravens fan and I hope they compete as hard as they have the last 6 games. 2007 in my mind was worse because we had to no clear direction and no franchise QB to lean on, now we have Flacco and Harbaugh entrenched and a ton of talent around them. Having a potential top pick is a great way to rejuvenate this franchise and get them back to where they belong! Its been disappointing to say the least, but I am happy and exited to watch them every Sunday! The rest of the league better watch out for this team come September next year!!

I agree 100% no way we need to take a QB in round 1. Flacco is only 30 years right now and look at guys like Brady, Brees and Rivers who are playing at a high level and are much older then him. One guy I would not mind the Ravens looking at though if he slipped to round 3 is Christian Hackenberg from PSU. He continues to drop down boards because of poor play and he could be the type of guy the Ravens develop and bring a long slowly. I would be in favor of using our 3rd round pick on him if he were there.

Like Flacco said its just the nature of the game and unfortunately for Monroe he has been unlucky with injuries this year. If we had a better swing tackle missing Monroe for a game or two would not be a huge deal, so I don't think we necessarily have to pick a LT in round 1, but we should look to get someone in round 2-3 that can play in a pinch right away. I just really hope the Ravens stay away from project type players this year and draft players who can step in right now and play if need be. Robert Myers looks like a wasted pick unless a year on the practice squad learning from Castillo has helped him (lets hope so!)

I love this because there are a ton of Flacco doubters out there and now we will see what it is like without him. We do have a ton of great guys on this team and its unfortunate that two of the humblest and nicest guys on our team had to suffer serious injuries yesterday. I cannot wait to see how hard these guys play against the Browns!

With so many other areas of need I cannot see us going RB any higher then round 4. Forsett should be good to go by training camp and like you said we have Allen (who has looked really good the last few games). Taliaferro will have to battle it out with West who should now get some opportunities and Mosertt has looked good at kick returns and might get some carries now

Yeah I saw that outrageous report as well, I don't know where these guys come up with those but they are surely hilarious. On a serious note, they DEFINITELY need to have a contingency plan and hopefully they draft a QB in the middle rounds that can develop. I would not be surprised to see the Ravens carry 3 QB's next year for the first time in a few season, Flacco and a solid veteran backing him up with a talented developmental guy behind him (Kessler, Prescott, Hackenberg, Wentz etc...)

You are right that Monroe is virtually untradeable, which puts the Ravens in a very tough spot. We could pass on a LT in round one and pick up a quality guard in rounds 2-4 and look for a swing tackle in those rounds as well. Having the ability to trade comp picks will help us tremendously, especially since we are "projected" to get two 4ths and a 5th. Maybe the Ravens will look to sign a veteran swing tackle in free agency, but they need to upgrade a few spots on the o-line. Monroe will probably get one more year though which I hope he stays healthy because he is an above average LT when healthy.

Another silver lining type note is that hopefully Flacco and these offensive guys wont have to learn a new system this offseason. Trestman has no way been an excellent coordinator, but he should remain there for 2016 and that will benefit Flacco and this entire offense. Flacco can focus solely on rehab while we have a young guy (hopefully) draft pick QB come in and take a lot of reps during the summer.

I was against Tunsil/Stanley this whole season until today's game. I have no idea what Monroe's problem has been lately, especially since he had no injuries problems in Jacksonville. Hurst seems to have really regressed from last year (not saying much) and we really need to upgrade the swing tackle spot and most likely LG. Tunsil/Stanley would fill a huge need on this team, but there will be quality guys available in rounds 2-3 that can help us tremendously. Bosa, Hargreaves or Ramsey would be my preference at the top if we do not go LT.

I am certainly exited for Boyle as well. I really like when all 3 are in the game like last week, it creates a lot of mismatch problems. The defense did play well, although that might have been indicative of the Rams poor offense too. Webb has played better then expected so far this year and has stayed healthy which is encouraging for next season. I am extremely excited for our defensive line moving forward, we cut Canty at seasons end and put Urban back in and we wont have to make any changes to that unit. Our tight end group and defensive line are the only two groups that really don't need any changes for 2016