[News] Late For Work 5/4: 'Near Perfect' Draft, Perriman Better Than Torrey, Maxx Offensive Rookie Of Year

[BR News]

The Ravens got very high grades, even for Ozzie Newsome. Analysis on each of the Ravens’ nine picks.

View the full article

[Rants N Ravens]

No one was happier than I was Friday night when we jumped the Stoolers for Williams. LOVE IT!

[Dorota]

Haven't heard a lot about Perriman before the draft, as he's out of my conference, but welcome on board, and I have high expectations!

Maxx Williams though, I am beyond extatic about! Can't wait to rub in salt in Steeler wounds on the next 2 or 3 occasions this year and then for years to come Hahahaha, judging by the fact that they took up all their time up to pick their round 2 player, they were flabberghasted. I wouldn't call anyone though Todd Heap 2.0 or Pernell McPhee 2.0. I trust our rookies will be able to build a reputation all their own and unique. Fear the purple and black! I'm sure Joe was not so cool when he heard from Harbs and did a little victory dance after learning that the first two Raven picks are presents for him.

[4evermore23]

We filled alot of needs and we have depth i think last yr we just had the injury bug at corner and we will b ok this yr just those guys have to stay healthy were gonna b better than last yr and more explosive on offense im excited and i feel were superbowl bound

[bostonraven]

Maxx Williams = Maximore

[Nick04263]

I kind of feel bad for Supernaw. He will be the odd man out of all of this. Williams, Gillmore, Pitta (???), and the other TE we just drafted. Not a bad team problem to have. Just saying.

[Purpleghost23]

definetly offensive rookie of the year,maxx will have like 800 yards , 65 catches , 8 or 9, 10+ tds!!!...time to revenge cj mosley and get that rookie trophy back to the house.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Purpleghost23

[Bat-mite]

Now we just need all these young guys to come together and gel. Coaches--time to step up!

Looks to be an exciting season.

[bioLarzen]

Lets hope Perriman will bring a lot of ice come the camp - he'll sure need it working next to Steve Smith - but it will be worth it.

Edited May 4, 2015 by bioLarzen

[Mystigo_Dragon]

Well, many of you know how I decry those terms like "the greatest", "best", etc,... 

 

THIS, from start to finish and even adding the UFAs, has got to be the best Draft we've had since picking up Lewis and Ogden in 1996!  

 

Yeah, I said it! 

Edited May 4, 2015 by Mystigo_Dragon

[respecttheRaven]

I am so excited that the draft board finally collated with our draft needs!!!! This is going to be a great year!!! Would have loved to see the look on the Steelers FO faces, when they saw that we had traded up for Maxx Williams!!

 The Sky is the Limit!!!  

Edited May 4, 2015 by respecttheRaven

[Halshayeji]

1st round. I've been high on perriman for months and got crushed around here for it. Seems like Ozzie and I both see that he has more potential than any other WR in this class.

2nd round. I was never a fan of us reaching for maax Williams with our 1st pick as I thought we needed a WR or CB with our pick. But to get the best TE late in the second is not a reach at all. Heck breaking Pittsburgh heart and watching them scramble is just priceless.

3rd round. The draft unfolded beautifully for teams in need of Dline help. The second round was flooded with talented big guys. Ozzie just waited it out and said "WATCH THIS!" As he snatched yet another 1st round talent late in the third round.

At this point I'm just thinking to myself we're done here. I don't care if we draft 6 punters I'm satisfied with what we already got.

4th round. Zadarious smith and buck Allen. I'm thinking to myself "huh". Then I watch a fe hours of film on these guys. By the end of it I was thinking " did Ozzie just pull 2 more rabbits out of an empty hat?"

Then we pick up a few developmental guys that look really good on paper. Can't wait to see how they look a few years down the road. A 6'2 CB, a 6'6 WR that's runs a 4.4, a lineman that could turn into something, and a TE.

[reed20fence]

Heck, we already have a tradition of playing the Gladiator theme in our pregame introductions. Now we can all chant MAXIMUS! MAXIMUS! every time Williams scores.

I'm so amped to see the 2016 Ravens!

Edited May 4, 2015 by reed20fence

[Corvus]

My favorite draft in years overall, solid value from top to bottom. I still maintain the team will start using Pitta as a split-out receiver for mismatches in the slot once he gets healthy. Pitta will never be anything more than a below average blocker at this point in his career if he is able to come back but he is still a fantastic pass catcher. We will have solid options at the in-line TE position with Williams (still plenty of time for him to improve blocking and he already is not as bad there as some pundits have made him out to be), Gillmore, and Boyle/Supernaw to just give this offense another flexible weapon.

 

Smitty and Perriman, Brown, Campanaro, and Aiken with another year of experience and hopefully more opportunities in the rotation. Forsett, Taliaferro, and Allen out of the backfield. Forsett, Allen, and Juszczyk all capable pass catchers out of the backfield. Williams as a great pass catcher and Pitta as a receiver when he gets back. This offense is loaded provided the o-line can keep up the good work from last year.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Corvus

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

I am very happy with the draft from the first pick to the ninth pick. Oz did a good job at filling the holes we had I.M.H.O.

[MissRay27]

Ozzie and his staff are just the best! So ready for some football!!

[Italian Raven]

My first impression is that we've had a pretty solid draft overall but I think only those teams who fill every need at a bargain price should be given an A, and to be fair our secondary doesn't look much improved.

I think there was no need of Boyle (what are we supposed to do with 4 TEs?) and we could have taken another DB there instead (Ifo, K.White, Gaines). This brings it to A-.

Then, I prefere Mike Davis to Allen.. you watch his tapes and you just can't get excited; he takes the holes he's given, without showing much vision, pretty much like Taliaferro and doesn't look like an upgrade.

Walker was a little early, probably. On the other hand we got steals in Carl Davis and Smith (who I gave a 2nd and 3rd rounder to).. I'd say A- is quite honest (for what we know so far).

[drillem]

Smooth. All the way. In the era of salary caps the team's management is the one thing that can really make the difference.

[salamander]

I never tire of hearing stories of "sticking it to the Steelers". Just warms my heart

[huntrgathrr]

Not addressing cornerback in the draft causes me no concern whatsoever. The Steelers overdrafted to take 3 cornerbacks (Golson, Hollman, Grant) and maybe 1 of them will make it in the NFl. That's Golson who at 5'8/ 175 is so little he is limited to playing slot corner in the NFL. He had a lot of interceptions but also allowed a lot of TDs. Grant isn't athletic enough to hold up in the NFL at corner and Hollman is a "contact adverse matador that won't last his rookie contract".

We are actually very deep in the secondary now that the IR players have returned.

Adding Lewis was a HUGE move. He is an NFL proven safety. He and Will Hill are locked in at safety. Elam and Levine are backups at safety.

Smith is a shut down corner on one side. That leaves Melvin, Webb, Brooks, Gorrer and Jackson to compete for the other corner spot and the nickel. Walker looks like a project headed for special teams.

Even if Marcus Peters or Johnson were available to us and we had selected them I'm not sure they would have ended up starting for us without injuries happening. But they weren't available so we drafted the BPA. A solid draft was the result.

Great job Ozzie

[EddiOK]

I agree that this was an excellent draft. That being said, we still need help in the secondary. Somewhere between undrafted rookies, and a few veteran signings, we're going to need to cobble together a crew to handle the elite QB's come playoff time. If it wasn't for that, I'd give this draft an A . Instead I'll file it as an A-. Still excited for August!

[reed20fence]

There aren't many teams that concretely expect their 4th round picks to make the team and at least play a rotational role on their side of the ball while starting on special teams. We're one of those teams that do expect our 4th rounders to contribute.

I mention this because Tray Walker is a Free Safety that converted to a CB. So he can be a gunner/jammer immediately on special teams.

Compare the combines of 3 players to see where he falls. Jimmy Smith, Cary Williams, and Tray Walker.

Jimmy had about 30 pounds on Cary and Tray coming out of school. but his 40, shuttle and 3-cone times are quite similar to the other 2 guys.

There's no doubt that Walker is a project (for starters he'll need to bulk up a little without compromising his speed) but he has the potential to be a versatile guy for us.

Edited May 4, 2015 by reed20fence

[The Mom Gene]

HA! I had to laugh... Jamie Dukes, no way that guy was giving us an A.

[ReginaldColeman1]

GB was not ahead of the Ravens when it came to Rollins. But after Peters and Kevin Johnson in retrospect the Ravens weren't in a hurry to grab someone. Who else was picked after that? Josh Shaw, Doran Grant? Were they even in the discussion? Rowe, Collins and Darby were gone too. No one left in the second was a BPA compared to Maxx. Carl Davis? How lucky can u get? On CBS mocks he appeared in the first round from time to time. If a guy like Breshad can leap for balls and catch them over his shoulder than why worry about a few drops on the easy ones. He took his eye off it or whatever. He needs better competition which he will find in the NFL.

[Mystigo_Dragon]

I am so excited that the draft board finally collated with our draft needs!!!! This is going to be a great year!!! Would have loved to see the look on the Steelers FO faces, when they saw that we had traded up for Maxx Williams!!

 The Sky is the Limit!!!  

 

Probably that same look we had when Cincy took Jermaine Gresham just before us a few years back!

Good to be on the giving side for a change, eh, respecttheRaven?! 

Edited May 4, 2015 by Mystigo_Dragon

[J.O.14]

I get the feeling that some people are doubting Perriman. Hopefully he uses it as motivation. I really think that this guy could turn into the receiver Flacco has always needed. With some good coaching and mentoring from SSS, he could even put up big numbers this year. Honestly, if he just makes defenses respect him, thats all we need. I think 50-60 catches would be a good year for Perriman.

[RavensFootballFan]

Heck, we already have a tradition of playing the Gladiator theme in our pregame introductions. Now we can all chant MAXIMUS! MAXIMUS! every time Williams scores.

I'm so amped to see the 2016 Ravens!

 

That is funny!!! I like that.

[balfan23]

HA! I had to laugh... Jamie Dukes, no way that guy was giving us an A.

We don't have many homers in the media ... but Kiper would be one of them. 

[ellicottraven]

No one was happier than I was Friday night when we jumped the Stoolers for Williams. LOVE IT!

Maybe with one exception - Maxx Williams!

[ellicottraven]

If the Ravens had the first 9 picks in this year's draft - 1-9 and picked the consensus top 9 players in this year's draft, Jamie Dukes would've shown his 'TEETH' and still given us a 'B'!