[News] Late For Work 3/24: Could RB Ezekiel Elliott Be Dark-Horse Pick For Ravens?

[noleafclover613]

  2 hours ago, noleafclover613 said:

Let's not forget, VH3 got smoked by Alabama's Cooper .

so did our cb's when he played us

Our cb's didn't cost the 6th overall pick in the draft either. For a #6, I expect something close to P Peterson.

[JetLife94]

I thought our stable was complete after grabbing Terrence west! Forrset, Buck, taliaferro, west. Isn't that enough??

[ravens4life86]

If everyone we want is gone...why NOT Zeke Elliott?!! Franchise Running Backs are not a dime a dozen... and Ravens have won Rings with 2 of them Jamal, and Rice.

[eze17]

I thought our stable was complete after grabbing Terrence west! Forrset, Buck, taliaferro, west. Isn't that enough??

Forrset-aging vetran,injured last year/Buck-shown some flashes but inconsistent/Taliaferro-injury prone more short yardage& goaline back/West-shown flashes but has also bounced around teams.

While I don't think Raven's would take Elliott with #6, if we drop back in 1st round it would'nt be incomprehensible to take him later. As I said earlier, I think he's 1st round material. Is it a pressing need? No. But you have to admit, the guy looks to be a bruiser.

[riseNConquer81]

If everyone we want is gone...why NOT Zeke Elliott?!! Franchise Running Backs are not a dime a dozen... and Ravens have won Rings with 2 of them Jamal, and Rice.

West, Allen, and Taliaferro are all pretty much the same guy, and none of them is a real alpha dog.

Forsett's getting old, he wont be here long.

and we could use some speed, or at least some down hill power. we dont have anybody that excels at either one of those really.

[eze17]

  1 hour ago, ravens4life86 said:

If everyone we want is gone...why NOT Zeke Elliott?!! Franchise Running Backs are not a dime a dozen... and Ravens have won Rings with 2 of them Jamal, and Rice.

West, Allen, and Taliaferro are all pretty much the same guy, and none of them is a real alpha dog.

Forsett's getting old, he wont be here long.

and we could use some speed, or at least some down hill power. we dont have anybody that excels at either one of those really.

Agree, but only if we end up trading back a few spots...I'm not convinced Elliott is worth a #6, especially if there's a top defender still on the board.

[Grapple Raven]

Congratulations to the Minks on their new family addition. Ravens Nation is growing! 

[steelcityraven]

  59 minutes ago, riseNConquer81 said:

  2 hours ago, ravens4life86 said:

If everyone we want is gone...why NOT Zeke Elliott?!! Franchise Running Backs are not a dime a dozen... and Ravens have won Rings with 2 of them Jamal, and Rice.

West, Allen, and Taliaferro are all pretty much the same guy, and none of them is a real alpha dog.

Forsett's getting old, he wont be here long.

and we could use some speed, or at least some down hill power. we dont have anybody that excels at either one of those really.

Agree, but only if we end up trading back a few spots...I'm not convinced Elliott is worth a #6, especially if there's a top defender still on the board.

Agreed.... if we could trade back and take Elliot later in rd # 1.... and still take a CB like Will Jackson -UTAH in round #2 and possibly add an extra 2nd or 3rd round pic or more! That wouldn't be a bad deal. In fact... I think I would feel pretty good about a scenario like that!

[Rahul]

I hope philly jumps to our spot n we get number 8 pick and 2nd rounder, that would be awesome.

My 2 cents for dark horse pick if we trade down is Reggie Ragland may be ?

[balfan23]

I'll be beyond stunned if we take Elliot at 6.

[eze17]

Congratulations to the Minks on their new family addition. Ravens Nation is growing! 

Yes indeed, best wishes to the Minks!

[mearzunkies]

Welcome to The world lil Minks. I think the Ravens take a defender and I HOPE for Ramsey. Not going to happen but it would be awesome! I do NOT like Bosa. Something does not seem right about his athletic ability.

[pocket]

Another rule to make it easier for the offense.. Surprise!

[JetLife94]

7 hours ago, eze17 said:

Forrset-aging vetran,injured last year/Buck-shown some flashes but inconsistent/Taliaferro-injury prone more short yardage& goaline back/West-shown flashes but has also bounced around teams.

While I don't think Raven's would take Elliott with #6, if we drop back in 1st round it would'nt be incomprehensible to take him later. As I said earlier, I think he's 1st round material. Is it a pressing need? No. But you have to admit, the guy looks to be a bruiser.

I have a feeling west is going to come on strong with us, same with buck. West couldn't run behind Titans o-line because they can't block. Cleveland I just feel like they liked Crowell more because he was shifty, lighter. I just think if we were to draft RB it would be later in the draft. Not with 6.

[Halshayeji]

16 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

I don't think we're in a "win now" mode either, but it is a game of semantics. I think we're in a perpetual state of trying to win every single year...legitimately. Had the team remained relatively healthy last year I think we would have been in the playoffs at the very least.

The windows that are closing soon are:

1) The O-line: We've got a lot of guys with only a couple of years left on their contracts and probably won't be back. So far our backups haven't really shown they are potential starters in the league yet, that could change.

2) The edge rushers: Suggs is nearing the end of his career and Dumervil the end of his contract. Both guys are at or beyond the wrong side of 30. Again our youth behind these guys hasn't shown enough to be the answer going forward.

3) The secondary: Webb is injury prone and is now 30, Weddle's contract is essentially for 2 years and he's over 30, Matt Elam has been a bust so far, Brooks has the injury bug, and Lewis didn't impress. Jimmy Smith is hopefully healthy and after that is Shareece Wright as our #2 corner? I didn't see much of Kyle Arrington and the tragic loss of Tray Walker also hurts us on this level as well.

4) Wideout: Our #1 guy is going to be a soon to retire Steve Smith Sr. and the Ravens have never drafted well enough to replace him. After that is an over achieving Kamar Aiken, a total question mark in Perriman, and a guy hoping to regain some form in Wallace. I hope Perriman is the talent they think he is and he can stay healthy. Would also love to see Campanaro stay healthy.

I appreciate that the Ravens try to win every year and of course thats what you try to do every year. Put a squad on the field that can compete with anyone and also keep an eye on the future. It's a balance. When a team signs front loaded contracts and gathers up draft picks and brings FA aging 24-28. That team wants to win but the focus in on the future. If a team goes out and compromises future cap flexibility to sign players that have 1-3 good years in them then that team is focused on wining now. Even if it puts the future in jeapordy a but. That's where the Ravens are.

 

1- exactly. If this team was not in win now mode they would have released Monroe and brought in a younger guy. And also stocked up. And they wouldn't have pushed Yanda cap into the future knowing his age. The Ravens don't care if Yanda decides to retire in a few years and we swallow a few mil in dead cap. That's a win now proposition.

2- you are proving my point. If this team was not in win now, Doom would be on the block.

3- Webb and weddle are both aging players and it's fair to say that this upcoming year is going to be their best physically. It's only going down hill from here (physically) but yet the Ravens are happy to squeeze whatever they can from them and try to win with them instead of trading Webb and bringing a young guy that may not be as good as weddle today but has the potential to be better in 3 years. That's win now.

4- you said it. SSS almost retired and we begged him to come back. Aiken and perriman are great prospects for the future and we decided to beg SSS to come back and bring a solid Wallace to fight for playing time. That's a win now proposition.

 

we have been blessed by drafting pritty well the past few years except for Elam and brown. We have a loooot of young guys with potential so we still have one eye on the future. But this whole offseason is about winning now! Then in 2 years well asses the situation and decide which of our young guns we go forward with. 

[rmcjacket23]

47 minutes ago, Halshayeji said:

I appreciate that the Ravens try to win every year and of course thats what you try to do every year. Put a squad on the field that can compete with anyone and also keep an eye on the future. It's a balance. When a team signs front loaded contracts and gathers up draft picks and brings FA aging 24-28. That team wants to win but the focus in on the future. If a team goes out and compromises future cap flexibility to sign players that have 1-3 good years in them then that team is focused on wining now. Even if it puts the future in jeapordy a but. That's where the Ravens are.

 

1- exactly. If this team was not in win now mode they would have released Monroe and brought in a younger guy. And also stocked up. And they wouldn't have pushed Yanda cap into the future knowing his age. The Ravens don't care if Yanda decides to retire in a few years and we swallow a few mil in dead cap. That's a win now proposition.

2- you are proving my point. If this team was not in win now, Doom would be on the block.

3- Webb and weddle are both aging players and it's fair to say that this upcoming year is going to be their best physically. It's only going down hill from here (physically) but yet the Ravens are happy to squeeze whatever they can from them and try to win with them instead of trading Webb and bringing a young guy that may not be as good as weddle today but has the potential to be better in 3 years. That's win now.

4- you said it. SSS almost retired and we begged him to come back. Aiken and perriman are great prospects for the future and we decided to beg SSS to come back and bring a solid Wallace to fight for playing time. That's a win now proposition.

 

we have been blessed by drafting pritty well the past few years except for Elam and brown. We have a loooot of young guys with potential so we still have one eye on the future. But this whole offseason is about winning now! Then in 2 years well asses the situation and decide which of our young guns we go forward with. 

There is a middle ground between "win now" and rebuilding...you don't have to be doing one or the other.

You don't dump Monroe unless you know you can get a viable replacement for him. A rebuilding team wouldn't do that either, particularly when the cap savings isn't overly significant. That's a great way to get the players you are building around hurt (Flacco).

You don't trade Dumervil for the same reason as above.

I think there's this false perception that you're either all in to win or you're selling all the veterans and rebuilding. Rebuilding teams carry plenty of veterans, particularly cheap ones. 

 

[slowboater]

"Could RB Ezekiel Elliott Be Dark-Horse Pick For Ravens?"
Yeah, like one-in-a-million. So there's a chance! Why would you waste a first round pick on a position with the shortest of life spans when you have so many other needs? Fluff article.

[usmccharles]

52 minutes ago, slowboater said:

"Could RB Ezekiel Elliott Be Dark-Horse Pick For Ravens?"
Yeah, like one-in-a-million. So there's a chance! Why would you waste a first round pick on a position with the shortest of life spans when you have so many other needs? Fluff article.

I think he could be an option in a trade back situation, although im not a fan of it, I want defense in the first without question.  But like ive said many times I think we really need a playmaker at RB, I really miss having a Ray Rice style player back there. 

[Halshayeji]

20 hours ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Depends on what "win now" means, and its inherently subjective.

A team like the Patriots and like the Broncos were the last 3-4 years were in "win now" mode. Why? Because their franchise QB is heading towards retirement, and once that happens, the likelihood of them being SB contenders without replacing that QB with a very good one is slim to none. When Brady retires, the Pats will likely gut the whole team.

If we don't "win" this season, is like the whole FO getting fired and we are going to have a firesale with players? The answer, most likely, is no, because there's no indication that's going to happen.

Our window to "win now" isn't like 1-2 years. It's probably whatever a realistic tenure for Flacco to be on this team is, which is probably at least 5-6 years. Sure, we've got some aging, formerly quality veterans who will be retiring soon... we've seen that before. 

The "win now" mode for this team, in my opinion, was the window we saw between 2008-2012. New QB, multiple all-time great defensive players who were heading towards the end, and the realization that once Joe got his back contract, a lot would change.

I think 2013-2015 has been treated vastly differently in terms of how the FO views this team long term and what they are trying to do. Sure, they want to win every single season, and they do plenty to show that. But even going back to 2013... did anybody realistically look at that team and say "yes, I think this team is built to be a SB contender right now"? Heck, you could say the same thing for the last three years. Playoff team? Sure, I'll buy that. SB contender? I never saw it.

There's nothing wrong with any of this either. To me, its largely the ebb and flow of a team coming off a recent SB win. 

First you said that the Patriots are in win now mode because Brady is close to retiring. Then you said the Ravens were in win now mode when Flacco was 28. Your kinda loosing me on that comparison. Your kinda right if your trying to say win now or not is greatly affected by a teams QB situation. But it's not the only factor involved. The Broncos on the other hand were obviously in win now mode by signing Ware and Talib, thus compromising keeping their own guys and for good reason I think.

i believe this team is in win now mode for the next 2 years for various reasons.

1- Flacco is under contract for 6 years but his best physical days are now. He's 31 and if your ever gonna give him the best chance to win its now.

2- all the FA we signed are tough to let go of this year and next. All are also in their last days of giving.

3- we have Suggs, Doom, Yanda, SSS, and Forsett that are probably retired or gone in 3 years. It's win now or get value for them.

what I'm trying to say is that we may see more vet signings because potential doesn't matter as much as giving today. If this team doesn't challenge for a title then yes I do expect a whole sale. Ozzie may retire and Decosta takes charge. Coordinators are probably gone if we have another bad showing.

i really believe that this team will make a few trades at the deadline (week 9)if needed because the FO have made it clear. Do what you gotta do to win. They've even dipped into next year's cap to prove it. Last year and the year before were gathering assets and now we have like 40 players under 26 under contract. This year it's serious and I respect that. I also respect that all these commitments we made are basically 2 year commitments except Flacco because even if we do blow this up Flacco is going no where for at least 4 years.

[Halshayeji]

2 hours ago, rmcjacket23 said:

There is a middle ground between "win now" and rebuilding...you don't have to be doing one or the other.

You don't dump Monroe unless you know you can get a viable replacement for him. A rebuilding team wouldn't do that either, particularly when the cap savings isn't overly significant. That's a great way to get the players you are building around hurt (Flacco).

You don't trade Dumervil for the same reason as above.

I think there's this false perception that you're either all in to win or you're selling all the veterans and rebuilding. Rebuilding teams carry plenty of veterans, particularly cheap ones. 

 

Yeah I believe this team is like 70% win now and 30% future of we have to put numbers to it lol. That's because we already have a good foundation set. Our future WR is here in house. Same can be said about safety and CB and RB and TE. It's just a matter of time till they break through. 

[rmcjacket23]

7 minutes ago, Halshayeji said:

First you said that the Patriots are in win now mode because Brady is close to retiring. Then you said the Ravens were in win now mode when Flacco was 28. Your kinda loosing me on that comparison. Your kinda right if your trying to say win now or not is greatly affected by a teams QB situation. But it's not the only factor involved. The Broncos on the other hand were obviously in win now mode by signing Ware and Talib, thus compromising keeping their own guys and for good reason I think.

i believe this team is in win now mode for the next 2 years for various reasons.

1- Flacco is under contract for 6 years but his best physical days are now. He's 31 and if your ever gonna give him the best chance to win its now.

2- all the FA we signed are tough to let go of this year and next. All are also in their last days of giving.

3- we have Suggs, Doom, Yanda, SSS, and Forsett that are probably retired or gone in 3 years. It's win now or get value for them.

what I'm trying to say is that we may see more vet signings because potential doesn't matter as much as giving today. If this team doesn't challenge for a title then yes I do expect a whole sale. Ozzie may retire and Decosta takes charge. Coordinators are probably gone if we have another bad showing.

i really believe that this team will make a few trades at the deadline (week 9)if needed because the FO have made it clear. Do what you gotta do to win. They've even dipped into next year's cap to prove it. Last year and the year before were gathering assets and now we have like 40 players under 26 under contract. This year it's serious and I respect that. I also respect that all these commitments we made are basically 2 year commitments except Flacco because even if we do blow this up Flacco is going no where for at least 4 years.

1. The comparison has nothing to do with Flacco vs Brady, because Flacco isn't as valuable to the Ravens as Brady is to the Patriots. The reason the window for the Ravens ended in 2012 was because of the plethora of quality players with expiring contracts, retirements, etc. coupled with the fact that your franchise QB was no longer going to be on his rookie contract. This team was about to embark on something they've never done before... paying a QB a gigantic amount of money. Every single reasonable fan saw the transition from 2012 to 2013 coming, regardless of whether we won the SB or not. Had we lost to Denver, in my opinion, the 2013 offseason still occurs in the same fashion. There wouldn't have been another effort to retain the same people and go for it again.

2. No idea what you are referencing here. We signed Weddle, Watson and Wallace. Among them, Weddle is the only guy guaranteed to be here after 2016. Wallace signed a two year deal with a team option for 2017, and is a prime cut candidate if he doesn't have a great year. Watson is in the same boat... he has $1M in dead money if we cut him before 2017. These contracts were very strategic.

3. Most of the guys you listed there aren't so valuable to the team that we can't win once they are gone.