[News] Late For Work 5/2: You're Gonna Like Ravens' Draft Grades

[BR News]

Local pundits say Ravens played it 'safe.' Did Ray Rice impact Baltimore's draft? ESPN’s Todd McShay names Baltimore’s best pick.

View the full article

[merryjman]

I'm very happy with who they picked. Stanley surprised me, but it was a smart call. Solid, dependable, very talented and no baggage.

[usmccharles]

Some people were making the case how it was a lot closer between Tunsil and Stanley then people were initially thinking, then the video came out.  I think it was the right call. 

[Bat-mite]

Looks like a great draft, but of course, time will tell. I'd like to see Stanley quickly prove to be a viable replacement for Monroe, Correa get a sack in week one, and Perriman have a great year to redeem last year's draft.

Of course, if Tunsil fails his drug test and starts his career suspended, I might not be able to hold back a little chuckle.

[YankeeRaven]

To be fair the Ravens did try to trade up and get Ramsey, you can't blame them you gotta blame the Cowboys their asking price was too high, but it was a little surprising they passed on Noah Spence.

[jravens1313]

This draft was awesome. My favorite value/upside picks were Correra, Moore, Dixon, and Judon.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I believe McShay in his last mock draft had the Ravens taking Stanley with Tunsil still on the board... and so it went. Which tells me that he had info that our board was stacked that way. More and more reports were surfacing that the league was almost divided on Stanley/Tunsil as to who was the better prospect, so im really beginning to think that its the truth - Stanley was higher on our board, and therefore the better pick. I love this draft top to bottom. Correa is the only question mark for me - and its not so much the player - but the players we missed out on by trading back twice. If Jack's knee holds up and if Spence ends up the best pure pass rusher in the draft, like i think he will, and Correa isnt a star player then ill come back to that as a HUGE miscalculation on the ravens part. But until then, I'll let it play out. Our 4th round haul was huge, Judon might be my favorite pick of the entire draft. Dixon is a steal at that point. And getting Ochi as an UDFA is huge. Some had him as a 3rd round prospect.

[ckarp34]

Our draft overall was great...you can't argue with that. Time will tell on our first 2 picks...I was one of the ranters. I would have taken Tunsil in a heartbeat...and possibly Jack at 2. But in 3 years...we'll see...

[Ravensfolyfe]

I think we had a solid smart draft,i really like our 1st pick Stanley. Protecting flacco's blind side is very important if you ask me. GRADE:A+

[eze17]

Overall, I rank this a very good draft class...I am concerned about ILB though, I thought we'd use one of our picks on that position. I really am not sold on Arthur Brown, and Orr didn't impress me last year either, although he's still pretty raw. Maybe look for a veteran after the June 1st cuts?

[ellicottraven]

Safe yes. 6-7 potential starters? Yes again. Talented, fast, high energy and great work ethic. Yes, yes, yes and yes! Filled all needs? Absolutely! So, someone please tell me what's not to like about this picture?

[ellicottraven]

I believe McShay in his last mock draft had the Ravens taking Stanley with Tunsil still on the board... and so it went. Which tells me that he had info that our board was stacked that way. More and more reports were surfacing that the league was almost divided on Stanley/Tunsil as to who was the better prospect, so im really beginning to think that its the truth - Stanley was higher on our board, and therefore the better pick. I love this draft top to bottom. Correa is the only question mark for me - and its not so much the player - but the players we missed out on by trading back twice. If Jack's knee holds up and if Spence ends up the best pure pass rusher in the draft, like i think he will, and Correa isnt a star player then ill come back to that as a HUGE miscalculation on the ravens part. But until then, I'll let it play out. Our 4th round haul was huge, Judon might be my favorite pick of the entire draft. Dixon is a steal at that point. And getting Ochi as an UDFA is huge. Some had him as a 3rd round prospect.

It's been reported that both the Chargers and Jacksonville had Stanley as their top offensive tackle as well.

[surfdude]

I give the draft a solid A. Good motor guys that love football and just need a little coaching and strength training and will be on their way to playing like a Raven. Best pick day 2, Correa intense and good kid future stud. Best pick day 3, Dixon multi back that could start day 1 because he knows how to pass protect. A lot of boards had him #2 behind Elliot. Great job guys !

[surfdude]

Overall, I rank this a very good draft class...I am concerned about ILB though, I thought we'd use one of our picks on that position. I really am not sold on Arthur Brown, and Orr didn't impress me last year either, although he's still pretty raw. Maybe look for a veteran after the June 1st cuts?

Raven have cash they'll sign another Daryl Smith. Easy FA signing.

[surfdude]

To be fair the Ravens did try to trade up and get Ramsey, you can't blame them you gotta blame the Cowboys their asking price was too high, but it was a little surprising they passed on Noah Spence.

I'm glad they did. Spence is all hype.

[rmcjacket23]

14 minutes ago, eze17 said:

Overall, I rank this a very good draft class...I am concerned about ILB though, I thought we'd use one of our picks on that position. I really am not sold on Arthur Brown, and Orr didn't impress me last year either, although he's still pretty raw. Maybe look for a veteran after the June 1st cuts?

Probably wait until training camp or preseason to see how our internal guys develop. Certainly a position we could address by adding a veteran, but I think we are specifically looking for a LB to help in coverage, which is more difficult to find.

At the end of the day, we can't upgrade every single position we need in one offseason, and there's still going to be "weaknesses" on this team no matter what. That area may be one of them, but time will tell whether that's a significant weakness or not.

Plus, we are playing a lot more nickel and dime coverage's these days, and in many cases having two ILBs on the field in those packages doesn't really make a ton of sense, so I'm not overly concerned about it.

If having a weak second ILB is our biggest problem, we've got a really good team.

[757RavensFan]

37 minutes ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

I believe McShay in his last mock draft had the Ravens taking Stanley with Tunsil still on the board... and so it went. Which tells me that he had info that our board was stacked that way. More and more reports were surfacing that the league was almost divided on Stanley/Tunsil as to who was the better prospect, so im really beginning to think that its the truth - Stanley was higher on our board, and therefore the better pick. I love this draft top to bottom. Correa is the only question mark for me - and its not so much the player - but the players we missed out on by trading back twice. If Jack's knee holds up and if Spence ends up the best pure pass rusher in the draft, like i think he will, and Correa isnt a star player then ill come back to that as a HUGE miscalculation on the ravens part. But until then, I'll let it play out. Our 4th round haul was huge, Judon might be my favorite pick of the entire draft. Dixon is a steal at that point. And getting Ochi as an UDFA is huge. Some had him as a 3rd round prospect.

That's a chance that you just don't want to take w/ your 2nd round pick.  The FO said repeatedly that picking 5th in the 2nd round is basically another 1st round pick and there are TOO many unknowns regarding Jack's knee to risk missing on a "first rounder".  As much as I would have loved for them to take Jack there, I TOTALLY understand the decision why they didn't. 

[potomacpitbulls]

The problems people have are with the first two rounds. Ozzie tried to appease the fans and draft Ramsey, but Dallas would not budge. There were reports that the Chargers had Stanley rated higher also. On April 20, 1996 Ozzie was quoted as saying “We thought [Ogden] was the cleanest guy up on the board, when you checked everything out.” Again, not the sexiest pick but the safest pick. Who went after? DE Cedric Jones ala Buckner, Jones only played 4 years.
In the second, the Ravens passed on two popular players in Jack and Spence for Correa. Jack and Spence will be debated and compared against Correa for years, much like Joe and Matt Ryan. But that’s not fair, because to truly compare them you need to compare Jack and/or Spence against both Correa and Judon, who many view as a steal in the fifth round. Without that trade in the second round the Ravens would not have a fifth round pick and the ability to draft Judon.

[Raven_Don]

Not sure why so many are down on this draft but this draft hit every need other than ILB... we got better on the OL... the d-line is stacked... I like Kaufusi as an immediate starter to replace Canty... It will be a good battle between him and Guy.. Correa can be Kruger 2.0 even though I think Correa is a better athlete... the RB selected makes for a tough call in terms of which RB's to keep I honestly think that we have a very good collection of RB's... WR smh... what a competition that will be.. JB was balling last year and he's got a little bit of nasty when he's run blocking... I can't remember what game it was but he was executing a chip block... and knocked the LB of his feet... plus he primarily became the no 2 WR in an injury riddle season...

[RavensDieHard21]

Very solid draft as we get great depth and a few potential starters. My only knock on the draft, which many have already stated is that we should not have passed up on Spence after the trade back. Correa is a high potential player with burst, a relentless motor and great work ethic, but he is not as good against the run as Spence and he isn't as natural of a pass rusher either.

After a few years we will tell, but Spence is far more refined and was extremely successful on the left side at Ohio State, which faces far better competition in the Big 10 then Boise State.

[ravenwildman]

Congrats Tuckers! I bet when that baby kicks mom changes seats on the couch! LOL GO RAVENS! 25

[RavensDieHard21]

Overall, I rank this a very good draft class...I am concerned about ILB though, I thought we'd use one of our picks on that position. I really am not sold on Arthur Brown, and Orr didn't impress me last year either, although he's still pretty raw. Maybe look for a veteran after the June 1st cuts?

The ILB in this draft were very very weak since Smith and Jack both have serious health issues, so there was no need to reach for one if we felt there was better players on the board at other positions.

I also believe that Arthur Brown or Orr might be in for the spot after being groomed for a few years.

[goldenboldin]

Heard someone on the radio say "man these ravens are going to church to get players".. I laughed but he's on point. I understand character issues, but it might compromise production and toughness that is necessary in the AFC North. These moves have John Harbaugh's stamp all over it.

[goldenboldin]

What I would give to sit down with Oz, Eric and Coach and ask them why they passed on Noah Spence, or Mackenzie Alexander, or Myles Jack. That's what I'm most intrigued about

[goldenboldin]

  41 minutes ago, eze17 said:

Overall, I rank this a very good draft class...I am concerned about ILB though, I thought we'd use one of our picks on that position. I really am not sold on Arthur Brown, and Orr didn't impress me last year either, although he's still pretty raw. Maybe look for a veteran after the June 1st cuts?

Raven have cash they'll sign another Daryl Smith. Easy FA signing.

Maybe Daryl Smith could come back? Did he sign anywhere else?

[eze17]

Heard we are signing Victor Ochi as an UFA...kinda like having a 12th pick in the draft! Look him up and watch some tape on him...really good prospect.

[YorkCountyRaven]

  36 minutes ago, surfdude said:

  49 minutes ago, eze17 said:

Overall, I rank this a very good draft class...I am concerned about ILB though, I thought we'd use one of our picks on that position. I really am not sold on Arthur Brown, and Orr didn't impress me last year either, although he's still pretty raw. Maybe look for a veteran after the June 1st cuts?

Raven have cash they'll sign another Daryl Smith. Easy FA signing.

Maybe Daryl Smith could come back? Did he sign anywhere else?

yes, tampa.

[mbakich]

I am wondering if some people comment here following sources or just deliver "oppinion" acording to their "present state of soul".

I've reacted because it nerves me to read this again and again. I would like to read really elite analysis from some of proven cometators here.

According to different sources (go around and read):
1. Statement: "Ravens passed Tunsil because of video."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME. For all of first (first round, top board) 15 players, Ravens knows everything. Even color of eyes of first girlfriend. Weed is not surprize for SURE.

2. Statement: "Ravens didn't want to pay ENOUGH to jump on Dallas place."

Dallas was scared that someone will trade with Jacksonville and they will not be able to pick Zeke. That is the only reason (I am convinced.). Not Oz "stinginess".
Ramsey out of board and Jacksonville will trade back (I am totally convinced).

3. Statement: "Ravens should trade back when they didn't pick Ramsey"
THEY COULDN'T. Nobody call. They wait 6 minutes.

4. Statements: "Harbaugh choose and pick players.", "H. has influence.", "Mr. Bisciotti asked for something and went to play golf or what?"

Of course that ALL of Ravens coaches and recruiters have chance to express opinion. (please read Byrne Identity on this site) BUT Oz is responsible. HE decides.
And Mr. Bisciotti is ACTIVE member in the process. He takes part of responsibility as well. He made fortune as head hunter. He sits next to the Oz all time during the Draft. 
But as a GM only Oz is responsible.

Everyone has right to express his own opinion here. But, guys/ladies (at least some), read a bit.
Go around and read Bleacher Report, Russel Street, other sources and then make credible opinions. Please. 
 

[Fastynart]

A good article whether you agree or not. The only baloney piece was about Ray Rice impacting this draft. No one could have foreseen what happened with Ray Rice. He was a solid citizen, gave it his all on the field and, up until "the incident", was a model citizen. He makes one (albeit huge) mistake, and everyone dumps on him. If you paid attention to the video, you would see his girlfriend attacking him. The chicken NJ authorities deemed it unworthy of prosecution so why should the NFL be the enforcers? Purely a PR move.

[fusuymada]

The Ravens got an A the year we drafted Kindle and Cody and last year Perriman got us an A as well and how did that turn out. In reality, it is a C- or a D at best. We are so scared of players that made mistakes in college that we drafted boy scouts and altar boys. Sorry, Football is a violent sport and sometimes those guys can straighten out and sometimes they get in more trouble, but we just can't keep avoiding everybody because of college mistakes. Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, Jamal Lewis, Ray Rice just to name a few were crucial in either one or both of the super bowls and based on our logic of drafting now, none of them would be on the Ravens. There are quite a bit more and Ozzie used to seek these guys out, now Bisciotti has neutered him and he has to take the squeaky clean guys who really are not the playmakers. The Ravens are a football team, not a personnel company and they can't be run the same way, Steve. We had a lousy draft and we ran away from the best players.