[News] Ravens Analyze Their Second-Round Draft Hits And Misses

[BR News]

General Manager Ozzie Newsome and Assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta have seen some second-round picks get off to slow starts or not pan out at all recently. But, looking back, there have been success stories as well.

View the full article

[Sami84]

terrence cody ''mixed results''...sure if you say so baltimoreravens.com :P ...i wanted to strangle ozzie for that atrocious pick. 2010 draft was an abomination.

[b93333]

A second round pick means you are picking from the best (33rd to 64th) college players in the country. We should have had a lot more success in round two... KO and Ray Rice were good picks surrounded by a lot of poor to mediocre picks.

[rmcjacket23]

A second round pick means you are picking from the best (33rd to 64th) college players in the country. We should have had a lot more success in round two... KO and Ray Rice were good picks surrounded by a lot of poor to mediocre picks.

Well, sort of. We've seen plenty of 2nd and even 1st round players who barely played in college, didn't perform all that well in college, etc.

All about individual team perception.

[PurpleHorseman]

37 minutes ago, Sami84 said:

terrence cody ''mixed results''...sure if you say so baltimoreravens.com ...i wanted to strangle ozzie for that atrocious pick. 2010 draft was an abomination.

Decosta is delusional. Wagner I liked and was a good pick. But he is not better than Lane Johnson. And Eric Fisher plays left tackle. Decosta must feel pressure if he is always trying to deceive with illusions his draft success.

Saying that he has a 64% success in round2. A player being a starter is not indicative of a successful pick. It means that player is your best option for that position. It doesn't indicate you have a standout player. Calling Cody a somewhat success shows his delusional thinking. Jernigan wasn't a successful pick if you shipped him off to move up in round3.  Then there is Max Williams and Correa that are busts thus far.  I know everybody is going to say Correa is only going into year2. If you think he shows NFL skills I don't know what to say. He is totally awful.

[rmcjacket23]

  1 hour ago, Sami84 said:

terrence cody ''mixed results''...sure if you say so baltimoreravens.com ...i wanted to strangle ozzie for that atrocious pick. 2010 draft was an abomination.

Decosta is delusional. Wagner I liked and was a good pick. But he is not better than Lane Johnson. And Eric Fisher plays left tackle. Decosta must feel pressure if he is always trying to deceive with illusions his draft success.

Saying that he has a 64% success in round2. A player being a starter is not indicative of a successful pick. It means that player is your best option for that position. It doesn't indicate you have a standout player. Calling Cody a somewhat success shows his delusional thinking. Jernigan wasn't a successful pick if you shipped him off to move up in round3.  Then there is Max Williams and Correa that are busts thus far.  I know everybody is going to say Correa is only going into year2. If you think he shows NFL skills I don't know what to say. He is totally awful.

Well, realistically, if the only thing that makes a drafted player a good pick is based on whether he's a "standout player", then every team in the league just sucks at drafting, because there aren't any teams in the league I see that churn out "standout players" out of the 2nd round consistently.

I'll concede that its all a subjective measure of what a good player is. In the case of somebody like Jernigan, he was easily one of the best defensive players on our team for at least 2 years, and a year from now (or sooner), he's going to be signing a very large contract with another team. The moment that happens, the league itself is telling you that he's a standout player... will likely be signed as one of the top 10-15 players at his position in the entire league.

I do generally agree that the 2nd round has been our achilles heal, but there are some starting caliber players in there, and in a league where the talent pool is clearly decreasing rather than increasing, that's about what you can expect out of a 2nd round player.

[CaliRavenFan]

15 minutes ago, PurpleHorseman said:

Decosta is delusional. Wagner I liked and was a good pick. But he is not better than Lane Johnson. And Eric Fisher plays left tackle. Decosta must feel pressure if he is always trying to deceive with illusions his draft success.

Saying that he has a 64% success in round2. A player being a starter is not indicative of a successful pick. It means that player is your best option for that position. It doesn't indicate you have a standout player. Calling Cody a somewhat success shows his delusional thinking. Jernigan wasn't a successful pick if you shipped him off to move up in round3.  Then there is Max Williams and Correa that are busts thus far.  I know everybody is going to say Correa is only going into year2. If you think he shows NFL skills I don't know what to say. He is totally awful.

Usually TE's take a year or two to actually contribute in the NFL unless they are a top 15 pick like Howard will be. He was a little small to be playing in our division and I am still holding out hope that he will be a valuable player for us. Correa I knew wouldn't make it at OLB but I do believe he will step up and start next to CJ this year. He landed in Harbs dog house after his fight with Pitta but I think he will get another chance to prove himself and in the limited amount of action he did play he wasn't that bad at all. Nobody knew Orr was going to have a breakout season and that's part of the reason why we didn't have to play him and trying him out at different positions.

[PurpleHorseman]

5 minutes ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Well, realistically, if the only thing that makes a drafted player a good pick is based on whether he's a "standout player", then every team in the league just sucks at drafting, because there aren't any teams in the league I see that churn out "standout players" out of the 2nd round consistently.

I'll concede that its all a subjective measure of what a good player is. In the case of somebody like Jernigan, he was easily one of the best defensive players on our team for at least 2 years, and a year from now (or sooner), he's going to be signing a very large contract with another team. The moment that happens, the league itself is telling you that he's a standout player... will likely be signed as one of the top 10-15 players at his position in the entire league.

I do generally agree that the 2nd round has been our achilles heal, but there are some starting caliber players in there, and in a league where the talent pool is clearly decreasing rather than increasing, that's about what you can expect out of a 2nd round player.

Many players get overpaid in free agency. Even average players get big contracts. Free agency has as many busts as early draft picks. Standout isn't all pro. Means your top third at your position. Jerney has potential for that but that's reason he was shipped away. Round 2 is the top players coming out. And should be more than max Cody Upshaw Jernigan Brown kindle  has shown

[rmcjacket23]

4 minutes ago, PurpleHorseman said:

Many players get overpaid in free agency. Even average players get big contracts. Free agency has as many busts as early draft picks. Standout isn't all pro. Means your top third at your position. Jerney has potential for that but that's reason he was shipped away. Round 2 is the top players coming out. And should be more than max Cody Upshaw Jernigan Brown kindle  has shown

Well, there's really no such thing as being "overpaid". By definition, you're paid what your employer values you at. Whether or not people agree or disagree with that value doesn't really matter. And obviously teams don't get the luxury of getting in a time machine and looking into the future to see if the player "plays up" to the contract he was given.

Top third at a position is probably again a bit of stretch for evaluating the success of a round. In fact, I would bet if you looked back over time at 2nd round picks taken by every team, they'd have significantly more "busts" (such as guys who are injured constantly, never play, aren't good enough to be a starter, etc.) than they would guys who end up as top 3rd at their position.

Naturally then we go down the rabbit hole of how exactly do you determine who a top 3rd player at their position is? Isn't that just yet again another huge subjective measurement with very little verification and a lot of assumptions? You could argue contract size is a reflection of that, but its flawed to the level that it won't take into account rookie contract players who play well.

Round 2 also obviously isn't just for the "top players coming out". Its just how a team PERCEIVES a player to translate to the NFL. There's guys going in the 2nd round who did jack in college. They're being evaluated by attributes, not by game film production, because some of these 2nd rounders and even 1st rounders don't have much of that.

 

[Purple Dawg 96]

Overall Ozzie and Co. do an amazing job picking talent and knit picking every selection is a waste of time! My only gripe is they don't get any Buckeyes but I'm kool with how they do things and I rock with whatever they do because they are respected in this type of process! But the people that whine when The Ravens don't get certain individuals they like try to scrutinize the whole drafting process need to chill out for real! They are not perfect but they keep a good squad on the field year after year and any criticism towards their process is pointless! Trust in Ozzie and DeCosta or kick rocks! My confidence level stays through the roof in regards to the draft and I feel another good one coming up! Joe needs to step up so Ozzie and Co.can enjoy the fruit of their labor while their still ripe! Joe is the Major Key because we are the best! YUP!

[designermaryland]

On the positive side, It is actually slightly amazing the ravens are even relevant given they have drafted zero impact every down players in the past 8 years and continue to really miss on even first rounders, compared to their early success. Clearly something in the player evaluation process is failing them, or they just cannot make the players better due to the horrific coaching. Luckily they have found some decent veterans and hit on those, like Darryl Smith, Canty, Ricky Williams, Steve Smith to cover up the awful drafting and player development. But eventually, that catches up with you and the tide turns against you on the cap. If it were not for guys like Tucker, Orr and Pierce, this team would be scraping bottom. I hope they turn the draft luck around, but I have no confidence in Harbaugh developing anyone into an elite player.

[The Beak]

There are busts in every draft and for every team, but dang it would sure be great to draft first and second round impact players this year , hopefully a star player in the first...

[PurpleHorseman]

3 hours ago, rmcjacket23 said:

Well, there's really no such thing as being "overpaid". By definition, you're paid what your employer values you at. Whether or not people agree or disagree with that value doesn't really matter. And obviously teams don't get the luxury of getting in a time machine and looking into the future to see if the player "plays up" to the contract he was given.

Top third at a position is probably again a bit of stretch for evaluating the success of a round. In fact, I would bet if you looked back over time at 2nd round picks taken by every team, they'd have significantly more "busts" (such as guys who are injured constantly, never play, aren't good enough to be a starter, etc.) than they would guys who end up as top 3rd at their position.

Naturally then we go down the rabbit hole of how exactly do you determine who a top 3rd player at their position is? Isn't that just yet again another huge subjective measurement with very little verification and a lot of assumptions? You could argue contract size is a reflection of that, but its flawed to the level that it won't take into account rookie contract players who play well.

Round 2 also obviously isn't just for the "top players coming out". Its just how a team PERCEIVES a player to translate to the NFL. There's guys going in the 2nd round who did jack in college. They're being evaluated by attributes, not by game film production, because some of these 2nd rounders and even 1st rounders don't have much of that.

 

There is such a thing as overpaid. When you fall short of the play the team thought it was getting.  If there was not such a thing as overpaid, nobody would ever be cut.

Every players drafted it is about how he is perceived to play. Top 60 picks are for players that are most likely to be standout players or else he wouldn't be drafted before the next 190 players. Whether it based on college production or potential of raw skill. Top 60 picks have a standard to play up to.

When a player is picked in round 6 and is below average. Nobody chastises the gm. Because the top players are mostly already drafted. And you can't really fault a gm. When a player is top 50 and is below average it is considered disappointing and the gm will be chastised by fans. And fired if he picks enough top50 busts. Because picking a bust in top 50 picks means you missed out on a lot of players that are top 1/3 at their position and better. If Judon busts nobody bats an eyelash. Correa being a bust will bring heavy criticism. Because of all the future top 1/3 players missed out on. Deion jones, Spence,Ngakoue, whitehair ,Ragland,Mitchell, cravens, Boyd, Alexander, Thomas to name some of

Edited April 6 by PurpleHorseman

[ellicottraven]

The problem is the coaches don't give these guys a chance to succeed till its too late. And then they're branded busts and either traded or let go. Very undisciplined way of of coaching and getting the most out of high picks. Harbaugh should be held personally responsible for these guys not becoming starters. He was the one that wanted those guys and he was the one that couldn't coach up those guys and get them ready to play.

[PurpleHorseman]

3 hours ago, designermaryland said:

On the positive side, It is actually slightly amazing the ravens are even relevant given they have drafted zero impact every down players in the past 8 years and continue to really miss on even first rounders, compared to their early success. Clearly something in the player evaluation process is failing them, or they just cannot make the players better due to the horrific coaching. Luckily they have found some decent veterans and hit on those, like Darryl Smith, Canty, Ricky Williams, Steve Smith to cover up the awful drafting and player development. But eventually, that catches up with you and the tide turns against you on the cap. If it were not for guys like Tucker, Orr and Pierce, this team would be scraping bottom. I hope they turn the draft luck around, but I have no confidence in Harbaugh developing anyone into an elite player.

Ravens typically lately to cover the bad drafts have signed older players that come cheaper and have a couple yrs of production left. These players are over their prime but are savvy and will play solid heads up football. Problem is these players aren't difference makers/impact players.

Most teams sign players over 30 to fill a hole and maybe some leadership on championship contenders. But lately ravens are building their team on these players. Older players are cheaper and allow the ravens to fill multiple holes.

If Weddle was 26 last year hitting free agency he would of costed $12mil per. Same with Wallace he is a 31 yr old speed threat coming off down yr. when he was 27 hitting free agency he costed $12mil per. He was faster and more explosive at 27. But at 30 as a one trick deep threat he was considerably cheaper because teams pay the big money to players hitting their most productive years as opposed to behind them. But Wallace did have something left to help our team. Although teams clearly don't fear his speed quite like his steeler days. Ravens could never have afforded Weddle and Wallace at 27 yrs old hitting free agency. Same with Brandon Carr a solid better than average cornerback. Teams were not offering up big money to a cornerback going into season 10. But ravens hope he has a decent year to offer them.

I would like to see the ravens look for young players about to breakout. As in identifying players with top shelf talent that have been held back because of little opportunity, bad teams, bad coaching, bad systems, no team motivation or work ethic and bad scheme fits. And injury bugs that players may eventually overcome. The way nick perry and zack Brown broke out. Mike Neal is a player I think could break out in ravens system.

This strategy keeps a team competitive but not contenders. Savvy vets that were once elite and now solid and technically sound. It is no surprise with this strategy the ravens are consistently 8-8. Ravens have not found many elite players in last 8 drafts and free agency. The drafts have lately been conservative. And ravens don't add blockbuster free agents.

Savvy solid but unspectacular vets and useful but unspectacular drafts fronts a competitive team but not a championship caliber team. When you don't aggressively pursue impact players in the draft. And don't sign blockbuster marquee players then where are you getting elite impact players from? Jefferson is most expensive free agent in over a decade.

On a side note He wasn't offered the kind of money the elite safety's that are playmakers in coverage as well as the box. Because teams saw him as a playmaking box safety kinda limited to that role. However if you watch his games on all22 you see he will be an elite free safety. He wasn't the playmaker in coverage because Tyrann already played that position. He may not quite have the range of Earl Thomas but he is better in about every aspect. Jefferson will be an elite free safety. He has the agility and instincts for coverage intermediate and deep with very good play speed. He will really control the intermediate part of the gridiron.  He will more than likely be a pro bowl player. He is a good tackler with really good striking skill. Not a knockout hitter but he is going to jar a lot of throws loose. Only weakness is man up on tall athletic TE's. He has good but not great size at 5'11 211. He is going to play like a $13mil per FS!

[Crusader]

  On Thursday, April 06, 2017 at 3:00 PM, Sami84 said:

terrence cody ''mixed results''...sure if you say so baltimoreravens.com ...i wanted to strangle ozzie for that atrocious pick. 2010 draft was an abomination.

Decosta is delusional. Wagner I liked and was a good pick. But he is not better than Lane Johnson. And Eric Fisher plays left tackle. Decosta must feel pressure if he is always trying to deceive with illusions his draft success.

Saying that he has a 64% success in round2. A player being a starter is not indicative of a successful pick. It means that player is your best option for that position. It doesn't indicate you have a standout player. Calling Cody a somewhat success shows his delusional thinking. Jernigan wasn't a successful pick if you shipped him off to move up in round3.  Then there is Max Williams and Correa that are busts thus far.  I know everybody is going to say Correa is only going into year2. If you think he shows NFL skills I don't know what to say. He is totally awful.

Just think Deco sta is Ozzie replacement. He needs to stop looking in the past if he wants to keep a job.

[Crusader]

The problem is the coaches don't give these guys a chance to succeed till its too late. And then they're branded busts and either traded or let go. Very undisciplined way of of coaching and getting the most out of high picks. Harbaugh should be held personally responsible for these guys not becoming starters. He was the one that wanted those guys and he was the one that couldn't coach up those guys and get them ready to play.

Coaches ability to teach is a big reason and use the talent right is another slow player development. Back in the day Ravens had leaders that help out and related better with the players. Who's there now besides Suggs? Cracks me up how people always defend everything that Ozzie and John do and say. John's going to have to coach his butt off to get to 9 wins.

[PurpleHorseman]

1 hour ago, Crusader said:

Just think Deco sta is Ozzie replacement. He needs to stop looking in the past if he wants to keep a job.

 

1 hour ago, Crusader said:

Coaches ability to teach is a big reason and use the talent right is another slow player development. Back in the day Ravens had leaders that help out and related better with the players. Who's there now besides Suggs? Cracks me up how people always defend everything that Ozzie and John do and say. John's going to have to coach his butt off to get to 9 wins.

I know what you mean. Decosta has caused problems for oz.  once upon a time Ozzie was all about drafting impact players regardless of position. He reached a couple of times for Travis,Boller,the wr we took in 2005. Starks I think was somewhat a reach to. Now it's all about replacing retired and departed players last minute leading to busts.

Harbaugh likes try hards that are submissive and ignores their skill level. I would guess this red star player garbage is Decosta and Harbaugh. Best choir boy available at position of need has led to picks like Correa and BK.

And Decosta is delusional or maybe smart enough to know he has to try to defend his draft picks. Calling a player a successful pick beside a different team signs him in free agency. And because he is our starter that is a successful pick. He can't possibly believe the things he says. Wagner better than Lane Johnson? Seriously. Before his suspension his opponents looked scared. He is a mauler and a top shelf athlete.

There are fans that defend management and every move made is best move that could be made. Harbaugh is a great coach in some ways. He demands every player work and practice hard. He demands his positional coaches work with players and wants to see improvement. He inspires players to be professional away from the game. He has high standards for his positional coaches to motivate players to play their best and try hard at all times. And for his coaches to to prepare players to know our schemes. As well as mentally prepared to recognize opponents schemes. 

But he knows very little about coaching up position technique and schemes himself. He was a special teams coach for like 25 yrs or something. He was never promoted to offensive defensive coordinator or any kind of offensive/defensive coach. I would guess he couldn't be a play caller on offense/defense.  And I'm not sure he knows how to use players correctly. Paul Kruger was an athletic rush olb that Harbaugh caused to bulk up and play Defensive tackle. And sometimes you are curious if he has a detailed real plan. He says the top priority is build an elite powerful offensive line to help his expensive QB play to his potential. It is like. Have you finally figured out in the last 5 minutes your QB is elite when his line dominates? And is a bottom level QB when our line struggles. Then proceeds to pay about $60million to his one dimensional NT. All while our RT leaves and Kevin Zeitler is on the market.

 

[rmcjacket23]

10 hours ago, PurpleHorseman said:

There is such a thing as overpaid. When you fall short of the play the team thought it was getting.  If there was not such a thing as overpaid, nobody would ever be cut.

Every players drafted it is about how he is perceived to play. Top 60 picks are for players that are most likely to be standout players or else he wouldn't be drafted before the next 190 players. Whether it based on college production or potential of raw skill. Top 60 picks have a standard to play up to.

When a player is picked in round 6 and is below average. Nobody chastises the gm. Because the top players are mostly already drafted. And you can't really fault a gm. When a player is top 50 and is below average it is considered disappointing and the gm will be chastised by fans. And fired if he picks enough top50 busts. Because picking a bust in top 50 picks means you missed out on a lot of players that are top 1/3 at their position and better. If Judon busts nobody bats an eyelash. Correa being a bust will bring heavy criticism. Because of all the future top 1/3 players missed out on. Deion jones, Spence,Ngakoue, whitehair ,Ragland,Mitchell, cravens, Boyd, Alexander, Thomas to name some of

1. That's my point. There's no way somebody is considered "overpaid" until AFTER you have the luxury of seeing what the future holds. Fans try to pretend like they know if a player is going to be "overpaid" or not the moment they sign the deal, but they have no vague clue if that's true or not. 

Not a single person in history has ever gained anything from hindsight analysis.

2. Again, you saying Top 50 or 60 is just some arbitrary number you pulled out of thin air... it doesn't really have any meaning. You say top 60, but maybe its really top 20. Or top 30. Or top 40. 

Or here's a wild concept that I guarantee NFL teams consider... in some drafts, top 60 is a joke. Why? Because there might not even be 60 starting caliber football players in the whole draft. So by that arbitrary logic applied across the board without taking into account factors like how strong the draft class is, every single team would have a failing grade before the draft even starts.

3. NFL GMs don't really care about criticism from the fanbase over their perception of draft picks because, obviously, the fanbases perception over the quality or performance of draft picks doesn't always align itself with reality. I've never once seen a GM get fired because the fanbase didn't like his draft picks.

We pretty much already know that many GMs keep their jobs after whiffing often on 2nd and even 1st round picks, because there's multiple GMs that fall under that umbrella. The top 60-70 picks the Patriots have taken in the last 3-4 years has about ONE standout player in it... and they traded him away. Seahawks are pretty much the same. 2012 they took Bobby Wagner in the 2nd... where's the top 60-70 impact player they've taken since then? Why hasn't their GM been fired yet?

Hint: winning is what matters. You can draft poorly when you win. Who cares if some fans criticize you for it... THEY'RE FANS. They don't know any better. 

[law215]

OZ said himself that recent drafts have not met expectations so there no need for fans or media trying to defend the obvious bust in recent drafts. The pitchforks are out per Steve B. So no need to defend anything when your boss put it out there you are on notice.

A GM is successful if he can not only draft but also retain top talent. This article points out Eric and OZ failure to do both in recent years.

For example, Webb accounting for 8.5 million against the cap was a joke. If you make those types of decisions then of course you can't pay KO. So they can try to justify letting good players go because they are 'too expensive', but then paying guys like Webb who are average at best.

[whobilly]

  15 hours ago, PurpleHorseman said:

Decosta is delusional. Wagner I liked and was a good pick. But he is not better than Lane Johnson. And Eric Fisher plays left tackle. Decosta must feel pressure if he is always trying to deceive with illusions his draft success.

Saying that he has a 64% success in round2. A player being a starter is not indicative of a successful pick. It means that player is your best option for that position. It doesn't indicate you have a standout player. Calling Cody a somewhat success shows his delusional thinking. Jernigan wasn't a successful pick if you shipped him off to move up in round3.  Then there is Max Williams and Correa that are busts thus far.  I know everybody is going to say Correa is only going into year2. If you think he shows NFL skills I don't know what to say. He is totally awful.

Usually TE's take a year or two to actually contribute in the NFL unless they are a top 15 pick like Howard will be. He was a little small to be playing in our division and I am still holding out hope that he will be a valuable player for us. Correa I knew wouldn't make it at OLB but I do believe he will step up and start next to CJ this year. He landed in Harbs dog house after his fight with Pitta but I think he will get another chance to prove himself and in the limited amount of action he did play he wasn't that bad at all. Nobody knew Orr was going to have a breakout season and that's part of the reason why we didn't have to play him and trying him out at different positions.

I hope Correa can step up. The limited amount of action was VERY limited. Other then being next to invisible on Special Teams, I don't think he was on the field for more then a handful of plays.

[sizzlingdoom]

Sounds like we're expected to release Arrington, I would think Watson too. That would be another 5+ mil in cap space created.
We're going to sign someone, that's pretty clear. The question is who?
Here are some names:
Q
Webb
Doom
Mangold

Dark Horses:
AP
Jamal Charles

Extreme Dark horse trades:
Sheldon Richardson
Richard Sherman


Richardson would be an awesome addition. Most versatile big man in the game imo.
Line Sheldon, Pierce, and BWill up next to eachother......yeah, try and run on that, lol

[RavensBaltimore]

On the positive side, It is actually slightly amazing the ravens are even relevant given they have drafted zero impact every down players in the past 8 years and continue to really miss on even first rounders, compared to their early success. Clearly something in the player evaluation process is failing them, or they just cannot make the players better due to the horrific coaching. Luckily they have found some decent veterans and hit on those, like Darryl Smith, Canty, Ricky Williams, Steve Smith to cover up the awful drafting and player development. But eventually, that catches up with you and the tide turns against you on the cap. If it were not for guys like Tucker, Orr and Pierce, this team would be scraping bottom. I hope they turn the draft luck around, but I have no confidence in Harbaugh developing anyone into an elite player.

How did you come up with "zero impact every down players"? Not that he's the only one, but have you ever heard of CJ Mosely?

[GENE2407]

  On 4/6/2017 at 5:11 PM, designermaryland said:

On the positive side, It is actually slightly amazing the ravens are even relevant given they have drafted zero impact every down players in the past 8 years and continue to really miss on even first rounders, compared to their early success. Clearly something in the player evaluation process is failing them, or they just cannot make the players better due to the horrific coaching. Luckily they have found some decent veterans and hit on those, like Darryl Smith, Canty, Ricky Williams, Steve Smith to cover up the awful drafting and player development. But eventually, that catches up with you and the tide turns against you on the cap. If it were not for guys like Tucker, Orr and Pierce, this team would be scraping bottom. I hope they turn the draft luck around, but I have no confidence in Harbaugh developing anyone into an elite player.

How did you come up with "zero impact every down players"? Not that he's the only one, but have you ever heard of CJ Mosely?

Depends on your view of "impact player". An ILB who can't cover premium RBs isn't exactly high on my list either, but he's decent. Compare him to Patrick Willis, Luke Kuechly, Wagner, Jamie Collins, Sean Lee, and even Anthony Barr.........and you might change your mind. No team is game planning for CJ Mosley, and that's what usually defines an impact player to me.

[RavensBaltimore]

  On Friday, April 07, 2017 at 0:24 PM, RavensBaltimore said:

  On Thursday, April 06, 2017 at 2:11 PM, designermaryland said:

On the positive side, It is actually slightly amazing the ravens are even relevant given they have drafted zero impact every down players in the past 8 years and continue to really miss on even first rounders, compared to their early success. Clearly something in the player evaluation process is failing them, or they just cannot make the players better due to the horrific coaching. Luckily they have found some decent veterans and hit on those, like Darryl Smith, Canty, Ricky Williams, Steve Smith to cover up the awful drafting and player development. But eventually, that catches up with you and the tide turns against you on the cap. If it were not for guys like Tucker, Orr and Pierce, this team would be scraping bottom. I hope they turn the draft luck around, but I have no confidence in Harbaugh developing anyone into an elite player.

How did you come up with "zero impact every down players"? Not that he's the only one, but have you ever heard of CJ Mosely?

Depends on your view of "impact player". An ILB who can't cover premium RBs isn't exactly high on my list either, but he's decent. Compare him to Patrick Willis, Luke Kuechly, Wagner, Jamie Collins, Sean Lee, and even Anthony Barr.........and you might change your mind. No team is game planning for CJ Mosley, and that's what usually defines an impact player to me.

I don't make up my own definitions. Mosley absolutely makes an impact on this team. You can debate whether or not he's top 5 in the league, but the defense is clearly better with him on the field, which means he's making an impact.

[fluffy201]

OZ said himself that recent drafts have not met expectations so there no need for fans or media trying to defend the obvious bust in recent drafts. The pitchforks are out per Steve B. So no need to defend anything when your boss put it out there you are on notice.

A GM is successful if he can not only draft but also retain top talent. This article points out Eric and OZ failure to do both in recent years.

For example, Webb accounting for 8.5 million against the cap was a joke. If you make those types of decisions then of course you can't pay KO. So they can try to justify letting good players go because they are 'too expensive', but then paying guys like Webb who are average at best.

We haven't drafted the best since the Super Bowl, but in the Ravens defense, they got stuck with some really bad contracts, which included paying suggs, webb, pitta, a lot of money to sit on the bench with injuries, plus ray rice, and eugene monroe killed us, plus not having Matt Elam come through was a big disappointment. Good news, is that next year all these bad contracts will be off the books and the Ravens should be in much better cap shape at least.