[News] Late For Work 5/1: Grades For Ravens' 2017 Draft Class

[BR News]

ESPN’s Todd McShay labels pass rusher Tyus Bowser the best pick of Baltimore’s draft class. The draft shows the Ravens are getting back to their defensive, hard-hitting ways.

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[TheRavengers]

"Bowser was Baltimore's best pick"

Way too many Super Mario jokes to be had from now on.

[RavenLunatic]

I just hope the undrafted class and free agency can bring some depth to the O.

[whobilly]

I just hope the undrafted class and free agency can bring some depth to the O.

Hopefully one of the Undrafted FA WR's surprises us. Would not mind seeing Boldin come back if we can get him for what the Lions paid him last year. 2 Mill was small money for 67 catches and 8 TD's along with the hard nosed winning attitude.

[#20=DA MAN!!]

I see we have a couple 6'5ers as UDFA, hopefully bobby engram can develop them. But then again we already have chris matthews who we dont use.

[ByTheBay]

Damn it Torrey. Why do you have to be so cool. Still a part of the flock. 

[Adreme]

21 minutes ago, whobilly said:

Hopefully one of the Undrafted FA WR's surprises us. Would not mind seeing Boldin come back if we can get him for what the Lions paid him last year. 2 Mill was small money for 67 catches and 8 TD's along with the hard nosed winning attitude.

He would not put anywhere near that up for Baltimore just because of how Detroit runs its offense but even 25 catches and 3 TDs would be worth signing.  Its going to be up to these young guys to take the top 3 spots though.

[LeBron]

Damn it Torrey. Why do you have to be so cool. Still a part of the flock. 

he makes it hard to dislike him. even while a different uniform. Classy guy right there.

[billiejean]

I see we have a couple 6'5ers as UDFA, hopefully bobby engram can develop them. But then again we already have chris matthews who we dont use.

Well unfortunately being 6'5" does not automatically mean you are going to be a good receiver. Being 6'5" and running a 4.3 doesnt mean you are going to be good either (Tommy Streeter, Stephen Hill, Matt Jones, and many many more). The Seahawks did cut him for a reason after his Superbowl performance.

[LeBron]

This draft i mean was good but then again im still here thinking, no wide receivers, no decent line but im not question the great OZ. although i would of liked Foster more. But imagine Humphrey the next Mccalister then we all going to be here happy. But nonetheless i say sign vJax n a mangold. Go ravens.

[sami]

I think a lot of people are going to be surprised at how well our current bunch of WR's do. And for goodness sake, NO MORE BOLDIN. Hes gone, get over it.

[Raven in ATL]

in a year where there was a record number of trades in the draft, Ozzie made zero. i almost feel as tho other GMs got tired of getting fleeced by Ozzie over the years, so they didnt want to deal with him. let hope it works out.

[RailBird]

I would've loved to see them pick a WR, but let's be honest, they were all gone before the 16th pick. And instead of focusing on giving Flacco "better" weapons, how about we focus on Flacco better utilizing the weapons he already has? I believe we already have a very solid group of WRs with Wallace, Perriman, Campanaro and Moore. What we need is a better running game and a healthy Flacco.

[LeBron]

I would've loved to see them pick a WR, but let's be honest, they were all gone before the 16th pick. And instead of focusing on giving Flacco "better" weapons, how about we focus on Flacco better utilizing the weapons he already has? I believe we already have a very solid group of WRs with Wallace, Perriman, Campanaro and Moore. What we need is a better running game and a healthy Flacco.

dont forget a healthy line. Without a decent o line flack man is nothing.

[TheGeneticBeastLobster]

This draft i mean was good but then again im still here thinking, no wide receivers, no decent line but im not question the great OZ. although i would of liked Foster more. But imagine Humphrey the next Mccalister then we all going to be here happy. But nonetheless i say sign vJax n a mangold. Go ravens.

Also remember that pretty much hours after getting drafted, Foster's agent/camp told the 49ers that he needed the second surgery on his shoulder. Perhaps the Raven's team docs either knew or had a hunch?

[budkretz]

Like the defensive picks in first 3 rounds and hope Bowser is as good as the Ravens rated him. much potential. The defense should be much improved but it may have to pitch a lot of shutouts. Yes, the WRs went quickly with Williams , Davis and Ross went in top 10 which precluded any trade talk. Schuster-Smith went to Steelers late in round 2 and Godwin went in 3rd round. They were second tier WRs but have good potential. Ravens could have picked either one. Hope this does not come back to bite us. After the draft and FA we still need playmakers on offense. Running backs are okay and the best - Dixon is suspended first four games so he won't be a factor until the 6th or 7th game by the time he gets into football playing shape.. Wide receivers it's Wallace and Perriman. They are okay and will give us a good game here and there, but they lack that constant threat. The TE's are okay. The problem is an okay offense does not win games. The only playmaker we have is Tucker and he can only kick 4 FGs a game. The defense will need to hold teams to the low teens to give the Ravens a chance. I know some veterans will be released, but unless we stumble into another Dumervil situation can we honestly get a playmaker in the UDFA or free- agent, released veterans market. Don't want to be pessimistic, but how much better are we now than the team from last year that went 8-8. At this point that record seems reasonable for the upcoming season..

[ellicottraven]

For now, B is about the right grade. But, quickly depending how many of the first 5 picks turn into starters or not, could determine if it slides down to a C or goes up to a quick A. I am betting on A. I see Marlon Humphrey starting by season's end. I see Nico Siragusa starting right away at LG. I see Tyus Bowser splitting reps with Judon and Suggs as a pass defending linebacker and Tim Williams coming in as a pass rush specialist on 3rd downs much like Dumervil did last year. Wormley is going to split reps with Urban and Kaufusi at DE and Chuck taking on an active special teams role. Jermaine is the only one I don't see being on the 45 on game day because he needs to develop his football skills this year. If all of these predictions come to pass, then this draft is an A for me.

[LeBron]

  53 minutes ago, LeBron said:

This draft i mean was good but then again im still here thinking, no wide receivers, no decent line but im not question the great OZ. although i would of liked Foster more. But imagine Humphrey the next Mccalister then we all going to be here happy. But nonetheless i say sign vJax n a mangold. Go ravens.

Also remember that pretty much hours after getting drafted, Foster's agent/camp told the 49ers that he needed the second surgery on his shoulder. Perhaps the Raven's team docs either knew or had a hunch?

when u put it that way than it was good to pass on him. and i wasnt a big fan of howard anyway.

[LeBron]

For now, B is about the right grade. But, quickly depending how many of the first 5 picks turn into starters or not, could determine if it slides down to a C or goes up to a quick A. I am betting on A. I see Marlon Humphrey starting by season's end. I see Nico Siragusa starting right away at LG. I see Tyus Bowser splitting reps with Judon and Suggs as a pass defending linebacker and Tim Williams coming in as a pass rush specialist on 3rd downs much like Dumervil did last year. Wormley is going to split reps with Urban and Kaufusi at DE and Chuck taking on an active special teams role. Jermaine is the only one I don't see being on the 45 on game day because he needs to develop his football skills this year. If all of these predictions come to pass, then this draft is an A for me.

im starting the nickname GOOOOOOSEEEE JR or GOOOOSE 2. lol

[robbie29]

I think a lot of people are going to be surprised at how well our current bunch of WR's do. And for goodness sake, NO MORE BOLDIN. Hes gone, get over it.

Exactly. I'm not sure why this Boldin pipe dream keeps gaining more momentum.

[robbie29]

  59 minutes ago, LeBron said:

This draft i mean was good but then again im still here thinking, no wide receivers, no decent line but im not question the great OZ. although i would of liked Foster more. But imagine Humphrey the next Mccalister then we all going to be here happy. But nonetheless i say sign vJax n a mangold. Go ravens.

Also remember that pretty much hours after getting drafted, Foster's agent/camp told the 49ers that he needed the second surgery on his shoulder. Perhaps the Raven's team docs either knew or had a hunch?

Ozzie has Nick Saban on his speed dial- I guarantee he had the inside track and knew more about the Bama players' issues before most (if not all) the other teams.

[fusuymada]

  1 hour ago, sami said:

I think a lot of people are going to be surprised at how well our current bunch of WR's do. And for goodness sake, NO MORE BOLDIN. Hes gone, get over it.

Exactly. I'm not sure why this Boldin pipe dream keeps gaining more momentum.

The Boldin pipe dream comes from the fact that very few people believe our WR's will surprise anyone, and that based on who is out there, he is the best remaining (unless you want to take a chance on an oft injured Victor Cruz). It isn't so much a love affair as a last resort. I am in the group that thinks that we have seen the best of Perriman, Wallace is streaky, Chris Moore has shown nothing, Campanaro can't stay on the field, and neither can the majority of our tight ends who constitute the walking injured as far as I am concerned. Every TE has missed an entire year or multiple games, every single one, either injured or suspended. Other than Wallace, I don't see a reliable every down receiver on this team. Just my opinion.

[huntrgathrr]

This should prove to be an excellent draft for the Ravens. Humphries, Williams, Bowser, Wormley and Siragusa should all see significant playing time and provide tremendous quality depth on the defensive side of the ball. Considering the additions of Carr and Jefferson and the development of Tavon Young the secondary will be able to withstand the yearly injury to Jimmy Smith without a complete meltdown. This cost them the AFC North title last year. They have a clear potential to be the #1 defense in the NFL. Defense wins championships as recently proven by Denver, Seattle and even NE last year.
I'm not at all worried about the offense. At WR I think Perriman, Waller and Moore all can be big play receivers to complement Wallace. We're set at QB, RB and TE. They will probably pick up a veteran center in lieu of Hurschel or Jensen (i.e. Mangold) but Yanda, Stanley and Lewis are a solid core no matter who starts at LG ( Siragusa?) or RT (Hurst?). Heck, with Tucker they only have to cross midfield. Flacco's performance on Christmas day should have won the game and emphasized that given the right tools he can still be a difference maker.
This defense can be so good that Ray Lewis' comment before the 2000 Superbowl may be as true today as it was then...." if the offense doesn't let them score then we can't lose."

[RavensDieHard21]

As always, it's too soon to actually assign a grade to a draft class, but based on value and projections, I'd give this class a B+.  

My only gripe about the whole thing was that I thought we could have been a little more aggressive in securing Dan Feeney or Pat Elflein in the third, but other than that, not a bad class for the amount of picks we had.  

Realistically what has been holding us back? A bad secondary and an abysmal pass rush that cannot get home to close out games. Even dating back to 14' when we faced the Patriots, it wasn't Flacco's ineptitude to score points that sunk out ship, it was our atrocious secondary. We have given up the most go ahead TDs over the past two years and I think the FO wanted to make sure we limited that moving forward. 

Humphrey is getting a lot of flack, but realistically, he was a top 3 corner in this draft after Sidney went down. His ball tracking skills can be coached as he goes and honestly, that's his only real problem. He checks every other box. He will in time anchor the secondary. 

Williams and Bowser will give us explosive pass rushers and will allow Suggs more rest so that he will be more effective when he is on the field. 

Siragusa will likely be our LG and I really like the gesture that we will be moving back to a power scheme. 

[budkretz]

As always, it's too soon to actually assign a grade to a draft class, but based on value and projections, I'd give this class a B+.  

My only gripe about the whole thing was that I thought we could have been a little more aggressive in securing Dan Feeney or Pat Elflein in the third, but other than that, not a bad class for the amount of picks we had.  

Realistically what has been holding us back? A bad secondary and an abysmal pass rush that cannot get home to close out games. Even dating back to 14' when we faced the Patriots, it wasn't Flacco's ineptitude to score points that sunk out ship, it was our atrocious secondary. We have given up the most go ahead TDs over the past two years and I think the FO wanted to make sure we limited that moving forward. 

Humphrey is getting a lot of flack, but realistically, he was a top 3 corner in this draft after Sidney went down. His ball tracking skills can be coached as he goes and honestly, that's his only real problem. He checks every other box. He will in time anchor the secondary. 

Williams and Bowser will give us explosive pass rushers and will allow Suggs more rest so that he will be more effective when he is on the field. 

Siragusa will likely be our LG and I really like the gesture that we will be moving back to a power scheme. 

Not to disrespect Danny Woodhead but who have the Ravens added to the offense in order to give Joe Flacco more options and playmakers? Check down city did not work!

[JD08]

When the draft ended, I was a little worried about us not picking up a WR, but now I feel pretty good about the team, the defense will be stellar, expecting Top 5, and we will get to see what the young guys can do at WR, it would be cool to get Anquan but I want the young guys to gain experience too. Siragusa will probably fill in to that LG nicely beside Stanley letting move to the RT, just gotta figure out what we are gonna do at C. Also glad we didn't pick up OJ Howard, I just never saw that position as a need.

[budman]

2 hours ago, sami said:

I think a lot of people are going to be surprised at how well our current bunch of WR's do. And for goodness sake, NO MORE BOLDIN. Hes gone, get over it.

The FO. wants him and I believe the odds are good he will be a Raven in 2017

[RavensDieHard21]

40 minutes ago, budkretz said:

Not to disrespect Danny Woodhead but who have the Ravens added to the offense in order to give Joe Flacco more options and playmakers? Check down city did not work!

Okay, let's hear it. Who would you have taken? The only first round worthy receivers were all taken.

At 47, there was no real deserving WR meant to go in that slot, not even an O lineman, unless we over drafted Elflein or Feeney. I think Smith-Schuster would have been a reach. 

Then the only other picks I really could have seen value in were Godwin in the third, but at the cost of Tim Williams? Def not. Maybe instead of Wormley. 

The board was likely not going to stack well for us for offensive players. There is still time for another vet receiver to be added. The most effective way to have a better offense is to get a better line that will open up holes in the run game. Siragusa likely will contribute to that right away.  

[Crusader]

  2 hours ago, sami said:

I think a lot of people are going to be surprised at how well our current bunch of WR's do. And for goodness sake, NO MORE BOLDIN. Hes gone, get over it.

The FO. wants him and I believe the odds are good he will be a Raven in 2017

Budman you have a better chance on getting on this team than Boldin.

[Tenacious Faulker]

Two things not making this draft a slam dunk A is a questionable pick on a CB in rd 1 and no receivers. They can address receiver in free agency and Anquan Boldin is still out there, but at what price? Will he give them a hometown discount? With the signing of Brandon Car at CB it makes the Humphrey pick look capricious - a pure BPA pick. Being picked in rd1 means immediate contributor and JuJu Smith-Schuster could've been a nice 2nd rd pick and perfect for the slot position. I'm not complaining about Tyus Bowser in the least, but they better have a solution for fortifying the WR position.