Draft / FA / Offseason Roster Moves (Merged)

[PalladinInNC]

With Ray calling it quits i think it's more vital to get a ILB that can play right away...not because of losing Ray but because an Ogletree i dont think could beat out Mcclain in year one for the other LB spot because he wont be ready to play between the tackles. I personally dont wanna see Mcclain taking heavt snaps next year. I was thinking along the lines of this...

Trade down from the first to the early 2nd round and take Aboushi, use that ammo to move up in the 2nd and take Kevin Minter or Arthur Brown. In the 3rd i'd take Baccari Rambo and in the 4th i'd take Missouri southern NT/DT Brandon Williams. I'd still sign a Terrance Knighton or Aubrayo Franklin while Williams is groomed to take over at the Nose, Williams can also play the 5-tech. With the rest of the draft i'd find another edge rusher to groom, a nickel LB, a backup QB and just go best available with whatever picks are left.

I like your draft scenario except that instead of Minter or Brown, I'd pick Hodges instead! And I'd be sure to use one of the lower round picks on a large, tall, blocking TE that could be something of a red zone target. Otherwise, I think you really nailed it!

[runrayrun27]

Question. Is Cody a FA this year?

[bmorecareful]

Okay, how about Elam, Arthur Brown, Da'Rick Rogers?

It's a shame you only get one pick per round sometimes.

Elam, Arthur Brown, and Da'Rick Rogers with the first three picks would be unbelievable. I'd jump for joy with those three guys, all of whom have elite upside. Ozzie would be robbing the rest of the league if he managed to get all 3.

I would think you'd have to do some real manuevering to make that happen. Elam is a 1st round pick that I could see maybe slipping into the top of the 2nd, but no further back. Arthur Brown and Da'Rick Rogers are both 2nd rounders, I guess Rogers could slip into the 3rd if he has a bad Combine.

[Lee Van Cleef]

I know. I'm just dreaming I guess.

[LukeDaniel]

Question. Is Cody a FA this year?

No, he's under contract at a very cheap amount.....$800-$900k I believe. Makes it hard to cut him with that type of salary.

[LukeDaniel]

based on the Jimmy Johnson value chart, our first two picks are roughly equal to the 17th pick, assuming we picked 29. SO take that plus or minus 2 picks. I suggest, that if the right player(Let's call him Eric Fisher) is the last remaining LT candidate the FO likes, and it's around pick 15, that we should be picking up the phone. I'm not suggesting moving several picks(unless the 2 is not one of them) and I'm certianly not suggesting packaging future 1sts. But Yes, I would trade 1+2 or 1,3,4+6(assuming we have a good portion of comp picks) for the right guy, againassumign he's the last one the FO lkes.

Trading up to get the guy we want makes more sense this draft than ever before...particularly if the Ravens do indeed get that compensatory 3rd and 4th rounder .

[LukeDaniel]

I haven't seen any mention of Joe Kruger yet here. What are your thoughts? Maybe we should just not go after re-signing Paul and try to draft little brother Joe as his replacement. Any word on his NFL readiness compared to his big brother?

[BigPlayReceiver]

I haven't seen any mention of Joe Kruger yet here. What are your thoughts? Maybe we should just not go after re-signing Paul and try to draft little brother Joe as his replacement. Any word on his NFL readiness compared to his big brother?

Nfldraftscout.com might have something on him IIRC

[BigPlayReceiver]

Trading up to get the guy we want makes more sense this draft than ever before...particularly if the Ravens do indeed get that compensatory 3rd and 4th rounder .

We are definitely getting a 4th for Grubbs. Count on it. A 3rd would have been a lock had he made the pro bowl.

[BigPlayReceiver]

I like your draft scenario except that instead of Minter or Brown, I'd pick Hodges instead! And I'd be sure to use one of the lower round picks on a large, tall, blocking TE that could be something of a red zone target. Otherwise, I think you really nailed it!

You are referring to Nevada's Zach Sudfeld...though he's more than something of a red zone target. Every bit as talented as Eifert but wasn't featured in Chris Alt's system. He blocked a boatload in that system.


G3

[JCroUSAF]

Couple questions. What are your thoughts on nico Johnson? He had a lot of expectation coming into this season and with mostly going back to school I figured his stock would rise.

Are there any late round type LT like last years Andrew Datko who only fell due to injury?

Is Aboushi really that good? I just don't see a complete player and more of an oher type bust potential

[leachisabeast]

Couple questions. What are your thoughts on nico Johnson? He had a lot of expectation coming into this season and with mostly going back to school I figured his stock would rise.

Are there any late round type LT like last years Andrew Datko who only fell due to injury?

Is Aboushi really that good? I just don't see a complete player and more of an oher type bust potential

Oher is far from a bust

[arnie_uk]

Oher is far from a bust

Depends what you, sorry, the ravens where expecting when they drafted him.

[LukeDaniel]

You are referring to Nevada's Zach Sudfeld...though he's more than something of a red zone target. Every bit as talented as Eifert but wasn't featured in Chris Alt's system. He blocked a boatload in that system.


G3

Okay, I'll admit that I know nothing about this guy. Is he a 5th/6th round type or is he someone we'd have to commit one of those earlier picsk to get?

[Raveninwoodlawn]

Couple questions. What are your thoughts on nico Johnson? He had a lot of expectation coming into this season and with mostly going back to school I figured his stock would rise.

Are there any late round type LT like last years Andrew Datko who only fell due to injury?

Is Aboushi really that good? I just don't see a complete player and more of an oher type bust potential

Nico Johnson would have been a terrific prospect 15 years ago.

He is big, physical and very good against the run.

But he is a fish out of water in pass coverage and not all that athletic.

[bmorecareful]

Okay, I'll admit that I know nothing about this guy. Is he a 5th/6th round type or is he someone we'd have to commit one of those earlier picsk to get?

He's a 5th or 6th rounder. I'm not particularly familiar with him as a prospect either as I've not watched any Nevada tape. I don't know him to have a reputation as a blocker based on what I read, but he's well thought of as a prospect.

As more of a pure blocking tight end in the 5th-6th range I like Michael Williams out of Alabama. He's an excellent prospect who blocks well and has been used at fullback to good effect this year. If we cut Leach we could use him as the primary blocker out of 2TE sets.

[PalladinInNC]

Okay, I'll admit that I know nothing about this guy. Is he a 5th/6th round type or is he someone we'd have to commit one of those earlier picsk to get?

I don't know anything about this guy either. All I know is that the Ravens need a good (and big) blocking TE since Pitta isn't really a blocker. If the guy could also be a red zone target, even better.

Maybe "Wicked" knows something about him!

[LukeDaniel]

Depends what you, sorry, the ravens where expecting when they drafted him.

I don't think the Ravens were expecting an All-Pro considering they took him with the 23rd pick and he was the 4th tackle taken in the draft. Typically when you draft at spot #23, you are drafting a player who you expect to be a solid starter with the hope of being a Pro Bowl caliber type player. Oher has fulfilled the main requirement of his slot, having started 70 out of 70 career games. He clearly is not going to reach the "hope" half of that draft slot by turning into an All Pro, but that doesn't make him a bust.

He might only be an average to below-average starting LT, but that doesn't make him a bust. LT is typically where you put your most talented O-lineman, so being #20 out of 32 starting LTs doesn't make you a bad football player.

To me a bust is a player who either:

a) is clearly not good enough to play at a level representative of his draft position (Oher being a fixture in the starting lineup on some very good teams since his very first game shows he's good enough)

b) can't stay healthy enough to help his team (never missed a game)

c) can't stay out of off-the-field trouble consistently enough to help his team (zero character issues here)

If you want to know what a bust OT looks like....look at the 3 OTs drafted ahead of him.

Jason Smith was the #2 overall pick that year and he couldn't stay healthy during his first three seasons with the Rams(missed 22 of his first 48 games). Prior to his injury issues, he lost his starting LT job to a rookie. The Rams thought so highly of him that they traded him to the Jets after just three years for a journeyman O-lineman. Again, this was the #2 overall pick.

Andre Smith was taken 17 picks higher than Oher at #6. He was so bad and had such a poor work ethic (and had such big man boobs...sorry couldn't help myself) that he only started 5 games over his first two seasons and was utterly horrible. Over the past two seasons, he's improved and has been the starter at RT, but is still nothing special there. He's not as good of a RT as Oher is and nowhere near as good a LT as Oher is. He has the luxury, though, of not needing to be good enough to play LT because the Bengals have one of the games best LTs in Whitworth. Oher> than Andre Smith and it's not really close. The Ravens have got far more value out of Oher than the Bengals from Smith.

Eugene Monroe was drafted 8th, 15 spots higher than Oher. He's not been nearly the bust of Smith or Smith, but he is a ho-hum, nothing special LT right now. He has stayed largely healthy and is emerging as a okay LT, but when you draft a OT at #8, you expect more than that. He is pretty much Oher's equal right now as a LT, but when you consider that Oher has played RT for half his NFL career and was drafted far lower than Monroe, he's nowhere near the same level of bust.

Sergio Kindle is a bust.
DeRon Jenkins was a bust.
Kyle Boller was a bust.
Dan Cody was a bust.
Terrance Cody is approaching bust status.

Michael Oher is not a bust and I don't think he's even close to one. He might never be the All Pro we hope he would be when we drafted him, but he's been durable and versatile and has played as hard as he can from whistle to whistle every down no matter where we've put him.

[arnie_uk]

I don't think the Ravens were expecting an All-Pro considering they took him with the 23rd pick and he was the 4th tackle taken in the draft. Typically when you draft at spot #23, you are drafting a player who you expect to be a solid starter with the hope of being a Pro Bowl caliber type player. Oher has fulfilled the main requirement of his slot, having started 70 out of 70 career games. He clearly is not going to reach the "hope" half of that draft slot by turning into an All Pro, but that doesn't make him a bust.

He might only be an average to below-average starting LT, but that doesn't make him a bust. LT is typically where you put your most talented O-lineman, so being #20 out of 32 starting LTs doesn't make you a bad football player.

To me a bust is a player who either:

a) is clearly not good enough to play at a level representative of his draft position (Oher being a fixture in the starting lineup on some very good teams since his very first game shows he's good enough)

b) can't stay healthy enough to help his team (never missed a game)

c) can't stay out of off-the-field trouble consistently enough to help his team (zero character issues here)

If you want to know what a bust OT looks like....look at the 3 OTs drafted ahead of him.

Jason Smith was the #2 overall pick that year and he couldn't stay healthy during his first three seasons with the Rams(missed 22 of his first 48 games). Prior to his injury issues, he lost his starting LT job to a rookie. The Rams thought so highly of him that they traded him to the Jets after just three years for a journeyman O-lineman. Again, this was the #2 overall pick.

Andre Smith was taken 17 picks higher than Oher at #6. He was so bad and had such a poor work ethic (and had such big man boobs...sorry couldn't help myself) that he only started 5 games over his first two seasons and was utterly horrible. Over the past two seasons, he's improved and has been the starter at RT, but is still nothing special there. He's not as good of a RT as Oher is and nowhere near as good a LT as Oher is. He has the luxury, though, of not needing to be good enough to play LT because the Bengals have one of the games best LTs in Whitworth. Oher> than Andre Smith and it's not really close. The Ravens have got far more value out of Oher than the Bengals from Smith.

Eugene Monroe was drafted 8th, 15 spots higher than Oher. He's not been nearly the bust of Smith or Smith, but he is a ho-hum, nothing special LT right now. He has stayed largely healthy and is emerging as a okay LT, but when you draft a OT at #8, you expect more than that. He is pretty much Oher's equal right now as a LT, but when you consider that Oher has played RT for half his NFL career and was drafted far lower than Monroe, he's nowhere near the same level of bust.

Sergio Kindle is a bust.
DeRon Jenkins was a bust.
Kyle Boller was a bust.
Dan Cody was a bust.
Terrance Cody is approaching bust status.

Michael Oher is not a bust and I don't think he's even close to one. He might never be the All Pro we hope he would be when we drafted him, but he's been durable and versatile and has played as hard as he can from whistle to whistle every down no matter where we've put him.

but if they drafted him thinking he will be the next jo, wouldn't you consider that a bust?

For me personally, I don't think he is. But if manti teo fell to us and we drafted him, I'd be expecting him to be on the level if not exceeding the play of someone like bowman, or Washington eventually obviously.

Say of we only get I dunno, dem Ryan's type play, I'd consider it a bust, merely because of the expectation, but at the same time, I'd be satisfied with his performance.

That's where I'm at with oher, I expected a lot more, but I'm satisfied with what we hand, not a bust per say, but not quite how I thought he would turn out either.

[BigPlayReceiver]

I don't know anything about this guy either. All I know is that the Ravens need a good (and big) blocking TE since Pitta isn't really a blocker. If the guy could also be a red zone target, even better.

Maybe "Wicked" knows something about him!

Zach Sudfeld is a clear RZ target at about 6'6 255 (IIRC).
He looks like everybit the athlete that Eifert and Ertz are.
He blocks however the play is designed...in-line, back side seal, crack back, 2nd level and even counters.
Tough as hell, judging by all of the injuries that he has recovered from, which is also obviously a concern.

There are brief highlights within the interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnOPJrJkh1w
I can't find the game film that I watched about 3 weeks back.

After scoring two early TDs on go routes, most of what he did vs. Arizona (bowl game) was block, and he did that well. Coach Ault like to spread the ball around, but I have no idea why he didn't just stuff Sudfeld down Arizona's DBs' throats all day long.

If Ertz, Florida's Reed, and SDSU's Escobar stay in school then Sudfeld might go 32-48 picks early. Nevermind how he was used this season, I think his performance value is enormous. If I could become confident that he's not injury prone then I would consider bottom 3rd/top 4th for him. I'm a bit surprised that he has stayed below the radar. Non Pac 12 west coast bias maybe lol.