Will Spencer from DraftBreakdown.com answers draft related questions presented here just as they were posted on our Facebook Page.
Why didn’t Ravens address their WR concerns earlier in the draft? Who is Flacco gonna throw to other than Smith, Jones and Pitta? T. Doss and D. Reed are not ready yet. – Samir Begic
I think the team expects Dickson to take a larger role in the offense this year and don’t forget that Ray Rice is always a threat out of the backfield. While David Reed’s status might be more up in the air, the team seems to have a lot of faith in Tandon Doss. We could even see more of an emphasis on the run game now that the defense looks to be improved. If the offense doesn’t have to score 30 points a game, they can slow the tempo with a strong running game.
Is Matt Elam better suited for Strong or Free safety? – Jaime Martinez
Elam is definitely a strong safety. He excels in the box and does a great job in run support. The Ravens will look to him to be an enforcer like Pollard while Michael Huff will fill the free safety role.
Can we draft Tim Tebow for a towel boy? – Josh TheZombie King
Tebow doesn’t have the mechanics that scouts look for in a prototypical towel boy, but the guy is a proven winner and could really help push the other towel boys to reach their full potential. Wow….
Can I have free tickets to the Browns game? – Michael Goode
Seriously dude, aim higher. If you’re gonna ask, you should have asked for tickets to the Steelers game. If you did…I still would have said no. Michael Lombardi might give you tickets in exchange for a conditional 2014 draft pick…if you have any of those sitting around.
What eventually will happen with Vonta Leach and is there talk of restructuring his contract with the recent addition of Juszczyk via the draft? – Chris Brockman
The Ravens will probably send Leach to live on a nice farm where he has plenty of space to run and play. But for now, Leach will most likely remain on the roster barring any injuries. If the team decides that they want to pick up a free agent that gets cut this offseason, Leach could wind up on the chopping block to free up cap space. I don’t believe Leach would be open to any type of restructure at this point.
Love the first 2 picks of their draft. After that, I’m a little upset they didn’t move to get a WR that they liked. Are they content with their current crop? – Chris Caldwell
I think the team is interested to see the development of Tandon Doss and Deonte Thompson. The Ravens aren’t a team that does anything crazy just to address a perceived need. Anquan Boldin may no longer be on the roster, but there are plenty of guys on the team that have the potential to contribute.
Art Brown had leadership skills, but how forceful is his personality? It took Ray several years to be a leader in the locker room and I don’t think we can debate the forcefulness of his personality. – Mathias Tshenolo Whisler
Brown is actually a pretty soft spoken guy but “forcefulness” doesn’t necessarily equate to good leadership. Put it like this….Brown was voted team captain at Kansas State before he even played a game there. That should be all you need to know about his leadership abilities.
Talk about Furstenburg. I think he will be a great pick up. – Mathias Tshenolo Whisler
Furstenburg was a great UDFA pickup. He has tremendous potential and was able to flash that ability at Maryland, even with their absolute abysmal quarterback situation last year. Don’t expect anything right away from him but he could wind up being a great addition to the team.
How come we didn’t draft a top rated cornerback?? – Anthony Walker
There really wasn’t an opportunity for the Ravens to grab a “top rated” cornerback, with Milliner, Hayden, Rhodes and Trufant all going before the 32nd pick. Besides that, the Ravens are in pretty solid shape at corner with the return of Lardarius Webb in addition to Jimmy Smith, Corey Graham, Chykie Brown and Asa Jackson. The secondary is already upgraded from a coverage standpoint with the additions of Matt Elam and Michael Huff.
Who will most likely be on the field the first game out of all the draftees? – Peggy Warren
Matt Elam and Arthur Brown will almost undoubtedly be starters on the defense. I think you’ll also see Brandon Williams, John Simon and Kyle Juszczyk in rotational and/or special teams roles. Don’t count out Marc Anthony as a special teams contributor, either.
What is the upside of Matt Elam versus Jonathan Cyprien? – Tina Granger
Elam is faster than Cyprien, Elam produced at a high level against better competition (SEC), Elam was a special teams standout and Elam was voted team captain as a junior on a very talented team.
Which undrafted rookie is most likely to make the biggest impact this season? – David Bibo
I really don’t see any of the UDFAs making an impact “this” season. However, the two that I’m most intrigued by are Murphy Holloway and Roger Gaines. Holloway could potentially be the next basketball player to convert to football tight end, but he’s certainly raw. Gaines has the physical makeup to be a stud left tackle, but he’s pretty raw. With the right development, Gaines and Holloway could be absolute steals as UDFAs.
Do you think we use Kyle Juszczyk as more of a TE or implement him as an H back? – Dan Valenti
I think we’ll probably see Kyle in an H-back role, but there’s no reason he couldn’t get reps at TE in certain packages…especially a double tight end set.
Why do they have Cody and David Reed still on the roster??? Rolando McClain should be cut asap because Hrbs don’t like trouble and that was the reason they let Pollard go and Boldin. – Wade Nigrin
Just because Cody and Reed are on the roster now does not mean they’ll both be on the roster by week 1. However, Cody is likely in a “make or break” season and Reed provides special teams abilities, but so do several of this year’s draft picks. McClain will likely stay on the roster at least through camp. His cap hit is negligible and there isn’t much harm in letting him come in and compete. Personally, I think McClain will eventually be cut loose but there’s no rush for the team to make it happen right now.
