When the Ravens lost the coin flip to the Dallas Cowboys for the 16th overall pick in this year’s draft, little was made of it.
Sure it would have been nice to pick one spot higher, but at the end of the day it really didn’t seem like a big deal. If you watched the video of the coin flip, Ozzie Newsome cracked a joke when they lost, telling Stephen Jones, “you’ve got your first W of the year.”
When the Cowboys were on the clock, Radio City Music Hall and Tony Romo held their breath. It was speculated leading up to the draft that Jerry Jones had Johnny Football at the top of his draft board, and he was still available when they were picking. While Jerry Jones is clearly an incredibly successful businessman, his skills as an NFL GM are often questioned, and for good reason. It seemed likely he wouldn’t be able to resist taking Manziel.
But someone else was obviously in his ear, and cooler heads prevailed.
Instead the Cowboys made a smart and safe pick, taking Zack Martin with their first round pick, very un-Cowboy like to say the least. Had the Ravens won the coin flip, things could have been much different, and there’s a good chance C.J Mosley isn’t a Raven, and Johnny Football never leaves the state of Texas.
Now don’t get me wrong, the Ravens got a great football player and great value by taking Mosley. He is likely a top ten pick in most years and can probably make an immediate impact on an already very solid defense. Eric Decosta said they likely would have taken Mosley if they were picking at number ten, it was a great pick.
But, if the coin flip had gone the other way, it’s hard to imagine the Ravens not taking Zack Martin 16th overall and addressing one of the biggest holes they currently have on the team. With Martin off the board would the Cowboys have taken Manziel?
We’ll never know.
It’s often said that football is a game of inches, and this is possibly another example of how a few inches, or a simple coin flip can influence the fate of several players, and the direction of three great franchises.
Maybe the Ravens had Mosley pegged the whole time. Of course there is a chance they would have gone that direction either way. The fact that they passed on Haha Clinton-Dix and Calvin Pryor, both of whom would have addressed another pressing need, may suggest they thought that highly of Mosley, and planned on picking him no matter what. Again, it will likely remain a mystery.
The bottom line is C.J Mosley is a Raven, Zack Martin is a Cowboy, and Johnny Manziel is a Brown. It’ crazy to think though, how a simple coin flip could potentially have made that a totally different story, and may have had such a huge impact on the lives and careers of several people.
Regardless, I hope C.J likes crab cakes.
Welcome to Baltimore.
