This won’t come as a surprise at all, but the Ravens are in a drafting slump.
And it’s hurting them.
Now, let’s file all the proper disclaimers first. For starters, throughout nearly all of the John Harbaugh era, the club has won so many games that they’ve drafted from a place where it’s fairly difficult to hit on a sure-fire-thing in the first round. We’re all smart enough to recognize that.
Next, it’s not like they’ve become drafting Neanderthals over at 1 Winning Drive. Guys like C.J. Mosley, Brandon Williams, Crockett Gillmore and Ricky Wagner evolved out of the draft. Those are four very useful players who are each currently starting for the 2015 Ravens.
So, when I say the Ravens are in a “drafting slump”, I’m fully aware they’ve made a lot of strong, reasonable selections over the last ten years.
But their first-round choices haven’t panned out to nearly the level of quality the club expected and/or hoped they would. And that’s one of the reasons why this year’s team might wind up watching the playoffs in January instead of playing in them.
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Because it’s necessary – and not trying to rub it in – here’s a quick look at the last ten first picks, with a slice of side commentary on each.
2015 – Breshad Perriman – Nothing to see here, yet. Your Aunt Betty has played as many NFL snaps as he has.
2014 – C.J. Mosley – A rock star in the making. The sky’s the limit for him. One of the best picks in franchise history.
2013 – Matt Elam — Hasn’t come close to fulfilling the promise of a first-rounder. Only time will tell, of course, but this one’s looking like a flop of a pick.
2012 – no pick (traded to Minnesota) – Hard to cash in on your first round pick when you trade him away.
2011 – Jimmy Smith – Tough to say where this pick ranks. Has been on-again, off-again throughout his career. Jury’s still out.
2010 – no pick (traded to Denver) – see the comments from 2012
2009 – Michael Oher – Was better in the movie.
2008 – Joe Flacco – A Super Bowl winning quarterback. Can’t do a whole lot better than that.
2007 – Ben Grubbs – Had several very good seasons, then got hurt, and was quickly cast aside.
2006 – Haloti Ngata – Future Ring of Honor inductee who was the victim of a bad contract (which, admittedly, he signed).
There are your last ten first round picks. That recap obviously doesn’t take into account 2nd round guys like Sergio Kindle, Terrence Cody and Courtney Upshaw. Kindle was never a factor, Cody was nothing more than a fill-in guy and Upshaw has been good at times and nothing special plenty of other times.
Of those ten first round draft picks, Flacco, Ngata and Mosley were the only TRUE standouts. Grubbs was solid. Smith has been semi-solid.
And of the ten, only three are playing right now and contributing; Flacco, Mosley and Smith.
If you want to dig deeper and look at the 2nd rounders, you’re not going to be doing jumping jacks and handstands over those guys, either.
This isn’t sour grapes over April 30’s Perriman selection, either. I think everyone assumed he was logically “the best fit” given the club’s parting-of-the-ways with Torrey Smith and an overall lack of speed at the wide receiver position.
What we didn’t know then – and neither did the Ravens – was the fact he’d get hurt on July 30 and vanish like the Statue of Liberty did in the David Copperfield special a decade ago. Breshad Perriman isn’t the reason the Ravens are 1-3, but he’s a big reason why the club can’t throw the ball with any effectiveness four weeks into the season.
And that, I’m afraid, falls back on Ozzie Newsome and his staffers who do the grunt work and scout college football players day in and day out from September through April every year.
They simply have to do a better job with their first round selections. And on the years when they elect not to pick someone in the first round, they have to make a better selection with their first selection in the second round.
As I said from the start, I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know.
I’m merely reminding you of how the Ravens got to where they are. “It’s a very simple game” as Charley Eckman used to say once upon a time.
The Ravens don’t have enough good football players.
And that’s why they’re 1-3.
You can read the rest of Drew’s daily Ravens musings at his website – www.drewsmorningdish.com.
