(Only one of those guys was drafted in the Top 10)
As is the case whenever our team’s season is over, we fans turn our focus in full force to the NFL Draft.
While the Ravens and their fans knew for a few weeks before the season was officially over that they’d be making one of the earliest selections in team history, they didn’t know exactly where they were going to pick until the season ended.
Now with the No. 6 overall pick in hand, Baltimore has a few options. They could trade up, and recuperate anything they have to give up to do so with their four compensatory selections. They could also trade down, and even if they have to give up more than a couple of spots, the No. 6 selection is so coveted that the return would be sizable.
However, I don’t know if either of those two options would be in Baltimore’s best interest.
Unless there’s a stone-cold lock still on the board, you don’t want to trade up. Besides, if that player was such a lock, he wouldn’t be on the board, anyway. Moving up a couple of spots within the top 10 picks puts your future drafts in jeopardy, as those picks demand a high price.
Moving down means you sacrifice a high pick, and while you’d end up with more picks overall, you’re not going to have the chance to pick that high very often. You’ve paid the price of losing. Why not claim the reward?
The third option the Ravens have is to stay put. I think they should exercise that option, for two reasons. First, I believe cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III (Florida), who screams Ravens, will be available then. The position he plays is arguably Baltimore’s biggest need and his playing style is as polished and as dynamic of any cornerback I saw play college football last season.
Secondly, when looking at all of the past NFL drafts, the No. 6 pick hasn’t just yielded good players, but legendary players.
Of the 83 players that have been selected No. 6 overall in NFL history:
- 23 have went on to be named a First-Team All-Pro (27.7 percent).
- 12 were elected to the Hall of Fame (14.5 percent).
- Notable players selected No. 6 include Jim Brown, Sammy Baugh, Y.A. Tittle, James Lofton, and Tim Brown.
Of the 20 players selected at No. 6 since 1996 (when the Ravens first started drafting), there have been:
- Five First-Team All-Pros (Walter Jones (HOF), Richard Seymour, Torry Holt, Adam Jones, Julio Jones).
- Four Super Bowl winners (Richard Seymour, Torry Holt, Grant Wistrom, Russell Okung).
Precedent shows that the No. 6 pick has worked out very well for whichever team makes it, whether you look at drafts since 1936 (the first ever draft) or 1996.
If you prefer a more specific look at how the Ravens have fared when drafting this high, here you are:
- Of the seven picks the Ravens have made in the top 10, all seven won a Super Bowl with Baltimore.
- Four of those players were named to at least one First-Team All-Pro list (Jonathan Ogden 4; Chris McAlister, Jamal Lewis, Terrell Suggs 1).
- Two of those seven became a player of the year (J.Lewis, Offensive POY, 2003; Suggs Defensive POY, 2011).
- One of them was inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot (Ogden).
When you combine the high concentration of talent at the top of the draft with Ozzie Newsome‘s expertise, I see nothing but good things resulting from the Ravens holding onto their No. 6 pick.
