Tis that time of year already when more than 300 prospects will participate in the 2016 NFL Combine. They all hope to improve their status in the draft in April.
The NFL Combine gives teams a chance to get a close look in person at potential prospects as they perform rigorous football-related skills tests and evaluations.
Closer to home, GM Ozzie Newsome and the rest of the Ravens brass will be on hand in Indianapolis to evaluate the Ravens’ options as they begin preparations to find who will be the best player available when they were on the clock. Hopefully, one of those picks players will come in one of their various areas of need.
Various NFL pundits and fans have pass rusher, offensive tackle, cornerback and wide receiver as the Ravens’ biggest needs. Inside linebacker is also a position that could certainly be addressed as well.
NFL Network’s Draft analyst Mike Mayock, who held a conference call with media for over two hours on Tuesday afternoon,  sees the 2016 draft class as a unique one.
“This is an interior defense deep draft,” said Mayock when asked about which positions were the deepest in 2016. “You can wait to the third or fourth this year to get a defensive tackle who in past drafts would be first rounders. It’s that deep.”
The draft guru wasn’t too high on the wide receiver class this year, but he did say he would expect receiver-needy teams to try and grab them early due to the limited amount of quality at the position. “I don’t think the WR class is as explosive as the last couple drafts,” he said.
Mayock is convinced that the 2015 receiver class, even with the injuries to Ravens wide receiver Breshad Perriman and the Chicago Bears Kevin White, will be far better than this year’s product.
Mayock likes the Ravens’ options with the sixth pick. He thinks there will be quite a few good ones when it’s their turn to pick.
Mayock stated that Notre Dame offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley would be a “solid option” for Ozzie and company and fit an area of need. If Jalen Ramsey manages to slip to the sixth pick, he could see the Ravens jumping at the opportunity.
The draft guru also didn’t rule out the possibility of the Ravens trading back if neither Ramsey or if University of Florida standout defensive back Vernon Hargreaves were still available.
Another possibility Mayock talked about was the Ravens quietly snagging former Ohio State and Eastern Kentucky DE Noah Spence, citing Baltimore’s need for a pass rusher. If Spence can manage to fix his off-the-field issues, Mayock said he could see Spence as a Von Miller type impact player.
While much ado will be made about the results of the participants in the NFL Combine over the next few days keep in mind they aren’t the “end all be all” of who will succeed in the NFL and who won’t. Some skills are highly overvalued as Mayock pointed out including 40-yard dash some certain position players.
For now, Ozzie and company will take their time evaluating all the results from this week’s combine and use them in conjunction with what they see on tape before ultimately deciding what to do in April in their most important draft to date.
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