Team Looks to Regain Their Draft Day Swagger
The Baltimore Ravens have long been known to be one of the league’s best franchises on draft day. But lately they have failed to harvest star-quality talent. The heat is on the Ravens to produce a successful 2016 NFL Draft.
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Traditionally the Ravens pre-draft luncheon has been a rather light-hearted event, chockfull of lies, truths and half-truths all intended to create deceit.
The panelists (Messrs. Newsome, DeCosta, Hortiz and Harbaugh) have generally carried swagger into the auditorium, the byproduct of years of draft weekend prowess.
But Tuesday’s presser wasn’t quite so light-hearted. The Ravens personnel group is a bit like the home run hitter who can’t find his long ball stroke.
In the past the Ravens have hit a ton of home runs. During the first 13 Ozzie Newsome-led drafts the Ravens have landed on 16 Pro Bowlers, tied for the NFL high during that period. Since? Try 1 Pro Bowler in the last 7 drafts (CJ Mosley).
The Ravens need to redeem themselves for a 2012 draft class that has vanished from the current roster and a 2013 class that produced two absolute flops with pick Nos. 1 and 2 (Matt Elam, Arthur Brown).
They can’t afford to take flyers on players who are risks – players who have some flags that dropped them from the first round to the second. It’s as if the Ravens go Vegas in round 2 and gamble, as evidenced by picks like Brown, Sergio Kindle, Terrence Cody, Chris Chester, Dan Cody – even Paul Kruger.
Arthur Brown had potential but there was a reason he floated from the University of Miami to Kansas State. Something was obviously amiss and the Ravens missed it.
Sergio Kindle had first-round talent but was a train wreck off the field.
Ditto Cody & Cody.
The guy the Ravens land in 2016 with No. 36 must be a guy who in 2020 they are looking to extend.
Not one that they Uber to the airport.
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