Ravens on The Clock at No. 6
Over the course of six weeks leading up to the NFL Draft, six writers will give us their favorite and least favorite pick for the Ravens with the sixth overall selection. The first five picks could go a variety of different ways. Considering that uncertainty, we have only eliminated FSU DB Jalen Ramsey from consideration.
Here is what we have:
Mike Fast: Favorite – Vernon Hargreaves; Least Favorite – Joey Bosa
Kyle Casey: Favorite – Vernon Hargreaves; Least Favorite – Ronnie Stanley
Ryan Jones: Favorite – DeForest Buckner; Least Favorite – Ronnie Stanley
Dev Panchwagh: Favorite – Myles Jack; Least Favorite – Joey Bosa
Tyler Lombardi: Favorite – Laremy Tunsil; Least Favorite – Joey Bosa
Tony Lombardi is up This Week For Part 4
Favorite Pick: Myles Jack, LB, UCLA
When I look back on the disaster that was the Ravens 2015 season, besides the 20+ players on injured reserve, the one thing that sticks out the most is the team’s relative dearth of speed. Comparatively speaking John Harbaugh’s crew looked like a used car lot stocked with Buicks compared to the Steelers South Beach-like Maserati showroom.
The Ravens were slow!
Speed kills.
It creates turnovers and provides explosiveness and impact plays.
A healthy Breshad Perriman will help change that on offense, as will the addition of WR Mike Wallace. But the Ravens need more – a lot more and it needs to start on the defensive side of the ball with my favorite pick, Myles Jack.
Jack is the perfect complement to CJ Mosley. He brings uncommon speed and athleticism to the linebacker position and his outstanding cover skills are perfect for today’s NFL.
The Ravens have struggled covering tight ends and running backs. In a division that fields players like Tyler Eifert, Gary Barnidge, Ladarius Green, Le’Veon Bell and Giovanni Bernard, it’s imperative that Dean Pees’ defense improves when defending short to intermediate passes and gets off the field following third-down plays.
In 2015 the Ravens defense ranked 20th in stopping opponents on third down and they were 31st in turnover differential with an average of -0.9 per game. Jack’s suddenness and rare cover skills can help in both categories.
If the Ravens walk away from Day 1 of the 2016 NFL Draft with Myles, consider me “Jack-ed Up!”
Favorite Pick 1A: Ezekiel Elliott
[cardoza_wp_poll id=”1439″]
Least Favorite Pick: Vernon Hargreaves, III, CB, Florida
It’s no secret that the Ravens need to improve their play in the secondary. A healthy Jimmy Smith and the addition of Eric Weddle go a long way towards that end but they still need help at the corner opposite Smith. Unless the five GM’s who pick before the Ravens are fresh off a Timothy Leary conference and have experimented with psychedelic drugs, Jalen Ramsey will be long gone by the time Ozzie Newsome is on the clock.
The next best corner according to most analysts is Vernon Hargreaves, III but at No. 6 overall he’s a reach and arguably not even the second best corner (or best pure corner if you discount Ramsey) in the draft.
The argument could be made that William Jackson from Houston will be a better pro than Hargreaves. Even Maryland’s Sean Davis who could be had 30-50 picks later isn’t that far behind the Florida Gator corner. Some even feel that Hargreaves is better suited to a team that primarily plays zone in its base defense whereas both Jackson and Davis provide a bit more versatility.
If Hargreaves is the call, I’ll have flashbacks to Duane Starks. And while Starks wasn’t a bad pick in 1998, he wasn’t a Top 10 pick. Likewise, Hargreaves, albeit a quality player, is hardly deserving of the No. 6 overall pick.
Least Favorite Pick 1A: Ronnie Stanley
[cardoza_wp_poll id=”1440″]
