Ravens Draft is Solid But Lacks Sizzle
On Day 2 of the NFL Draft I was reminded of a Christmas morning or two as a child.
Maybe you can relate…
You awake rather early, stare up at the ceiling momentarily, and then it hits you. This is the day you’ve waited for.
The adrenalin runs through your veins like a freight train and you snap the covers back, leap out of bed like you were sticking the finish to an Olympic balance beam routine, collect yourself and then with all the poise you can muster, make your way to your parents’ bedroom. The day can’t begin without them.
Before you know it the perimeter of the living room is littered with shredded gift-wrapping paper. Your presents bring joy yet the enthusiasm has throttled down – tempered by the sobering realization that the one gift or two that you really, really, really wanted is nowhere to be found.
You suck it up out of respect for your parents who have done their very best and you express outward appreciation although inside, you feel like you’re dying, as the apocalypse of your adolescent world has undoubtedly arrived.
I felt like that again after Day 2 of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Day 1 saw the Ravens land a needed left tackle – needed because the Ravens hired an uninspired, overpaid left tackle in the form of Eugene Monroe. One step back, one, hopefully two steps forward.
On Day 2 some explosive players were available, like Myles Jack and Noah Spence. The Ravens had a chance to get both and passed. They had a chance to pick up solid corners like Mackensie Alexander, Daryl Worley or Kendall Fuller. And they passed.
Kamalei Correa and Bronson Kaufusi, the Day 2 chosen sons, look to be nice players but didn’t the Ravens want to improve the back end of their defense? Hasn’t Ozzie Newsome said repeatedly that you can’t have enough corners? He says that a lot right?
Then why is it that since 2012 the Ravens have drafted 39 players (and counting today) and only 3 have been corners? Asa Jackson (5th round, 2012), Marc Anthony (7th round, 2013) and Tray Walker (4th round, 2015), God rest his soul, were never players to get jazzed about. They’re the equivalent of cruiser bikes when we hoped to find that shiny new mountain bike under the Christmas tree.
Hey, maybe I’ll have better luck at Grand mom’s house.
There’s always Day 3, right?
Or next “Christmas”…
[youtube]https://youtu.be/Q6auCBN8KYo[/youtube]
