On the surface, the Ravens Pre-Draft Press Conference and Luncheon, aka The Liar’s Luncheon, revealed very little about the team’s intentions for the upcoming NFL Draft. And it shouldn’t. Poker players don’t tip their hand so why should an NFL General Manager?
That said, reading between the lines of the things Eric DeCosta did reveal on April 2, suggests that unless the Ravens have a stud player fall into their collective lap with the 22nd overall pick, they will seek a trading partner and move back in the draft to accumulate more picks. If esportsbettingwebsites.com offered a prop bet on the Ravens draft day intent, you’d likely see it listed at even-money on a trade back.
Prior to previous drafts, the highest number of draftable players that I can recall DeCosta sharing is 140. This time around, the number is higher – much higher.
“There are a lot of really, really good players in this draft”, said DeCosta. “And we expect to probably have about 180 draftable prospects when it’s all said and done.”
He later added, “If there’s a great player there at 22, we’ll make the pick, and we’ll be very, very excited. But, one thing we’ve shown over the past years is we know how to manufacture picks. So, if the opportunity is there, we’ll have a chance to trade back and accumulate picks. It’s going to be based on the players that are available on the clock and the phone ringing, and just kind of assessing what we can accomplish with pick 22 versus what we can accomplish with all the additional picks that we were to receive.”
According to most analysts, the strength of the 2019 NFL Draft lies between the second and fourth rounds. And DeCosta seems to concur.
“We have a great opportunity this year to draft players, and I think those third-round picks and those fourth-round picks, those are gold for us this year. In this draft, having four picks in those two rounds, that’s an ideal situation to be in.”
Gold.
Maybe DeCosta was trying to sell Fool’s Gold. But I doubt it.
The Ravens GM is in the “pick business” and given a draft that’s as deep as we’ve seen in quite a few years, the more picks, the better.
And if you’re a bettor, bet that the Ravens trade back in Round 1.
Take your significant other to a nice dinner on Thursday night, April 25th.
You can pay for it with your winnings!
