I Hate Your Mock Draft

The quarantine life is getting to me, and I’m fired up today!!

Listen… the title is misleading. It’s not true that I hate your mocks. I love your mocks. Every last one of them. You guys are absolute rockstars that are putting in the time and effort to find the true, perfect mock…

But that doesn’t mean I love every pick. 

Indeed, there are certain prospects I just flat out hate, don’t want here in Baltimore, or fall under the category of “positions I don’t think we need to draft.”

I think it’s about time we just address every one of those in this blog. 

No, I’m not drafting an outside corner just because his name is Lamar Jackson, or AJ Green.

At first, it was funny. Now I genuinely think fans think these guys are viable fits in Baltimore.

Fans get caught up in names over actual position with these corners, and it drives me insane! Here’s the short & sweet: both Jackson and Green are true outside corners (albeit Day 3 guys). The Ravens have a litany of similar, rangy depth guys outside and don’t need that deep, deep depth on the roster. Instead, the focus should be on a slot cornerback to provide depth behind Tavon Young to ensure we don’t end up moving Marlon Humphrey inside like we did last year. 

And on that note, stop trying to draft Tavon’s replacement earlier in Round 3/4. Nothing in his recovery has given us any inkling that he’s not going to be ready for camp & ready to compete. He’s got a chunky deal with a few years left, so we don’t need a replacement… just depth.

Laviska Shenault is gross, K.J. Hamler is grosser, and Chase Claypool is vomit-inducing. 

I know, you all have your own rankings and I’m wrong… it’s fine. This is my opinion.

 Shenault is an injury waiting to happen and I have zero interest in him in Round One, hardly in Round Two. He’s my WR10 and I won’t budge.

Hamler is fast, sure, but he has drop concerns & I hate the idea of the Ravens’ top-2 wideouts being 5’9 ” sub-200lb guys, even if they’re “burners.” Although I do find it ironic… last year everybody questioned whether Hollywood Brown could stay healthy because of his stature & many hated the pick, but nobody seems to question Hamler the same way? With a higher drop rate? 

Then there’s Claypool. He’s a Miles Boykin clone with more upside at Tight End (think Darren Waller). We have that player on our roster. He’s not going to create separation with his route running or quickness at the NFL level, and yet, because of his combine warrior status, everybody gushes over him. I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s moved to Tight End by Year 2.

Just, no.

If you’re taking a pass-catching Tight End earlier in the draft, you’re doing it wrong. 

The Ravens traded away Hayden Hurst, who ranked 3rd in the TE trio in terms of snap %, targets, and receptions… and yet some folks are clamoring for a pass-catching Tight End as if we lost some big facet of our pass game?

That’s not it, folks. The Ravens’ next Tight End draft pick (or UDFA) needs to be a block-first/catch-second guy. He needs to be able to play in-line, as well as slide out. With that said, Cole Kmet ain’t it. Devin Asiasi doesn’t fit. 

Instead, go look at Josiah Deguara (thank you Cole Jackson) in Round 4. He screams Ravens.

Guard. Tackle. Center. In that order.

Math is fun, shall we try some?

If the Ravens have three Centers on the roster (Matt Skura, Patrick Mekari, Bradley Bozeman) and only one ‘true’ Guard (Ben Powers) but no actual Tackle depth, why would we focus on adding another Center early?

Sure, Skura may start the season on IR… then you start Mekari, and Bozeman is his depth. You’re not supplanting a trio of guys with a rookie. Meanwhile, even if Ben Powers takes over Right Guard for Marshal Yanda, how comfortable are you with Bozeman at LG? He’s easily the weakest link to me and replacement level. If you want to add just one starter to your OL? It’s gotta be guard, not Center. 

Let’s not forget about OT depth too. James Hurst was axed, so the Ravens have basically no Tackle depth. Go draft yourself an OT (preferably a flex OG/OT) to hangout and develop behind Big Ron & the real OBJ.

The Ravens need a Guard first, Tackle depth second, and a Center third. 

End of discussion.

https://youtu.be/VWRko11vtlk

Running Backs are a Day 3 project, not an early move (unless it’s CEH). 

You can scream ‘BPA!’ all you want… I’m not listening here. 

Mark Ingram (5+ ypc) & Gus Edwards (5+ ypc) are both locked up through 2021 (2 more seasons). Justice Hill (3.9 ypc) is heading into his second year & if you’ve been slamming the table for leaps of improvement from Boykin & Hollywood Brown, you should absolutely be doing the same for Hill. 

So if you’re taking a running back early… who is the odd man out? You have three options:

Option 1: Decrease everybody’s carries to 5 (can’t decrease Lamar’s unscheduled runs)

Option 2: Quit on Justice Hill already

Option 3: Cut Gus Edwards and his 5+ ypc

How can you feel good about any of those options? If you quit on Hill already that’s alarming, if you decrease everybody’s carries then you’ll never have a hot hand to ride (too many hands in the cookie jar), and if you cut a 5+ ypc back in Gus in the name of a better rookie, how much better production do you expect? 6+ ypc? 8? 10???

Either don’t bother, or wait til late and only if he’s a special teamer…

Unless it’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He’s the next Ray Rice. I’ll own that take.

Patrick Queen is good, don’t be stupid.

I too hate when mock drafts from the “pros” continue to mock the same player to Baltimore over… and over… and over…

Naturally as fans, we get sick of seeing that player and brush him off (Kenneth Murray from January through mid-March).

This seems to be happening with Patrick Queen now, but come on guys… Queen is actually really good!

Don’t fall victim to this. If the Ravens added Queen in Round One, they’d be lucky to have a great player in the middle of that defense. Yes, I understand guys like Malik Harrison would be ideal in Day 2 (or Logan Wilson, maybe Troy Dye) but Queen is clearly a notch up on those linebackers.

Willie Gay is not a top-tier linebacker in this draft, don’t be stupid again.

The Willie Gay Jr. hype train has left the station… I’m not on it. 

Gay Jr. is a hot head, both on and off the field. Sure he packs a punch when he tackles, but his processing is slow, he plays like a bull in a china shop (that’s not a good thing), and he’s going to need the right team to draft him and patiently develop him into a pro. 

If they can develop him.

He’s without a doubt a project player, and has no business being a top-5 linebacker in this draft. Could he end up there eventually? Absolutely could if the right team can wrangle him in. But teams would be taking a huge risk on Gay earlier than Round 3. 

So that’s why I hate SOME of the mocks I see going around. Give me your beefs below.