The Ravens’ 2022 draft will largely be defined in the fourth round.
GM Eric DeCosta is not backing away from the challenge.
The Ravens have five picks in the fourth round and expect to make a splash with each selection. The team needs to add depth at almost every position on the roster, so the Ravens need to add playmakers that can make an immediate impact.
“My mindset is every guy that we take in the fourth round this year better be playing for us – that’s why we’re taking him,” DeCosta said. “That’s our expectation from Day One; they go out here, they hit the ground running, and they play.”
The only) time the Ravens had five picks in the fourth round was in 2016 when they had mixed results. Baltimore selected cornerback Tavon Young (104th overall selection), wide receiver Chris Moore (107), offensive lineman Alex Lewis (130), defensive lineman Willie Henry (132) and running back Kenneth Dixon (134).
In other years, the Ravens were able to add impactful playmakers in the fourth round, including Dennis Pitta (2010), Kyle Juszczyk (2013), Za’Darius Smith (2015), Brandon Stokley (1999), and Edwin Mulitalo (1999), among others.
However, the team had less success with other fourth-round picks, such as running back P.J. Daniels (2006), wide receiver Tandon Doss (2011) and John Simon (2013).
General prospect evaluations 👎
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That said, the Ravens will ultimately be judged on the overall success of the draft. They have 10 picks, including the 14th overall selection — the highest they’ve picked since 2016.
DeCosta expects all of the players, from Round 1 to Round 7, to battle for playing time as rookies.
That’s life in the NFL.
“Every pick you bring in, you expect this guy to play,” DeCosta said. “You’re not going to draft a guy if you don’t think this guy is going to help your team – that’s just a bad mentality. My mindset is every guy that we take in the fourth round this year better be playing for us – that’s why we’re taking him. That’s our expectation from Day One; they go out here, they hit the ground running, and they play. So, that’s just the way that we look at it.
“Now, does the data back that up? Probably not, but that’s what we think. That’s what we expect. We make every pick with that type of conviction, so that’s just the way we play the game.”
Still, the pressure will be on the Ravens in the fourth round. The team is not backing away from the challenge and are embracing the opportunity.
“It makes it fun on Friday night – I can promise you that,” said Joe Hortiz, the Ravens director of college scouting.
“We’ll be excited, and we’ll get together like we do and kind of assess things. Obviously, [executive vice president & general manager] Eric puts the guys in preferential order for our team and through the Draft meetings, so I think the stacking of the board is going to be the same throughout the meetings, and then once we get into the gameplan and gameday, that’s when Eric will put the guys in the best order for us to pick.”
