Hello and Happy Friday, Ravens Flock. It was a mercifully quiet week regarding the NFL and Ravens and Lamar Jackson news. Nothing really happened. I expect this trend will continue for a few more weeks as the Draft approaches. The NFL off-season cycle is like a roller coaster. It starts fast with free agency and trades, then slows down until the NFL Draft. We are currently in the period when everything is slow, and we still have three weeks until the Draft. The most news we are likely to get until then is about teams taking visits with top prospects, and from media sessions like….
Wednesday was the Ravens’ annual Draft session, known as the “Liars’ Luncheon.” This session is famous for the lies that the Ravens spout to keep everyone on their toes going into the Draft, not revealing anything about their plans.
It sounds pretty simple; nothing bad can come out of this, right?
This is a new one. pic.twitter.com/E9jQZAg4wc
— Jake Louque (@jakelouque) April 5, 2023
This, on the outside, is a terrible look for the Ravens. I get the team is frustrated with the Lamar situation, but yelling at the media and attacking them isn’t the best way to go… is what I would say until some information came out about the press conference.
I spoke with someone from @Ravens and I was informed they told media members that they were going to respect the process and only handle draft questions. After two questions they felt it was time to move on and focus on the draft.
— Rob Long (@RobLongSports) April 6, 2023
If this is true, then the Ravens are well within their right to set rules for a press conference, and if the media were warned before, yeah, I get why this happened. You’d hope it wouldn’t come to this, but if the Ravens set the rules, the reporters have to follow them. Even if the question was technically about the Draft, it was worded it so poorly that it seemed like the reporter was trying to make the question all about Lamar. Ravens brass is tired of this situation, they have a right to dictate what is discussed in these sessions, and unfortunately, someone poked the bear.
Enough about all that…
As mentioned before, this is the Draft season, so why does it feel so different?
Kinda torn on this. I get it’s your yearly forum to discuss the draft, but I can’t remember a draft that’s had less juice around here than this one. Lamar’s contract has sucked the life from it. Even if you did brief reporters not to ask, shushing them is a bad look.
— Jake Louque (@jakelouque) April 5, 2023
(ignore the last sentence of this tweet).
Lamar’s contract situation has just sucked the life out of this fanbase, so it is hard to get excited about the Draft when you don’t even know who will be under center come September. Draft season is supposed to be a fun time to look to the future, but this year feels different. Not to say that this Draft isn’t good, or there aren’t fans and analysts grinding and having fun with the process (shoutout guys like Cole Jackson.) Something is different, though.
As I mentioned before, the most news you are getting is top prospects visiting with teams, and two high-ranked prospects visited the Ravens, which raised some interesting questions.
Joey Porter Jr. and Quentin Johnston both at Baltimore today, and my heart is split in half. I'm not even sure anymore which room needs more help.
Wide Receivers:
– Nelson Agholor
– Rashod Bateman
– Devin Duvernay
– James Proche
– Tylan Wallace
– Andy Isabella
– Shemar Bridges…— Pedro H. Rhormes (@rhormes_) April 6, 2023
The needs at receiver have been talked about ad nauseam, but the corner depth is also frightening. So the question becomes, what happens if a quality option is available at both receiver and corner? I think it honestly comes down to the type of player available, but the Ravens have been able to find quality starting corners on the street; they have not been able to find quality receivers on the street. Now, if all the receivers are gone, and a top corner remains, obviously I’d hope take the corner.
Is it possible, though, to have it both ways? To get a great receiver in the first and a number two corner later?
Why yes, it is, and our next segment on Mock Draft Friday proves that:
If this were the Ravens’ haul, I would be in love. Zay Flowers is an awesome value at 22. A fast, polished route runner with good hands? Yes, please. Despite his small size, he played nearly all his snaps on the outside at Boston College and won the majority of the time. He probably won’t be there at 22, but if he is, he should start buying a residence in Maryland because there is no way the Ravens will pass him up (right??)
In the third round, we get a starter at corner on day one. Tyrique Stevenson is a baller in press coverage. He has ideal size and long arms to jam receivers and make their life a nightmare. The issue with him is that he doesn’t have the best ball skills. Sound familiar to someone on the Ravens roster? Yes, he does remind me a lot of Marlon Humphrey. Getting him in third would also be a steal.
As for the rest, Byron Young (AL) is a good run-stopper with a lack of athleticism to play on the edge, but profiles as an interior player. At the same time, K.J. Henry has a ton of athletic upside, but just didn’t get a ton of snaps at Clemson as a rotational player. Parker Washington is a good slot option for the Ravens and would complete a revamped receiver corps.
Out of all of the mocks I’ve done, this one might be my favorite. If the Ravens get a starting receiver and corner, it would be the biggest of wins.
Agree? Let us know in the comments.
One Response
Well Jared, I am not a fan of mocks because of the unpredictability of the draft. As an exercise it’s fun. In rd 1 if I was taking a WR QJ is your best bet. If you have to wait for the 3rd to take a WR look at xavier hutchinson or AT Perry. I would expect a QB in rd 1 like Hendon Hooker maybe, where they trade back to pick 31 for more picks and grab him there so they have a 5th year option on him. In this year’s draft I would consider going edge over CB in rd 1 because there are good corners all the way thru rd 6 this year.