The latest Ravens draft rumors
I'm doing my best to keep up with everything here. Saturday can't come soon enough. I'll have draft profiles on Delaware's Joe Flacco and Michigan's Chad Henne in the next 48 hours.
Now on to the latest news and rumors...
The latest question: If Matt Ryan is there at No. 8, are the Ravens a lock to take him?
Watching ESPN yesterday, Mel Kiper Jr. and Chris Mortensen said the answer to that question is definitely yes. The Sun's Jamison Hensley feels the same way as he answered that very question in an informative Q&A on baltimoresun.com:
There's no way the Ravens will pass on Ryan at No. 8 because he would clearly be their top-rated player if he slipped that far.
The writers at ProFootballTalk.com take the other side of that argument, however, pointing out that just last year, everyone said Brady Quinn would not slip past the Dolphins at No. 9, and he didn't get taken until No. 22.
SI.com's Don Banks says the Ravens should trade for a second first-round pick:
If the Ravens miss out on Matt Ryan as I now expect they will, Steve McNair's retirement gives them more motivation than any team to try and trade back into the lower third of the first round and select their quarterback of the future. Who will it be? The Ravens like all three of the passers who could potentially be the second quarterback chosen: Michigan's Chad Henne, Louisville's Brian Brohm or Delaware's Joe Flacco. My pecking order would be Flacco, Brohm and Henne, but there's some thought that it's Henne, Flacco and Brohm on Baltimore's board. As for the Ravens' trading partner, several teams in the 20s jump out as likely targets: No. 24 Tennessee, No. 25 Seattle, and No. 27 San Diego. The Titans probably have the most reason to stay where they are, but if they don't like their receiving options at 24, they could choose to move down and let Baltimore climb ahead of fellow quarterback-needy clubs such as Miami, Atlanta (if it doesn't choose Ryan in the first round) and Carolina.
Ray Lewis was on a SportsCenter special yesterday. When asked who the Ravens should draft, Lewis played it safe, saying they should look to get a consistent player who has passion for the game and can make his teammates better.
Clark Judge of CBSSports.com has the Ravens taking Troy cornerback Leodis McKelvin with the eighth pick:
If Matt Ryan is here the Ravens take him. If not, they look to defense, with cornerbacks the most obvious area of need. Could surprise, though, and take Sedrick Ellis, too.
CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco agrees:
Ryan is gone, so they go for the best corner in the draft. They'll come back and take a quarterback later.
Yesterday on ESPN Radio 1300 with Anita Marks, ESPN's Sal Paolantonio said the Ravens should think strongly about going with a defensive player, citing the fact that they gave up more plays of 40 yards or more than any other team in the league last season. Paolantonio also said John Harbaugh has Ryan rated as one of his top players -- if not the top player -- in the draft.
ESPN.com's Todd McShay, who I'm pretty sure hasn't slept in three weeks, puts together a seven-round mock draft. He has the Ravens picking up Virginia offensive lineman Branden Albert at No. 8:
If Ryan isn't on the board and the Ravens don't trade out of this slot, they will take the best available player. We don't make trades in this mock, but we have to acknowledge that either Cincinnati or New Orleans likely will trade up to get DT Sedrick Ellis. If Ellis is there and Ryan is off the board, Ellis would be the pick. If Ellis and Ryan are both gone as expected, then Albert makes sense.
Here are the other players McShay has the Ravens landing: Delaware QB Joe Flacco in the second round (No. 38); Colorado LB Jordon Dizon in the third round (No. 99); Florida wide receiver Stanford Keglar in the fourth (No. 106); Arizona linebacker Spencer Larsen in the fourth (No. 133); Clark defensive end Curtis Johnson in the sixth round (No. 173); Richmond wide receiver Arman Shields in the sixth round (No. 206); Texas defensive tackle Derek Lokey in the seventh round (No. 215); USC linebacker Thomas Williams in the seventh (No. 240).
Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel says the Dolphins are using Jason Taylor as trade bait in an effort to get another first-round pick. Kelly says Michigan's Chad Henne and Delaware's Joe Flacco are among the players Miami is targeting to trade up for.
SI.com's Don Banks says if Ryan is there at No. 7, the Patriots will look strongly to deal the pick, which is something the Jets don't want to happen:
Under no scenario does New York want to see Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan make it to New England's slot, because Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Eric Mangini know the Patriots will promptly put their draft slot up for auction and reap a bounty of picks from some quarterback-needy team. The Jets have even gone so far as to talk with the No. 8 Ravens about what it would cost them to trade up to sixth for Ryan. Anything to keep the Patriots from hitting the jackpot.
Former NFL personnel man Michael Lombardi writes about what he'd do if he were running the Jets draft in an SI.com article, and the Ravens play a role:
The Ravens are my main competition for a quarterback and I need to do whatever is possible to determine their course of action. ...If the Raiders pass on every deal offered and select McFadden, as I suspect, and I also determine that Baltimore is on the move to acquire Ryan, then I call the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 5 to discuss flopping picks. ... I also know Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome is not likely to overpay for the pick nor get strong-armed by [Chiefs president Carl] Peterson. Newsome is a value drafter and rarely does he throw in all his chips. But if Newsome is willing to overpay, that still will not change my thoughts or offer. So I make my offer and stand firm.
Comments
I love the speculation and the gamesmanship between the GMs. We love this guy, this guy is a very solid player, the best in the draft.
They are so good at BSing eachother through the media, a lot of common sense and historical context is overlooked by the fans.
I knew Jake Long would be the #1 pick, just like I knew Mario Williams was going #1 for one reason. Safe money. They have less injury than the average position, and a huge impact on every down. The money factor has forced the issue on risk vs reward, and not restting the market on a position. That is why drafting a saftey or TE #1 overall even if they are the best prospect in the draft, wont happen without a rookie payscale.
RB is also an awful tough choice in the top 10, because even though you know he is going to most likley be one of the 10 best backs in the NFL, you are not really sure if he will not crumble the first time he tries to catch a pass near Ray Lewis.
I still like McFadden more than Matt Ryan, because at least I know he will be able to come in and play well as long he is healthy.
If we draft Ryan, even if he starts right away, unless he is Dan Marino, it is going to take 2 or 3 years of struggaling and or holding a clipboard before we even now if he is who they thought he is. Lienert got Denny fired.
Thinking about the draft from the perspective of free agency is the best way to figure out what a GM is going to do in the draft. They have to strongly concider the money angle, and the depth at the position in the NFL and draft class.
There are by most accounts 10 potential starting QBs in this draft. Some with incredible athletic abilty available in the late rounds.
The D tackle position however is not one with a lot good pass rushers that do not make a ridiculous chunk of money. Tommy Kelly,( never really heard of him until this off season), got a boatload of cash. Tommie Harris is a huge commodity, as is K. Wiliams, even C Redding was franchised by Detroit.
WR is a premium position as well. I know that is also a high risk like QB, but in hindsight Larry Fitzgerald would be #1, so would Roy Williams, Andre Johnson, and a few other physical WRs who beat double coverage routinley are more valuable than a good QB in my view, unless the QB is Brady or Manning, the dominant WR makes more of a difference in how the defense has to play.
That is also why T.O. still got his money, Moss shook off the Raiders Stink Hole Offense and resumed his Rice like resume. Ocho stinko can cry all he wants to, the The Bungles know they need to keep him if they hope to win 4 games this season.
So that was a lot of rambling, but my point is this;
Carson Palmer is no doubt, inarguably way better right now, last year even, than this Ryan guy will likley ever be right? Ryan was not even #1. Palmer has won no playoff games, and has lost more games than he has won. Sure he has a decent record vs the Ravens, but the Clowns and Squealers still own the Bungles every year. The QB gets too much credit and blame. Peyton only has the 1 SB win, and if his defense had not really come to play in Baltimore, he would not have that one.
Brady may be the ultimate example of getting a solid QB without paying through the nose, but there are so many others from Warner to Garcia out there still winning games.
People don't seem to keen on the Cullpeperr idea, but the dude has done what most of the guys in this draft will ever do. We have seen the good the bad and the ugly from him, and he is likley to cost less than half what Ryan gets this season, and he will actually be playing somewhere, not holding a clipboard, waiting to find out if he can play in the NFL.
Posted by: Jeremiah | April 24, 2008 12:55 PM
Unfortunately for Todd McShay, his seven-round mock that I'm sure he spent hours on doesn't have the Ravens addressing cornerback at all. So I would go ahead and deem it, as far as it concerns the Ravens, as useless.
Posted by: Ace | April 24, 2008 1:35 PM
The Steelers have announced they'd like to trade out of the first round to acquire additional picks. Sure they're in the same division, but otherwise they'd be ideal trading partners: pick #23 would probably assure the Ravens that they'd get whoever they want among Flacco, Henne, etc. And let's face it, if the Ravens want any chance of winning the division this year, they need to do whatever they can to improve. Pittsburgh's not going 10-6 this year anyway, with the toughest schedule in the NFL.
Posted by: Carl | April 24, 2008 4:00 PM
If you make a honest assement on the ravens, you will conclude that they need lot's of help in many positions. Today a football team has to have 2 excellent offensive tackles, 2 very good cornerbacks, a good defensive line.and a center that can make all the calls A QB that doesn't turn the ball over , makes good plays, and manages the game well.The games is changing from what it use to be.The demand to draft a running back and a te high is dimmishing, the same with linebackers. So where does that leave the ravens, just what i said in the first sentance. The ravens don't have any offensive tackles that are any good, the corner backs are aging very fast and have been injury prone and we don't have a QB .So see as much as we need a QB taking one with that first pick is a huge Gamble one that is not worth taking as far as i am concerned. Good luck Ozzie i hope it wasn't really phil savage making all those great picks in that WAR ROOM because we really need a A plus draft this year to get this organization back on track.
Posted by: bob lancione | April 24, 2008 4:41 PM
I don't mean to bash this article, but to bash McShay. I realize Ray & Co. are getting a bit long in the tooth, but are we really taking 4 linebackers in this draft? And no corner? I'd like to point out that the 4th Round pick Stanford Keglar is not a WR from Florida, but an OLB from Purdue.
Posted by: Phil | April 24, 2008 8:04 PM
Todd McShay's Ravens mock BLOWS! If we have a draft like that, I will puke. NO THANK YOU!!!! Albert at #8? Where's the CB? Where's the RB? Where's the TE? A bunch of LB's? PLEASE!!
Posted by: Macadamia | April 24, 2008 8:21 PM
Man, if the Ravens waste the 8th pick on a QB again while we have a keeper in Troy Smith I might have to find another team. I mean none of the other rookie QBs from last year looked any good accept Troy for us and Kellen Clemens for the Jets. We need a starter at corner and Tackle as well as some pass rushing help. Also with all the backs in this draft, we gotta get our own 1-2 punch to go with McGahee. No one ever calls these so called experts out when players bust...especially QB's. I remember when Mel Kiper ripped the Colts for taking Edge James over Ricky "blunts" Williams. I also recall "locks" Tim Couch, Cade Mcnown, Byron Leftwich, David Carr, Alex Smith, Akili Smith....and the best of all Ryan Leaf, who" might indeed be a better QB down the road than Peyton Manning" Unless you have a good O-line and and at least 1 established Reciever that will get open consitantly..... you're better with a veteran thats working his way up. Espcially if that veteran is young, won the heisman, played well when called upon in the League, beat Mich 3 straight times, and most importantly.....has shown the elusiveness to escape when our slightly below average O-line slips up...which is gonna happen since I'm hearing Chris Chester...(who does nothing but get beat when he plays) is gonna start. I hate to shout him out...I'm sure he's a good enough person....but he's terrible and aside from getting paid well to get beat....he really should be type embarressed.
Posted by: The Guru | April 24, 2008 11:22 PM
The Ravens prime need, IMHO, is a pocket-crumbling DL.
He can compensate for a weaker secondary.
There are certainly OL on the team now who showed some talent last year in line to take over for JO if he actually does retire.
First round QB picks are a crap-shoot. If every Elway, you see 3 Ryan Leaf look-alikes. Better to use a lower pick on a QB.
Posted by: Ed D | April 25, 2008 8:09 AM