What the Ravens Might Be Thinking in the 1st Round

By Todd L. Frank  |   Wednesday, April 21, 2010  |  Comments( 0 )

Baltimore Ravens
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With so much attention on Ben Roethlisberger and the Santonio Holmes trade in Pittsburgh and the new Mike Holmgren era in Cleveland, the Baltimore Ravens have been flying a bit under the radar this offseason despite acquiring WR Anquan Boldin from the Cardinals.

Throw in the other big news of Donovan McNabb moving down 95 from Philly to DC and the NY Jets having a Redskins-like offseason full of big-name acquisitions, and some people might have forgotten about the potential purple contenders from Charm City.

On the eve of the draft, let’s take a quick look at some of their needs and who this historically great-drafting team might land in the first round.

Keep in mind that the Ravens might consider trading OL Jared Gaither and/or back up QB Troy Smith for draft picks. Since that type of stuff is so fluid and hard to predict, let’s just assume that the Ravens stay put at #25 overall and have the following picks in the draft:

Round 1, Pick 25 (25)
Round 2, Pick 25 (57)
Round 5, Pick 25 (156)
Round 5, Pick 26 (157) (From Cardinals)
Round 6, Pick 25 (194)

I’ve seen a few mock drafts insisting that Baltimore will look to select another target for Joe Flacco, either the top available TE or even another WR despite adding Boldin and Donte Stallworth to the mix and Derrick Mason putting off retirement to return. I disagree. I think they will go for a defensive lineman or cornerback.

Other than Haloti Ngata, Baltimore's defensive line is aging and lacking depth now that former starter Dwan Edwards is now in Buffalo and versatile backup DT Justin Bannan is now in Denver. So DL is a need that could be addressed in the first round with someone like Penn State DT Jared Odrick. They would certainly consider DT’s Dan Williams of Tennessee or Terrence Cody of Alabama if they are still on the board at #25.

At corner, the Ravens have had injury issues as both starting corner Fabian Washington and promising rookie Lardarius Webb were at the end of last season. Domonique Foxworth and Chris Carr are okay for depth, but neither one will ever be confused with Darrelle Revis. The top CB in the draft, Joe Haden of Florida, will likely be long gone by the time Baltimore is on the clock, but Kareem Jackson of Alabama and/or Kyle Wilson of Boise State should be available.

Who knows, with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed likely nearing retirement, Missouri LB Sean Weatherspoon or Southern California S Taylor Mays could be on the Ravens first-round radar as well. Whether they end up trading Gaither or not, look for Baltimore to solidify their offensive line, but most likely not in the first round.

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Here’s a roundup of the Ravens offseason moves so far:

PLAYERS RE-SIGNED: WR Derrick Mason, QB John Beck, TE Edgar Jones, G Marshal Yanda, G Chris Chester, LB Antwan Barnes, LB Prescott Burgess, K Billy Cundiff, RB Jalen Parmele, RB Matt Lawrence, DT Lamar Divens, DB Marcus Paschal

PLAYERS ACQUIRED: DE Cory Redding (signed for two-years at $6 million), WR Anquan Boldin (via trade with Arizona), WR Donte Stallworth (signed for one-year at $900,000), TE Davon Drew, OL/DL Bryan Mattison, WR Maurice Price, WR Eron Riley, T Stefan Rodgers, T Joe Reitz, DE William VanDeSteeg, FB Charles Ali, C Digger Bujnoch, WR Chris Hannon, C Daniel Sanders

PLAYERS LOST: T Adam Terry (signed with Indianapolis), TE Quinn Sypniewski, CB Samari Rolle, WR Kelley Washington, TE L.J. Smith, DT Justin Bannan, DT Dwan Edwards, CB Frank Walker, CB Corey Ivy, WR David Tyree, C Greg Ryan, T Lou Saucedo
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