Ravens Put on a Team Building Clinic in Round 1

The first night of the NFL draft was definitely an exciting one. There were nine trades and for the first time since 1991, the first five selections were defensive playesr. We also only saw one QB taken in the first round, which is obviously very rare. We saw lots of receivers come off the board and other veteran wideouts traded, which is the theme of this offseason.

It was also a very exciting night for Ravens fans.This has been a draft that Eric DeCosta and the rest of the organization have been focused on for over a year. DeCosta talked about how they knew this was going to be a deep draft and that influenced their thinking last year, when the trade with Arizona netted them a pick in this year’s draft.

After an injury plagued season, the Ravens found themselves drafting in the top half of the draft, which is unusual for them. And while the 2021 season was a disappointment, at least the team got “rewarded” for that last night when Kyle Hamilton, a safety from Notre Dame, fell in their laps at pick 14. Hamilton was viewed by most as a top 5 talent in the draft and some had him as the best talent in the draft before he ran a slower 40 time than expected. Because he didn’t run .1-.2 seconds faster, he went from a top 5 lock to falling to the Ravens.

Entering this draft, there were two dream scenarios for me with that first pick. The first scenario was getting Kayvon Thibodeaux. There was some talk that he could fall into the latter half of the top 10 and with all the ammo the Ravens had, I was hoping they would trade up to get him. However, the Giants took him at 5, so he was out of play (coincidentally, when asked about trading up, EDC said the guys they would have traded up for were gone early). The second dream scenario was that Hamilton would drop and we could move up to get him. Not only did he drop but the run on WR caused him to fall to Baltimore without a trade, which was just amazing value.

Some Ravens fans aren’t happy with this pick because it’s not a position of need. First of all, premium/elite talent is always a need no matter what the position is. Secondly, in this era of passing offenses and the way the Ravens like to play with three safeties, it’s a very defensible move. With the idea of Marcus Williams and Hamilton roaming the back of the defense, it makes the jobs of players like Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters that much easier.T his was a great pick, both in terms of pure value and the player himself. Every Ravens fan should be ecstatic about this and if you aren’t, what you are actually advocating for is picking a lesser talent and I don’t see how that makes sense.

Right after the Hamilton pick, word got out that the Ravens had traded Marquise Brown to the Cardinals. This is a move I have called for numerous times in different articles I have written. I was ready to pay Brown after the start he had this year but he really fell off and I felt it was time to move on.

Later in the night, DeCosta confirmed that Brown wanted out of Baltimore and had asked to be traded. Seeing as Brown was at the Cardinals draft party last night, it was obvious that the trade was agreed to earlier in the week (EDC later confirmed that as well). The Ravens gave up Brown and pick #100, which was the comp pick they got for David Culley. According to the JJ value chart, they got equivalent value to the #28 pick in the first round. To me, that’s great value for Brown and a trade they had to make.

DeCosta said this was a tough move for him because Brown was his first pick as the GM. He mentioned that he wanted to do right by the player and felt that he put him in a good situation while also getting value back.

I would love to know the story behind why Brown wanted out. Lamar Jackson is a very close friend, he got a lot of targets and was featured in the playoffs.I  am not sure if he just wanted out of the cold, didn’t like the city, didn’t like the coaches or if he wanted to be paid a lot of money and the Ravens weren’t willing to do it. It will be interesting to hear if we ever learn exactly what his issues were.

(Ed Note: perhaps we learned a bit already. See here:)

Marquise Brown confirms he asked for the trade and talked about it multiple times with Lamar Jackson, dating back more than a year.

Said he’s proud of the way he and the Ravens handled it internally. Said offensive system (run-first) just isn’t for him.pic.twitter.com/m34mimtu9J

— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) April 29, 2022

All of that being said, from a team-building aspect, trading him was 100% the right move. They were looking at having to pay him $13M for his 5^th year option in the 2023 season and that is a lot to pay for his production. Relatively speaking, he should get more than what Christian Kirk signed for but that contract was a joke. As we saw last night, WR are being drafted at high rates right now and unlike most of the history of the NFL, when players at the position normally took multiple years to adjust to the league, they are now producing right away.

With more NFL teams going to these college spread-type offenses, it’s allowing receivers the same space and freedom they had in college, and in turn they are transitioning easier to being pros. In other words, wide receiver is becoming the new running back.

Why give these second contracts out when you can get 80% of the production for 20% of the price? The Ravens face the prospect of paying Jackson $50+M, and you don’t need to pay a middling WR big money when you have that cap hit about to be on the team.

With that 23^rd pick, in hand the Ravens elected to trade back two spots and pick up their SIXTH 4^th rounder for this draft.I feel it’s likely that had Trent McDuffie fallen to them at 23, he would have been the pick. However, since he wasn’t there and they probably had a lot of players on their board that they liked, they elected to trade back.

After trading back to pick 25, I wondered if they would try to trade back again but instead, they took Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum, who is the consensus best center in the draft. He had fallen on some boards because his arms measured a little shorter than preferred, but his technique and overall play screams perennial pro bowler.

This is another pick that seemed to anger some fans. They didn’t view center as a need and wanted to see the pass rusher, especially since Jermaine Johnson was there. I had heard that Johnson was off their board because of character concerns, and with how far he dropped and the idea that the Ravens passed on him three times, despite having the edge need, that seems like accurate intel. I personally liked the idea of Arnold Ebikitie there and there were other defensible picks like Devin Lloyd or Andrew Booth (although we don’t know what the medicals say about him.)

My guess is that the Ravens viewed Linderbaum as much better than the linemen that were left and that whatever difference that is between them, was greater than the edge rushers, corners, receivers, and linebackers left on the board. Since that was the case, they took the guy they believe to be an all pro center and will address the other needs later. I understand the thought process, but the one thing I will say is that Linderbaum can’t just be a good player. He has to be a pro bowl, elite center because that isn’t a position you take in the first round unless the guy is a stud. He seems like he will be and if he is, the total deal looks great.B ut if he is just good and you could have gotten that production in later rounds, the deal doesn’t look as good – although they still save money and it allows them to develop Rashod Bateman easier.

What the Ravens did last night was a clinic on team building. They stayed true to their board and took the two best players they could. The consensus was there were two players in this draft that were clearly the best players at their position. The Ravens got both of those players last night.

The NFL is about two things right now: how do stop the pass, and how do you improve your passing game?

The Ravens addressed that last night. They also got rid of an asset about to make too much money and turned it into a cheap asset for the next five years. This is what good teams do.

I saw today that Spencer Schultz, who is an excellent twitter follow (@ravens4dummies) made a comment that the Ravens draft like their roster mirrors the Texans. That’s a great comment when you think about it: succinct and very true. They don’t look at their roster and say, “we need pass rush so go reach for one.”

They just say, “we have holes every position and we will go with the best player there.” That is how you build a team.

I know Eric DeCosta has gotten some flak for his drafts and some of that is valid, but he understands team building better than most.

It’s a concept many people can’t wrap their heads around but luckily, we have a GM who can and we should all be grateful for that.

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