OTL: No Foolin’ – It’s Draft Month

Welcome to a new week, one week closer to the NFL Draft. It’s a new week of me obsessing over the state of the Ravens offensive line. The Ravens may or may not share my level of concern for the starting five up front, yet there is no question that they are focused on the line of scrimmage.

Mock Draft Watch

In the most recent CBS Sports Mock Draft, the Ravens select Jordan Morgan, an offensive tackle from Arizona. Rick Spielman’s analysis:

“The Ravens got younger and cheaper at offensive tackle after trading Morgan Moses to the Jets.”

The Ravens are already pretty young at offensive tackle. Draft picks are obviously younger and cheaper in the first place, and Daniel Faalele may get a chance to compete for a starting job.

Over at NFL.com, Charles Davis sees the Ravens going after a cornerback. Davis has Ennis Raskestraw Jr. a cornerback from Missouri as the Ravens’ 30th overall selection.

Prospect Profile: Ennis Rakestraw Jr., CB, Missouri

He says: “The Ravens did a magnificent job of mixing and matching in the secondary during the 2023 season. Rakestraw’s build is slight, but he makes plenty of plays on the ball and is extremely aggressive against the run. In short, he plays like a Raven!”

It sounds like Davis is cooking here. The Ravens need to invest in cornerback, and it’s a high-value position in the draft. It also sounds like Davis understands that the team that took Marlon Humphrey and Jimmy Smith has a clear type at the position. He seems a little thin and he only had one interception on his Missouri resume – I need to be sold on this pick after doing a little more homework on him, but I see the vision. It’s important to remember the molds the team tends to look for in the draft process.

Pro Football Network did a seven-round mock draft with multiple authors picking for the 32 NFL teams. We’ll just focus in on their 30th overall pick. They gave the Ravens Adonai Mitchell, the star receiver from Texas.

Receivers are starting to become more valuable as the first round comes to a close. Baltimore needs a red zone weapon, and AD Mitchell may be the best threat inside the 20-yard line in this class. Lamar Jackson and Mitchell would be an incredible pairing.

This pick would be exciting because the Ravens would potentially have a ton of star power on the offense. If this is the way the Ravens ended up going it would be sending a statement to the NFL that they are going to have weapons all over the place for their MVP quarterback. The idea is to make the offense too prolific to come up short in the big moment. Mitchell had 55 receptions and 11 touchdowns in the 2023 season that saw Texas make it to the College Football Playoffs.

I’d rather see the Ravens attack their biggest needs. The offensive line is a priority. The Ravens could use a future star at the cornerback position and pass rush never goes out of style. The Ravens drafted Zay Flowers last year, and for once I feel slightly content with the weapons of the offense. That being said, Mitchell would be a fun pick. It just means the Ravens would need to get some big business done with other moves and later draft picks.

Everybody trying to become the Ravens all of a sudden?

Baltimore free-agent RB J.K. Dobbins is scheduled to visit today with the Los Angeles Chargers, per his agency LAA Sports. Coming off a torn Achilles, Dobbins now has been cleared for football activity. He could reunite with Chargers OC Greg Roman, for whom he averaged 5.8 yards…

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 28, 2024

One of the main stories of the Ravens’ offseason is how many players they have lost to free agency. It was inevitable. Now J.K. Dobbins could potentially be on the move. According to Adam Schefter, this past week, Dobbins met with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers already signed Gus Edwards and hired former Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Is Jim Harbaugh just familiar with his brother’s team or are the Chargers trying to become the western version of the Ravens with Justin Herbert instead of Lamar Jackson? The Chargers did also trade Keenan Allen away this offseason which would be on brand for the usually receiver-needy Ravens. It certainly had Anquan Boldin-to-the-San Francisco 49ers vibes.

The Jets traded for Morgan Moses and signed John Simpson. They may not be the biggest moves in the world, but that’s two starters from the Ravens’ 2023 offensive line.

Everyone wants to be the Ravens, or at least it’s a fun thread to think about in a slow news period.

The post OTL: No Foolin’ – It’s Draft Month appeared first on Russell Street Report.