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A Look at the Baltimore Ravens' Draft Prospects

Written by Andrew Khosrofian
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
For the past decade, most Ravens fans have already given up on the Orioles only one week after Opening Day. The city of Baltimore’s hope for a winning sports team makes us turn all our attention to the Ravens’ offseason. This two-week period before the draft usually goes by pretty slow since free agency slows down, the combine and pro days are done with, and the O’s are already ten games under .500. However, the Orioles’ hot start has made the weeks leading up to the draft go by a little quicker. Even if they are once again out of the playoff race by this weekend, at least they’ve gotten us to the draft. By now we have a pretty clear idea of around where each prospect is projected to go. The first thing I want to address is whether the Ravens will take a quarterback early this year. With a new coaching staff and offensive system in place, the conditions for taking a quarterback early in the draft seem set. John Harbaugh and Cam Cameron are going to want a new QB to groom. With Steve McNair’s retirement, Kyle Boller’s one-year deal, and soon-to-be ex-rookie Troy Smith, if the Ravens don’t select a quarterback this year, the team will most definitely have to draft one next year, for two of our three QBs we currently have could be gone next year. It is a big risk to take hoping that either Boller or Smith will perform well enough to warrant a starting job outright in 2009. By drafting a guy now, he will be a year ahead and will get the chance to compete for the job next year. There is also no guarantee that the Ravens will be in this good of a position to grab a legitimate potential franchise QB as they are in this year’s draft. Here are some prospects that might be suiting up in purple next season. Today I will cover potential day one pickups. First Round Prospects (8th Overall): Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College Yes, there is a legitimate possibility that Matt Ryan could fall to the Ravens, who own the eighth pick. The Ravens have been searching for a franchise quarterback for the past decade, and would seriously have to take a long, hard look at Ryan if he is on the board. The questions Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome would then have to ask are: “Is Matt Ryan a potential franchise QB?” and “Is Ryan head and shoulders better than anyone else we could get in the foreseeable future?” If the answer to both of those questions is yes, then you take Ryan, no questions asked. Ryan has everything you could ask for in a prototypical QB. Ryan has great size (6’5” 228 pounds), excellent footwork, textbook mechanics with a super-quick release, good pocket poise and movement (a 4.29 20-yard shuttle), and superb touch and timing. He is also intelligent (came from a pro-system and posted the highest Wonderlic score of all draft prospects), mature, and has natural leadership qualities. Yet, Ryan’s 19 interceptions are still a head scratcher. If he does everything so well, why did he throw all those interceptions? Are these mental lapses something he will be able to overcome as he develops? Ravens fans have had enough of these with Kyle Boller. Ultimately, if Newsome and company feel that Ryan is a franchise QB, the team will take him. Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy McKelvin is considered by most to be the best cornerback prospect in this draft. McKelvin is also considered the top return man in the draft behind Cal receiver DeSean Jackson. Despite playing at a small school in Troy, McKelvin is battle-tested, having played against top competition. In 2006, McKelvin shutdown Calvin Johnson holding him to 2 catches for 9 yards. McKelvin only has average size at 5’10” 190 pounds, but he possesses elite athletic ability (ran a 4.38 40-yard dash and a 4.1 20-yard shuttle at the Combine with a 38-1/2” vertical jump). McKelvin’s solid technique in man coverage allows him to cover bigger receiver as he is quick in and out of cuts, has superior recovery abilities, and has great timing on balls in the air. McKelvin’s ball skills are spotty, but he is extremely dangerous when he does get the ball in his hands. He has a skill set and physical tools similar to Raiders Pro-Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Cornerback is arguably the Ravens biggest need with age and injuries creeping up on Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle. McKelvin provides tremendous value at number eight and would immediately be able to contribute as a nickel back and on special teams. This is a very realistic pick for the Ravens. Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC Ellis is widely considered a top seven talent in this draft. A three-year starter at USC, Ellis has an extremely strong upper body as evident by his 34 bench press reps he put up at the combine. Ellis is a smaller, quick defensive tackle (6’1” with his weight ranging from 298-308 pounds), but he has experience as both a one-gap tackle in a 4-3 defense, and a nose guard in a 3-4 defense. He is an excellent pass rusher (8.5 sacks his senior year) with his superior quickness, powerful upper body strength, and a nonstop motor. But is he a good fit in the Ravens two-gap defensive system? Yes. Ellis is talented enough to be a great player in the Ravens defense. He would immediately be able to contribute as an interior pass rusher on passing situations while learning behind Kelly Gregg on how to play the nose guard position full-time. Ellis provides great value at the eighth pick; an Ellis/Ngata combo at defense tackle has the potential to be dominating. Keith Rivers, LB, USC This is a bit of a wildcard pick. Even though Rivers is more suited for the 10-15 range, this would not be a bad pick for the Ravens. With both inside linebackers Ray Lewis and Bart Scott free agents at the end of the season, and Lewis getting up there in age, it might be time to start grooming a new middle linebacker. Rivers has the versatility to play all the linebacker positions in any scheme. He has good size (6’2” 232 pounds) and is extremely athletic, posting very impressive numbers in the 40 (4.54) and vertical jump (42”). Like Ray Lewis, Rivers is a finesse linebacker who would prefer to run sideline-to-sideline making tackles than taking on blocks. Rivers excels in pass coverage and has a tremendous work ethic with great leadership qualities. He would be a superb heir-apparent to Ray Lewis. Second Round Prospects (38th Overall): Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana As many as six cornerbacks could go in the first round of the draft, but Tracy Porter has just as much talent as any corner in the draft. Porter has just what the Ravens look for in their corners, he excels in man coverage, possesses great makeup speed (4.37 40-yard dash), and has lightning-like quickness (4.07 20-yard shuttle). Porter is also a ball hawk in the passing game with dangerous return ability (6 INTs for 137 yards his senior year). He can also make an impact as a punt returner and a special team gunner, something new head coach John Harbaugh will value very much. Porter’s knock is that he is not very strong at 5’11” 188 pounds, and struggles against bigger receivers. Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware Brian Brohm, Joe Flacco, or Chad Henne should be available when the Ravens pick at #38. Of the three, Flacco would be the guy most likely to fall. Provided the Ravens don’t take Matt Ryan in the first round, Flacco would be a solid pick in the second round. He possesses outstanding size at 6’6” 232 pounds, and has a rocket right-arm. Flacco has a very similar skill set to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Even though Flacco isn’t the fastest guy (even by QB standards), he has excellent lateral quickness (a 4.27 20-yard shuttle). This is evident in his play, as he has great pocket presence. The knock on Flacco is that he played exclusively in a shotgun spread offense at Delaware. At 6’6”, will he be able to make the adjustment to dropping back from center while reading defenses at the same time? He struggled with taking snaps at the Senior Bowl, but he did show progress. Even though Flacco played at the FCS-level at Delaware, competition shouldn’t be a concern as he more than held his own at the Senior Bowl. Flacco is a little rawer than the rest of the top QBs in the draft, but his potential is enormous. Lawrence Jackson, DE, USC Another USC defensive prospect? Man, that defense was talented! Jackson was a four-year starter at USC with great production (30.5 career sacks with 52 tackles for losses). At 6’4” 271, Jackson has Trevor Pryce-like size. He doesn’t have great quickness or speed that you would like to see in a 4-3 end or a 3-4 outside linebacker (only a 4.76 40-yard dash), but he does possess great strength (31 reps on the bench) and is solid against the run. Jackson is an ideal candidate to move inside to play as a 3-4 defensive-end. Jackson is a little raw as a 3-4 end (was only decent playing in the 3-4 at USC), but he definitely has the talent and skill set to excel. With Trevor Pryce’s age and durability issues, Jackson would be a great pick in the second round for the Ravens. Tavares Gooden, LB, Miami Gooden is very much in the mold of a Ray Lewis-like linebacker. He is a little undersized at 6’1” 234 pounds, but he is extremely athletic (4.65 40-yard dash) with sideline-to-sideline range. He is excellent in the run game as he is a solid tackler (100 tackles in 12 games as a senior), has good upper body strength (22 bench press reps), and takes excellent pursuit angles. He is a little raw in pass coverage, but his fluid hips and athletic ability suggests that he could become an impact player in coverage. Like a lot of finesse linebackers, Gooden’s knock is that he does not like to take on blocks. However, that hasn’t affected another University of Miami linebacker very much. Gooden would be a solid second round pick for the Ravens. With a little coaching and mentoring from Ray Lewis, Gooden could eventually develop into an impact 3-4 middle linebacker. The second round is definitely going to be an interesting round for a lot of quality players are going to be on the board. Trading back in the second round and picking up an extra third rounder might be an option for the Ravens, for all of the guys listed above (with the exception of Flacco) could slip a little bit. One last thing to look for in the second round is the Ravens possibly taking a wide receiver. Six guys: Devin Thomas, Mario Manningham, DeSean Jackson, James Hardy, Malcolm Kelly, and Limas Sweed are all rated very closely to each other. Thomas, Manningham, and Jackson will probably be gone because of their much coveted speed, but one of the three taller receivers could be there when the Ravens pick in the second round. All three guys would present tremendous value. Being that the Ravens only have three legitimate receivers (Figurs is still too raw), they are more than likely going to take a receiver in this draft to be their number four receiver.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 April 2008 )