The NFL scouting mix passed off final week in Indianapolis. Terps excelled in drills and Ravens’ management addressed a possible place of want. However, nothing carried as a lot significance because the standing of star quarterback Lamar Jackson, a typical dialogue subject on the mix.
Here are 5 issues we discovered:
The Ravens are ‘preparing for every contingency’ with Lamar Jackson.
Ravens normal supervisor Eric DeCosta mentioned eventually 12 months’s NFL scouting mix with regard to signing Jackson to a long-term contract that offseason: “I hope so, at some point, that we will.”
A 12 months later, little has modified on that entrance. Jackson stays with out a contract, the Ravens stay with loads of questions this offseason, and DeCosta maintains confidence {that a} deal will get performed.
“We continue to be optimistic about it,” he mentioned final week on the mix in Indianapolis.
Jackson has been beneath contract with the Ravens since he was drafted in 2018, however his contract will quickly expire; the group is predicted to position a franchise tag on him by Tuesday, the deadline to take action.
The tag is only a short-term repair, nevertheless, and DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh mentioned they imagine a long-term deal between the dynamic playmaker and the group will get performed, whilst extended negotiations proceed with out overt progress. Long-term talks can proceed by July 15 even after Jackson is tagged.
“He’s my quarterback,” Harbaugh mentioned. “He’s my guy. I love him and, as a coach, I’m just looking forward to seeing it get done, but it’s not easy. It’s never easy. It’s the business part of it. But I’m really hopeful and excited, fervently hopeful and can’t wait for it to get done.”
Harbaugh mentioned the group isn’t evaluating quarterbacks within the draft class any extra carefully than in years previous. But given {that a} deal has nonetheless not been finalized, the group should take into account the potential for transferring on from Jackson.
If the 2 sides are unable to return to an settlement, Jackson may very well be traded to one among a number of suitors in want of a supremely gifted signal-caller. When requested if the group is plotting for the potential of transferring on with out Jackson, DeCosta mentioned there are “four, five or six different plans based on what happens over the next 10 days.”
“We’re always preparing for every contingency,” he mentioned.
The Ravens’ draft plan will possible rely on Jackson.
Jackson’s standing with the Ravens is all-important. DeCosta mentioned most of his focus is centered on getting a deal performed with Jackson, who grew to become solely the second participant in NFL historical past to be unanimously named Most Valuable Player in 2019.
“There’s no bigger question right now,” he mentioned.
That unknown clouds the Ravens’ draft plan. The group has simply 5 picks — which, if that holds true, can be their fewest this millennium; the Ravens traded second- and fifth-round picks for linebacker Roquan Smith this previous season.
“We only have five draft picks this year, which as a drafter, as a guy who loves the draft, it’s not a lot,” DeCosta mentioned.
If they arrive to an settlement with Jackson quickly, the Ravens can be financially handcuffed and thus it’d behoove them to fill lean positions through the draft. The Ravens are in want of a playmaking vast receiver and will choose one with their No. 22 general choose; they might profit from cornerback depth, too, particularly if pending free agent Marcus Peters isn’t re-signed.
The Ravens might make a commerce for extra draft picks. And if Jackson is dealt — a chance that DeCosta didn’t need to focus on — the Ravens would internet at the least a number of picks, giving them the liberty to construct up different positions. They might additionally, in concept, obtain one among this 12 months’s high picks and choose one among 4 quarterbacks (Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Kentucky’s Will Levis) anticipated to be taken inside the first 15 choices.
The Ravens will ‘keep swinging’ on vast receivers.
Of course, if Jackson stays with the Ravens long run, choosing a quarterback turns into pointless, however deciding on a large receiver may very well be extra pressing.
The Ravens usually draft nicely, however their latest vast receiver choices haven’t carried out significantly nicely. When requested in Indianapolis about evaluating receivers, DeCosta mentioned: “If I had an answer, that means I would probably have some better receivers, I guess.”
Baltimore has chosen eight wideouts because the 2018 draft. The outcomes, nevertheless, haven’t been glowing. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, the Ravens’ first-round choose in 2019, was traded final 12 months, after his third season. They used one other first-round choose on receiver Rashod Bateman in 2021, however he’s been sidelined with accidents, taking part in simply six video games final 12 months earlier than present process season-ending foot surgical procedure.
“There have been some guys that have been successful players for us that were draft picks,” DeCosta mentioned. “We’ve never really hit on that All-Pro type of guy, which is disappointing, I would say.”
Bateman, anticipated to be Baltimore’s high wideout this 12 months, didn’t take kindly to DeCosta’s feedback, writing “how [about] you play to your [players] strength” and “stop pointing the finger at us” in a since-deleted tweet.
(The tweet was one among many in a cascade of criticism final week, as former Ravens aired grievances in opposition to lately departed power coach Steve Saunders.)
Baltimore nonetheless wants receivers, although, and plenty of mock drafts mission them to take a wideout within the first spherical. Southern California standout receiver Jordan Addison, a Frederick native, mentioned on the mix it could be a “dream come true” to play for the Ravens, however he may not be accessible by the point Baltimore picks. Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Boston College’s Zay Flowers or Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt are additionally potential matches for the Ravens.
“We’re going to just keep swinging,” DeCosta mentioned of choosing wideouts, “and hopefully at one of these points we’ll hit the ball out of the park.”
The Ravens are more likely to launch some veterans.
Like their draft technique, different items of the Ravens’ roster rely on the massive domino that’s Jackson’s standing. If he agrees to a deal, Baltimore might want to create some cap house, which is able to embody some troublesome cost-cutting choices.
Veteran defensive finish Calais Campbell is returning for an additional NFL season, however his cap hit is $9.4 million for the 2023 season and the Ravens might save $7 million by releasing him. Other gamers, reminiscent of security Chuck Clark (financial savings: $3.5 million), operating again Gus Edwards ($4.4 million) and vast receiver Devin Duvernay ($4.3 million) is also in jeopardy of being traded or launched.
“It’s not necessarily Calais,” DeCosta mentioned when requested about Campbell’s future with the group. “It’s not necessarily other guys. But we’re always looking at: How can we get better? How can we build the best roster? Understanding that the salary cap is a real constraint. And so we’ve got to do what we think is best for the club. Those are tough decisions.”
The Terps’ draft class stood out.
Seven University of Maryland gamers had been invited to the NFL mix, probably the most for this system since 1987.
“It just shows what [coach Mike Locksley] is doing back there,” mentioned cornerback Jakorian Bennett.
Bennett and Deonte Banks, the Terps’ two defensive backs on the mix, particularly impressed at Lucas Oil Stadium. Bennett and Banks ran blistering 40-yard-dash occasions (4.30 and 4.35, respectively) and Banks had a superb 42-inch vertical leap and 11-foot, 4-inch broad bounce, which is the third-best mark ever by a cornerback on the mix. NFL’s Next Gen Stats compiles a gamers “athleticism score” and Banks and Bennett acquired scores of 98 and 97, turning into the primary teammates on the identical place to put up scores above 95 in twenty years.
Banks, a Baltimore native, could be a first-round choice (some mock drafts have the Ravens taking him at No. 22), whereas Bennett is predicted to be chosen, too. The Terps even have three wideouts who may very well be drafted: Maryland native Rakim Jarrett, Dontay Demus Jr. and Jacob Copeland, who ran a 4.42 second 40-yard-dash.
St. Frances Academy product Jaelyn Duncan, an offensive deal with, is predicted to be drafted, and Chad Ryland is the top-rated kicker within the draft class.
The Terps’ document for gamers chosen in a seven-round draft is 5, which may very well be surpassed subsequent month.
NFL draft
Thursday, April 27, to Saturday, April 29
TV: ESPN, NFL Network
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Source: www.bostonherald.com