Draft grades don’t imply a lot a 12 months after the draft, they usually imply even much less solely days after the draft. But with the Ravens eyeing a return to the playoffs, and getting ready to construct a roster across the looming megadeal for quarterback Lamar Jackson, it was arduous to not be impressed not solely by the amount of the 2022 draft class they assembled (11 gamers) but in addition the standard.
From Thursday to Saturday, the Ravens earned excessive marks. In Owings Mills, there have been excessive hopes. “I think it was a great weekend for us,” common supervisor Eric DeCosta stated after the Ravens’ ultimate decide Saturday.
It was higher for some than for others. Here’s a take a look at whom the draft helped and whom it harm.
Winners
Mike Macdonald: In the three-plus months since he was employed away from Michigan, the Ravens have spent massive on their protection. In free company, they signed security Marcus Williams and defensive deal with Michael Pierce to multiyear offers and re-signed beginning defensive finish Calais Campbell and inside linebacker Josh Bynes. In the draft, they landed an instant-impact security (Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton), a possible Pro Bowl edge rusher (Michigan’s David Ojabo) and an inside pass-rushing presence (Connecticut’s Travis Jones), plus much-needed cornerback depth.
There are nonetheless weaknesses to deal with at inside and out of doors linebacker, however Macdonald ought to enter coaching camp with at the least an elite security group. His predecessor, Don “Wink” Martindale, set a excessive bar in his first three years because the Ravens’ defensive coordinator earlier than a parade of accidents upended the 2021 season. With higher well being, Macdonald’s protection has the makings of one other top-10 unit.
Greg Roman: The Ravens’ offensive coordinator doesn’t want a squadron of elite vast receivers to be comfortable. Just give him a cohesive offensive line, a gaggle of productive tight ends and a quarterback as gifted as Jackson, and Roman ought to discover his consolation zone. Even with out prime vast receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, traded away Thursday evening to the Arizona Cardinals, the Ravens have extra of the sort of personnel that Roman can optimize higher than most.
Top heart prospect Tyler Linderbaum, who thrived in Iowa’s zone-running schemes, will diversify a working sport that struggled at instances final season. Minnesota’s Daniel Faalele has the ability to displace edge defenders as successfully as offensive deal with Orlando Brown Jr. did in Baltimore. And Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar and Coastal Carolina’s Isaiah Likely give Jackson two extra intriguing tight ends to focus on over the center. Roman likes an offense that may get “medieval” on opponents, and the Ravens’ 2022 offense now seems much better suited to that.
Patrick Queen: The third-year inside linebacker needed to shoot down rumors that he was on the transfer Friday afternoon (“stop playing,” he tweeted), however that proved pointless by Saturday afternoon. In a defense-heavy draft, the Ravens addressed each place however inside linebacker. Queen and Bynes stay the favorites to begin at weak-side linebacker and center linebacker subsequent season, respectively.
Queen’s relationship with Macdonald, his former inside linebackers coach, ought to assist him as he seeks larger consistency. The 2020 first-round decide’s subsequent step: establishing himself as a three-down defender. If Queen’s struggles in protection proceed, the Ravens may drop Hamilton or security Chuck Clark into the field on passing downs.
Returning vast receivers: On the draft’s first evening, the Ravens traded away Brown. On the draft’s ultimate day, they have been a decide away from drafting a large receiver within the fourth spherical, solely so as to add a second tight finish, Likely, after the Pittsburgh Steelers picked Memphis’ Calvin Austin III.
“We like our receivers,” DeCosta stated after the draft. Now, barring a major free-agent addition, they need to get each alternative to indicate why. Rashod Bateman was already projected to begin after a promising rookie 12 months, however the Ravens will want Devin Duvernay (272 receiving yards in 2021), James Proche II (202 yards) and Tylan Wallace (23 yards) to step up. Even if Roman prefers heavier personnel packages this 12 months, there must be loads of snaps and targets to go round.
Small colleges: Last 12 months, amid the uncertainty of a coronavirus-warped faculty soccer season, Ravens officers determined to primarily goal prospects from Power Five convention groups. Four of their eight picks performed within the Big Ten. Three others got here from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference and Southeastern Conference. Defensive again Brandon Stephens was the lone exception — and he’d began his profession at UCLA earlier than ending it at American Athletic Conference member Southern Methodist.
This 12 months, the Ravens confirmed a larger willingness to guess on gamers from off the overwhelmed path. In the third spherical, they took Jones, a star for the Huskies, previously AAC pushovers who now compete as independents. In the fourth, they drafted Likely, who’d dominated within the Sun Belt Conference, and Houston cornerback Damarion Williams, one other AAC standout.
Losers
Sam Koch: Fourth-round decide Jordan Stout, the highest-drafted punter in a decade (No. 130 total), reminds Ravens officers of Koch — his holding means, his effectivity, his leg power, his accuracy. The Penn State product can be cheaper than the 39-year-old Koch; the Ravens’ longest-tenured participant has the third-highest wage cap hit amongst punters this season ($3.2 million).
Coach John Harbaugh stated Saturday that Stout will be taught from Koch in Baltimore, and “then we’ll just see where it goes.” But the writing appears to be on the wall. “If you have a chance to fix a position for 10 years with a punter about to be 40,” DeCosta instructed NBC Sports on Saturday, “you’ve got to consider that strongly.”
Chuck Clark: Clark hasn’t missed a defensive snap over the previous two seasons. He’s a locker room chief and a trusted on-field communicator. He’s on a team-friendly deal via 2023. Teammates turned his blunt cameo on the Ravens’ Week 18 postgame information convention — “As respectfully as I can say as possible, just watch how we bounce back” — right into a rallying cry for this offseason.
Now, although, Clark’s function in Baltimore is unsure. With the arrival of Williams and Hamilton, together with Brandon Stephens’ flexibility as a nickel security, what number of snaps are there for Clark? Even if he stays a starter, Clark probably received’t play each down and, in consequence, should quit the inexperienced dot because the protection’s signal-caller.
Justice Hill: The Ravens will maintain at the least three working backs on their season-opening roster, and the unsure restoration timetables for J.Ok. Dobbins and Gus Edwards may open a spot for Hill. But the fourth-year speedster is getting back from his personal season-ending damage, a torn Achilles tendon. After three quiet seasons, sixth-round decide Tyler Badie, together with returners Ty’Son Williams and Nate McCrary, ought to put up a battle on the roster bubble.
Hill’s greatest hopes may lie along with his particular groups means. He completed sixth on the crew in particular groups snaps in 2020, impressing along with his means on protection models. But if Hill’s rehabilitation limits his pace and acceleration, he may wrestle to face out.
Ja’Wuan James: The Ravens discovered final 12 months you could by no means have too many competent tackles. But even when James returns to full power — he’s appeared in simply three video games since 2019 and missed final season with a torn Achilles tendon — he might be the odd man out in a considerably stabilized deal with room.
The Ravens stay hopeful that left deal with Ronnie Stanley, after two straight season-ending ankle accidents, can be prepared for the 2022 opener. Patrick Mekari, who stepped in final season as a swing deal with, can now return to his reserve function, with Linderbaum anticipated to begin at heart and Morgan Moses at proper deal with. Faalele’s roster spot is safe, barring a severe damage. With Tyre Phillips’ expertise at deal with, James may turn out to be expendable.
Ravens’ downfield passing: Over the Ravens’ first eight video games final 12 months, Brown’s common goal depth was 14.5 yards downfield. Jackson’s stretch of absences finally harm Brown’s involvement downfield — his common depth of goal by season’s finish was all the way down to 11.5 yards, based on the NFL’s Next Gen Stats — however his function over these first two months was essential. Only six vast receivers completed above 14.5 air yards per goal final season.
Now the Ravens should discover a new deep menace (or two) for his or her array of play-action drop-backs. Duvernay has nice pace and dynamic after-the-catch means, however he didn’t have a catch longer than 39 yards as a rookie or 21 yards final season. Bateman can separate from cornerbacks on vertical routes, however he received’t get the identical consideration from safeties that Brown did. Proche and Wallace, in the meantime, venture extra as possession receivers.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com