OTL: Looking Back at What Many Consider a Successful Draft Weekend

So, did anything happen this weekend?

Where do we begin? The Ravens drafted another safety in the first round. They got a top 25 prospect in the second round (there’s a concerning reason he fell) and used all of their draft capital to get 11 new players.

Brian Wacker of the Baltimore Sun wrote about what we learned from the Ravens draft class. The first lesson was the Ravens wanted to get better at making quarterbacks miserable. Wacker scribed this:

Though Baltimore ranked a respectable eighth in both points (21.2) and yards allowed per game (319.2) last season, the defense took a big step back, especially through the air. The Ravens were an abysmal 27th in passing yards allowed (238.3) and only some schematic changes and personnel adjustments helped turn things around the second half of the season. It was also a short-term fix.

By adding what many consider to be the top safety in the class who has a resume filled with consequential plays at a school (Georgia) that played a ton of big games the past few years, the Ravens’ pass defense should immediately get better on the back end and in the middle. Starks is also a high-character, high-football-IQ guy who played all over the field for the Bulldogs’ defense and will do the same here, from deep safety to nickel, like a smaller version of All-Pro Kyle Hamilton.

The other way to improve a secondary is to get to the quarterback.

The Ravens really did attack one problem with two different players. The Ravens went into the playoffs with the number one run defense, but part of that was because nobody ran the ball against them. The Ravens’ second half push of the 2024 season that Wacker mentions is proof that the defense has the talent to be competitive and hopeful for this upcoming season. These picks get the Ravens the pieces they need. I would argue that the Ravens just made Kyle Hamilton the eventual defensive player of the year. If the Ravens free up Hamilton or at least use him to make the defense less predictable it will have massive rewards.

As for their second-round pick, Marshall EDGE Mike Green, you certainly don’t draft him if pass rush isn’t a priority. Green was a prospect a lot of teams talked themselves out of. His past allegations of sexual assault are not a good look. The Ravens knew what they needed and they decided it was worth the chance and the PR hit that may come from it in the middle of Justin Tucker’s own bout with such allegations.

NFL.com’s Chad Reuter had good grades for the Ravens. The Ravens got an A for the first two days of the draft and an A- from the columnist. Here is his analysis:

The Ravens are perennial contenders because they let the draft board come to them. Starks will be a playmaker no matter where he lines up. Green was still available late in Round 2 because of off-field concerns, but he has a chance to provide a lot of value off the edge. Jones could be a solid starter at guard or tackle in time.

The pick of Emery Jones Jr. is the one that I’m sneakily most excited about. The Ravens need to get to work developing him right away. The second he was drafted, I knew he had a chance to compete for the starting job opposite the impressive Andrew Vorhees. The more I look at him and what he brought at the college level, the more confident I am that he can rise past players like Ben Cleveland and Daniel Faalele.

The stressed point of Starks’s versatility is the magic of the Ravens’ first round patience. The fact that the Ravens let Starks fall to them, knowing he could unlock so much creativity for Chuck Pagano’s secondary and Zach Orr’s defense, shows their draft discipline. The Ravens did a bad job hiding their love for Starks, but they got their guy and that’s a wonderful reason for high draft marks on their report card.

In this video you see the awesome football IQ that Starks has. This is the kind of recall you see out of guys like Tom Brady or Ed Reed. Being able to break down these plays on the spot is a sign of a person who does the work in between gamedays. This is the coolest video you’ll see all week.

We’ll leave you with some flashy highlights from the Ravens’ late round wide receiver pick La’Johntay Wester. The explosiveness and speed is there and then some. This is a legitimate shot the Ravens are taking in developing a player at the wide receiver position, or as a return man. In the meantime the Ravens have Zay Flowers, DeAndre Hopkins and Rashod Bateman. Not too shabby.

Let the hope of the 2025 season begin!

The post OTL: Looking Back at What Many Consider a Successful Draft Weekend appeared first on Russell Street Report.