Day 2 Draft Targets for the Baltimore Ravens

So, the Ravens selected Olaivavega Ioane.  I will forget that Rueben Bain was on the board and focus on the good.  Ioane is my best OL in a weak draft, as he is with many other armchair draftniks.  The Ravens essentially went chalk, just not at a premium position.

All three AFC North teams that drafted in Round 1 went OL.  Cleveland had two selections; with their second, they drafted a WR with questionable hands. I’m left feeling pretty good about day one.

Day Two of this draft is going to be much less stressful with the stud OG in tow.  There are a good number of ways Baltimore can go, and they may be able to wait until day three for their iOL double-dip.  Here are the players I’d most like to see the Ravens draft tonight as the board is re-racked:

WR Denzel Boston

The Ravens have been missing a good large boundary WR for a while now, with apologies to DeAndre Hopkins, who wasn’t used enough.  Boston is that guy.  He has very good hands, wins contested catches, and even blocks.  He will probably not, however, be WR1 for Lamar Jackson.  He’s just not that fast.  That’s fine because Zay Flowers is WR1.  Boston can get balls that Flowers can’t, particularly in the red zone.  It would be a mild surprise if Boston makes it to the Ravens pick at 45.

TE Jack Endries

Declan Doyle is going to eliminate the fullback from the Ravens offense in lieu of blocking tight ends.  That’s why he asked for Durham Smythe.  With Mark Andrews re-establishing himself as TE1 it leaves an interesting choice:  do they go for the “F” tight end or another “Y” in-line blocker?  I’ll go with the “F,” someone with good speed, elite hands, and a knack for finding open space.  Tight end is one of the deepest positions in this draft so I would wait until pick 80 for Endries… but I would still double-dip at the position before draft’s end.

C Sam Hecht

There are a fair number of what are considered plug-and-play centers in this draft; seasoned veterans that clear the athletic threshold to be able to play effectively in the NFL, but aren’t jaw-dropping prospects.  Hecht, a technician of a lineman, was the top center at the Senior Bowl.  Over two seasons at Kansas State he gave up zero sacks.  Tyler Linderbaum he is not – but with Vega Ioane providing such an upgrade at the position next to him, he’s good enough to give the Ravens a net improvement across the OL.  He’s arguably a better pass protector than Linderbaum and that’s really important.  Round three (pick 80 without a trade) is the sweet spot for getting a C like Hecht.

DL Gracen Halton

Most of the defensive linemen who are worth it on day two are nose tackles.  The Ravens have Travis Jones, John Jenkins, and CJ Okoye ready to fill that role and fill it well.  It’s the DL next to Jones and company that are the question mark.  Nnamdi Madubuike returning to play would be a boon but you can’t assume anything from him.  Halton in my opinion is the best pass-disrupting 3-Tech left in the draft.  He has top level acceleration both on tape and with his vertical (92^nd percentile).  He is unfortunately on the short side (12^th percentile arms) and can get engulfed by long OL, and that is why I’d be looking at him at pick 80.

EDGE Zion Young

It’s a surprisingly stacked edge defender room at the moment, and I almost chose Gabe Jacas over Young, but Young does something exceptionally well that Jacas is still working on: setting the edge.  He is a very Raven-like player for his position… avoiding the catch phrase here… a capable pass rusher that won’t be elite in that department, but can work off of Trey Hendrickson and (crossing my fingers) Mike Green.  With Hendrickson/Green the pass specialists and Tavius Robinson/Young the early down players, plus new/old coaching, this could be a real strength of the team with just one add.  Young will probably not last until pick 45, but there are good fall back options in both the Rd 2 and Rd 3 range.

LB Anthony Hill Jr.

It’s a requirement for linebackers in today’s NFL to be able to cover.  You may have to sacrifice some size in favor of speed and coverage ability, and Hill fits that mold of a do-everything WILL.  He can also shift to MIKE when needed.  The guy filled the stat sheet in every way while playing in the SEC.  It’s possible because of his low positional value that he’ll be there at pick 45.

CB Colton Hood

Any DB that the Ravens draft this year needs to be capable of playing boundary corner.  They are full at safety and have plenty of options at nickel.  Of the remaining options on the board, Hood stands out with the versatility and physicality that the Ravens demand on the outside.  He’s not big but at least has average size, and above average speed.  Most importantly, he’s nasty and he can cause turnovers.  The Ravens will be lucky if he falls to pick 45 and may need to trade up if they want him.

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