What I DON’T Want EDC to Do in the Draft

It’s finally here. The 2026 NFL Draft. No more mocks. No more speculation. No more rumor mills…

Only angst about picks, pointing fingers at the GM, and demanding nothing will ever change and we’re doomed to fail miserably in all things football until the moves you deem made are made, and the picks you deemed best are picked.

As we were.

While a lot of good will happen in the draft over the next few days, there are a few things I’m hoping to not see from the Ravens. Let’s dive in.

Don’t Reach In Round One

Fans don’t have a consensus pick in Round 1. I’ve seen Vega Ioane the most, followed by Kenyon Sadiq, then Jordan Tyson, with a splash of Spencer Fano and a dash of wishful-but-unrealistic hope that Rueben Bain falls into their laps and somehow KC, Miami and Dallas all pass on him.

The one thing I don’t want to see is a reach pick. If there’s an OT run, don’t jump down your board for Freeling or Max Iheanachor out of fear. Don’t drop your standards at 14 and take Faulk who has been a later Round 1 prospect throughout the entire process, just because the other cats are gone. Don’t take Boston at 14 if the wideouts you love are gone.

Learn patience. Work a trade down if possible. But for the love of football, don’t reach!

Don’t Double Down on Tight End

Smythe is a Fullback more than a Tight End, so we still need two more; yes, I’ve heard it. But the Ravens don’t need three pass-catching Tight Ends, just two with that ability.

I don’t want Sadiq in the first. I don’t want to see a team with heavier needs at DL/EDGE, iOL, and WR using a pair of their top-5 picks on Tight End. I don’t want to see the Ravens draft a pair of Tight Ends in Day 3 and assume one of them can be the TE2 this season.

Roster build wouldn’t make sense either knowing they are likely to focus on Wide Receiver, so how do you justify four rostered Tight Ends?

I stood on the table for a Kmet trade in exchange for a Round 4 pick, and I still think that’s the best use, but if not, just draft ONE Tight End.

It Takes (TE)2 to Tango

Don’t Get Jumped For Your Guy

We’ve seen it before. Several times. The Ravens fans see a player they largely covet falling into their laps, only to watch another team jump ahead of them and snag the player, especially on Day 2 when some projected first-round guys keep slipping down boards.

The last thing the Ravens need to do is watch those guys wiped off the board before them, after being jumped by another team. They need to be proactive in their approach and go get the guys they want. If there’s multiple falling, then fine, be complacent. But if there’s a ‘stand on the table’ guy?

Go get ‘em.

How to do that? I have some thoughts…

Don’t Trade Away Future Picks

This draft is largely lackluster at the top. It’s not bad, just not the standard of what we expect for early caliber prospects.

So when we hear that next year’s class is going to be LEGIT, the last thing the Ravens should be doing is selling future picks that carry higher value in exchange for picks this weekend that are less valuable in terms of tit-for-tat picks.

That’s convoluted… you get what I’m saying. Leave the 2027 picks alone.

Don’t Keep All 11 Picks

I know I said the top of the draft is historically weaker, but given all of the Day 3 picks the Ravens have, I see no reason to stand pat and pick, as opposed to pairing some together to move up for an earlier dart throw with more promise.

Pair a Round 5 and Round 7 to move up higher into Round 5. Pair two Round 5 picks to better position for a Round 4 prospect. Two Round 7’s for a Round 6.

You get it.

This ties back into the ‘Don’t Get Jumped’ mindset where you see a guy on Day 3 that you want, you go up and get him, and can do so with ample fire power.

At this stage you should have a few notable needs addressed, so filling some of those second-tier needs and depth should be the focal point.

That’s it for me. What do you NOT want to see this weekend?

The post What I DON’T Want EDC to Do in the Draft appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/04/23/nfl-draft/eric-decosta-do-not-do-this/