Draft / FA / Offseason Roster Moves (Merged)

[The Excellector]

Yep that appears to be the case which is what I expected. Kruger and Williams will be overpaid by some team.

Yep. Williams is going to go somewhere else, with less talent around him than even that battered Ravens defense of 2012, and be asked to be the top guy. He will struggle in that role.

Paul Kruger will likely go to a team where he will be asked to be a full time starter and complete player. He will also struggle in that role. He'll likely end up with a team who can't put pressure on opposing offenses to score. So, he'll be asked to stop the run alot and he'll struggle.

Courtney Upshaw was drafted to, first and foremost, spell Jarret Johnson. The front office once admitted that had they done that draft (The year Johnson came out) over again, they would have probably taken Johnson much earlier or had him rated as a first rounder in a redo. I can't remember exactly how they put it.

Anyways, that is what they wanted first and foremost. Upshaw can handle that. Kruger cannot. What Kruger brings as a pass rusher is great, but secondary to what the Ravens want out of his position. They'll take seven to ten sacks from Upshaw and be happy, as long as he is setting the edge and dropping into zones as well as Johnson did.

[leachisabeast]

We'll see. We've never had to deal with a huge cap number the size of what Flacco's will be, so I think the later rounds may be a approached slightly different than previous years.

In all likelihood, Flacco's cap hit will be significantly smaller than Ngata and Suggs cap hits in 2013. If we get Flacco inked, his 2013 cap hit could be as low as $6M. Its not like we've never had huge contracts to deal with. Suggs and Ngata are some of the highest paid players in football right now, we also invested a lot of money in JO, Reed, and Ray Ray, not to mention Ray Rice last year.

I think it will be no different. The only way I see things being different is if we are forced to use the 20 million franchise tag on Joe, which is very unlikely to happen IMO, I think they are going to get the deal done well before FA starts.

Just to use a recent example. The Saints gave Brees that huge contract last year, but got his cap hit to a low number for 2012, and they actually signed some pretty good players. They signed Ben Grubbs, Curtis Lofton, and David Hawthorne in FA.

[StingerNLG]

Part of the reason why Tavon Austin looks like such a good pick is because he can play Darren Sproles at times and line up in the backfield to take a handoff, and the defense has to honor him getting to the edge and turning on the jets or even breaking one straight between the tackles. Theo Riddick, Robbie Rouse, and Chris Thompson out of FSU are those kinds of guys in the late rounds.

Jets are the right word. Especially since he can get open in space, catch the ball, then kick into gear quickly.

Turn down the awful music and check the video out. This kid is explosive. His height though might be the only issue unless he is strictly looked at as a slot guy at 5-8. Most CB's are taller than that.

[The Excellector]

I'd move up a few spots in the first to take Austin.

[Paintballguy]

Jets are the right word. Especially since he can get open in space, catch the ball, then kick into gear quickly.

Turn down the awful music and check the video out. This kid is explosive. His height though might be the only issue unless he is strictly looked at as a slot guy at 5-8. Most CB's are taller than that.

I really really really really want Tavon Austin. lol Our offense would be so nasty.

[leachisabeast]

We should trade up with Atlanta to grab Austina nd stick it to Belicheat for last year, I actually preferred the Upshaw pick over Hightower anyway.

With that said, I'm still a firm believer in rebuilding the trenches this year.

[Paintballguy]

“Wes Welker, that’s the No. 1 guy,” he said. “I see how Wes does it, I watch a lot of tape of him, and I think I move a little quicker and faster than Wes, so if he can do it, I know I can do it too.” Tavon Austin

[arnie_uk]

I'm beginning to really love Austin watching him. He just gets open, Austin then Greene in round 2 and trade up for Brandon Williams round three is what I want right now.

[leachisabeast]

Tavon Austin is special, I don't know if he comes anywhere close to us. Imagine someone like Pete Carroll jumping all over this guy.

[wickedsolo]

First, Austin is great. I dont know if he is a 1st rounder though. Hia height is going to hurt him big time. I think he will be there jn the 2nd for the Ravens.

Keep in mind, he is a WR and is competing against guys like Cordarelle Patterson, DeAndre Hopkins, Justin Harper, and Keenan Allen who are highly rated prospects in their own right.

The thing with Austin is that he isn't a #1 receiver. Those other guys have legitimate shots at being a team's #1.

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[The Excellector]

First, Austin is great. I dont know if he is a 1st rounder though. Hia height is going to hurt him big time. I think he will be there jn the 2nd for the Ravens.

Keep in mind, he is a WR and is competing against guys like Cordarelle Patterson, DeAndre Hopkins, Justin Harper, and Keenan Allen who are highly rated prospects in their own right.

The thing with Austin is that he isn't a #1 receiver. Those other guys have legitimate shots at being a team's #1.

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However, we've seen the damage that a good quick slot WR can do. Will that reality rub off on GMs? It's certainly rubbed off on me enough to want him.

Think about the mismatches that he could create in the slot. Very few teams have their best CBs, with the ability to play in the slot. The Ravens are one of the few. With Torrey on the outside, he's not likely to see a team's top CB anyway.

[BigPlayReceiver]

For those interested per the Ravens twitter account they've met with OG Chance Warmack from Alabama.

They're asking him about guys he's faced: Richardson, Floyd, Jesse Williams, Joseph, etc. Also maybe about Barrett Jones and Fluker.