Laurent Duvernay-Tardif?

[JimZipCode]

What do we think? What if we came away with that guy in like the 4th round?

I'm kind of impressed with a 6-5, 320 pound OT who maintained a 4.0 GPA in a pre-med program.

[BcRaven]

Isn't he the mayor of Quebec? ... Bc

[LukeDaniel]

I really knew zip about him until a few days ago, but he might be worth a gamble in the right spot.

Here is my theory about this draft----you will see all of the "Big four" tackles gone by pick 12. Knowing that the four elite T prospects are gone, a handful of teams, including the Ravens, will be in the market for a starting RT-only type lineman who can start from day one. You will then see a rush of the 2nd tier OTs move up the board into the late 1st round/early 2nd round (a lot of mock drafts have already accounted for this). This means that Moses, Cyrus K., JuWaun James, Antonio Richardson, and Bitonio will be gone by pick 40-45. These are all players who are viewed as start-from-the-word-go RTs who might, particularly in the case of Richardson/Cyrus/Moses, eventually be capable LTs.

So, there is a likelihood that all 9 of those plug and play guys are not even available when the Ravens pick at 48. Even if one or two (most likely Richardson and/or James), there might be a more pressing need or better value.

There are two other players, Mewhort and Fleming, who are tier 3 OTs who are borderline day one NFL starting RTs. Knowing that they MIGHT be able to start from day one for a NFL team at RT, you will likely see both gone in the late 2nd/early 3rd, meaning the Ravens will not have a chance to get either with pick 79.

If the Ravens whiff on any of those top nine, then someone like Laurent might make sense because he clearly has the most upside of any of the remaining prospects by a landslide. You could argue he has more upside than even a few of the tier 2 tackles, but naturally the concern with him is his ability to start from week one. He would be a great value with one of our 4th round compensatory picks, but I suspect if we want him, we'd have to take him with the comp-3 pick. If we did trade down and obtain a 4th rounder, and had yet to draft a rookie RT, he'd be a logical fit there. Bring him in, see how ready he is, and have him compete with Wagner. He appears to have all the physical capacities to be a good RT. It would be a simple matter of whether he can handle the substantial competition upgrade.

[ursula]

What do we think? What if we came away with that guy in like the 4th round?

I'm kind of impressed with a 6-5, 320 pound OT who maintained a 4.0 GPA in a pre-med program.

Yeah, definitely impressed. Would be happy to get him.

[LukeDaniel]

Billy Turner from North Dakota state is similar to Laurent. He's basically the same dimensions (6-5/315) and, although he hasn't played top level competition, he has at least has some game film and some senior bowl reps to give you a clearer picture of what he might be as a pro.

[LukeDaniel]

Andrew Norwell would also be a nice pick up later in the draft. 6-6/320 with good experience and solid results against good competition at several O-line positions. This is a really good draft for tackles. I wouldn't be shocked if there are 15-18 starters from this draft by 2016.

[JimZipCode]

Billy Turner from North Dakota ... at least has some game film and some senior bowl reps

Laurent played in the East-West Shrine Game.

[jonboy79]

I like tardif, but think the 4th might be too high. 6th seems better value, IMO.

I know his vert and becnh reps are over 30... with a 4.0 in med school I would think the 30 wonderlick is a given, even if taken in a non-native language... so he's a 30/30/30 guy that the Ravens have admitted to craving, plus fills a future need.

Intriguing for sure, particularly if we don't grab Moses, CK, Mewhort in the next couple rounds, or Hurst after that...