2018 Draft Thread -- because the "off-season" is when you get better!!!

[HotInHere]

If you want to know how the Ravens will address the o-line, look at what they did in the secondary. Two years ago, we had guys who were busts (Hill, Elam, Brooks) underperforming veterans (Lewis, Arrington, Wright) and guys who are just not NFL players (Melvin, Asa Jackson.)

So what did they do? They did not fix it all through the draft. They didn't draft craploads of safeties and corners because they were desperate to rebuild the position. They took a multi-faceted approach.

THE DRAFT: In two years, they spent one early (Humphrey,) one mid (Young,) and two late (Canady, Clark) picks on the secondary.
FREE AGENCY: They got a veteran bargain in Weddle, they got Jefferson as a rising superstar, and they got Carr for stability.
VALUE FA: Hill, Price, Boykin
EXISTING PIECES: Webb, Smith, Levine. Most important for these guys is that because of the other parts acquired, these guys can now be used properly. Levine is not a starting safety, but is an awesome dime back. Webb is not a starting CB, but is killing it in sub packages.

The key piece in all of this is that the FO seems to have hit just about everywhere. All the draft picks look legit. Weddle and Jefferson were known commodities coming in, but Carr is succeeding because we are able to let him do what he does best. Humphrey can be developed because there was no need to throw him into the fire right away (as we would have if he had been drafted in 2015.) So the most important thing is, whatever moves you make, don't fuck them up.

I expect the same kind approach to the o-line. It won't be just "draft o-line early and often." They will draft o-lineman if they see value there. They will also maybe pick up an impact FA, as well as doing some bargain hunting for other FAs. They will count on their young guys (Lewis, Siragusa, Jensen, Hurst) to develop and either provide starting material or quality depth.

And hopefully they will sacrifice a live goat to the God of Football Injuries.

[GreatWhiteNorthRaven]

If you want to know how the Ravens will address the o-line, look at what they did in the secondary. Two years ago, we had guys who were busts (Hill, Elam, Brooks) underperforming veterans (Lewis, Arrington, Wright) and guys who are just not NFL players (Melvin, Asa Jackson.)

So what did they do? They did not fix it all through the draft. They didn't draft craploads of safeties and corners because they were desperate to rebuild the position. They took a multi-faceted approach.

THE DRAFT: In two years, they spent one early (Humphrey,) one mid (Young,) and two late (Canady, Clark) picks on the secondary.
FREE AGENCY: They got a veteran bargain in Weddle, they got Jefferson as a rising superstar, and they got Carr for stability.
VALUE FA: Hill, Price, Boykin
EXISTING PIECES: Webb, Smith, Levine. Most important for these guys is that because of the other parts acquired, these guys can now be used properly. Levine is not a starting safety, but is an awesome dime back. Webb is not a starting CB, but is killing it in sub packages.

The key piece in all of this is that the FO seems to have hit just about everywhere. All the draft picks look legit. Weddle and Jefferson were known commodities coming in, but Carr is succeeding because we are able to let him do what he does best. Humphrey can be developed because there was no need to throw him into the fire right away (as we would have if he had been drafted in 2015.) So the most important thing is, whatever moves you make, don't fuck them up.

I expect the same kind approach to the o-line. It won't be just "draft o-line early and often." They will draft o-lineman if they see value there. They will also maybe pick up an impact FA, as well as doing some bargain hunting for other FAs. They will count on their young guys (Lewis, Siragusa, Jensen, Hurst) to develop and either provide starting material or quality depth.

And hopefully they will sacrifice a live goat to the God of Football Injuries.

Good post. I expect the same.

[rhapsody]

If you want to know how the Ravens will address the o-line, look at what they did in the secondary. Two years ago, we had guys who were busts (Hill, Elam, Brooks) underperforming veterans (Lewis, Arrington, Wright) and guys who are just not NFL players (Melvin, Asa Jackson.)

So what did they do? They did not fix it all through the draft. They didn't draft craploads of safeties and corners because they were desperate to rebuild the position. They took a multi-faceted approach.

THE DRAFT: In two years, they spent one early (Humphrey,) one mid (Young,) and two late (Canady, Clark) picks on the secondary.
FREE AGENCY: They got a veteran bargain in Weddle, they got Jefferson as a rising superstar, and they got Carr for stability.
VALUE FA: Hill, Price, Boykin
EXISTING PIECES: Webb, Smith, Levine. Most important for these guys is that because of the other parts acquired, these guys can now be used properly. Levine is not a starting safety, but is an awesome dime back. Webb is not a starting CB, but is killing it in sub packages.

The key piece in all of this is that the FO seems to have hit just about everywhere. All the draft picks look legit. Weddle and Jefferson were known commodities coming in, but Carr is succeeding because we are able to let him do what he does best. Humphrey can be developed because there was no need to throw him into the fire right away (as we would have if he had been drafted in 2015.) So the most important thing is, whatever moves you make, don't fuck them up.

I expect the same kind approach to the o-line. It won't be just "draft o-line early and often." They will draft o-lineman if they see value there. They will also maybe pick up an impact FA, as well as doing some bargain hunting for other FAs. They will count on their young guys (Lewis, Siragusa, Jensen, Hurst) to develop and either provide starting material or quality depth.

And hopefully they will sacrifice a live goat to the God of Football Injuries.

Fine presentation. Ozzie works all the avenues for personnel - constantly, it seems - maybe better than any other GM. I am sure he will approach the Oline the same way, as you state. The poor 2017 draft class for Olinemen really hurt us. We have to hope the selection will be much better in 2018. I would expect, along your lines, that Oz will be on the lookout for a seasoned vet of about Howard's quality and price. We already know he won't spend big.

Two reasons we should look for a couple of high round picks, if the draft breaks that way: Yanda is fading, and a quality rookie needs a year of seasoning before you can expect him to hit his stride. We don't want to be stuck with Stanley and four guys who are just adequate. And, there is a real dearth of decent Olinemen around the league - how else can you explain us re-signing Zuttah, or massaging guys like Hurst and Skura for so long?

[HbgPARavenfan]

Fine presentation. Ozzie works all the avenues for personnel - constantly, it seems - maybe better than any other GM. I am sure he will approach the Oline the same way, as you state. The poor 2017 draft class for Olinemen really hurt us. We have to hope the selection will be much better in 2018. I would expect, along your lines, that Oz will be on the lookout for a seasoned vet of about Howard's quality and price. We already know he won't spend big.

Two reasons we should look for a couple of high round picks, if the draft breaks that way: Yanda is fading, and a quality rookie needs a year of seasoning before you can expect him to hit his stride. We don't want to be stuck with Stanley and four guys who are just adequate. And, there is a real dearth of decent Olinemen around the league - how else can you explain us re-signing Zuttah, or massaging guys like Hurst and Skura for so long?

Defensive linemen / Ends /Edge rushers are continually becoming more athletic, offensive lines across the nfl seem to be lagging behind

[bravens23]

If you want to know how the Ravens will address the o-line, look at what they did in the secondary. Two years ago, we had guys who were busts (Hill, Elam, Brooks) underperforming veterans (Lewis, Arrington, Wright) and guys who are just not NFL players (Melvin, Asa Jackson.)

So what did they do? They did not fix it all through the draft. They didn't draft craploads of safeties and corners because they were desperate to rebuild the position. They took a multi-faceted approach.

THE DRAFT: In two years, they spent one early (Humphrey,) one mid (Young,) and two late (Canady, Clark) picks on the secondary.
FREE AGENCY: They got a veteran bargain in Weddle, they got Jefferson as a rising superstar, and they got Carr for stability.
VALUE FA: Hill, Price, Boykin
EXISTING PIECES: Webb, Smith, Levine. Most important for these guys is that because of the other parts acquired, these guys can now be used properly. Levine is not a starting safety, but is an awesome dime back. Webb is not a starting CB, but is killing it in sub packages.

The key piece in all of this is that the FO seems to have hit just about everywhere. All the draft picks look legit. Weddle and Jefferson were known commodities coming in, but Carr is succeeding because we are able to let him do what he does best. Humphrey can be developed because there was no need to throw him into the fire right away (as we would have if he had been drafted in 2015.) So the most important thing is, whatever moves you make, don't fuck them up.

I expect the same kind approach to the o-line. It won't be just "draft o-line early and often." They will draft o-lineman if they see value there. They will also maybe pick up an impact FA, as well as doing some bargain hunting for other FAs. They will count on their young guys (Lewis, Siragusa, Jensen, Hurst) to develop and either provide starting material or quality depth.

And hopefully they will sacrifice a live goat to the God of Football Injuries.

Don't disagree with this approach... its actually pretty hard to fill a 5 man unit with just draft picks.

That being said... I do think we're generally pretty good at drafting and developing interior lineman, which is where I think our focus will be.

I have no idea if they think Howard is a viable short-to-long term solution at RT. He's 30, which isn't young, but its also not really old for an Olineman either. Given he signed a 3 year contract and is playing well thus far, I think you've got two starting Tackles that you can feel good about for the next few years. I think we need depth at tackle more than we need starter upgrades.

I think the emphasis is on the interior. Definitely need a high quality Guard, which I think can be obtained in the draft. The question that we don't know is... how good is Jensen? He's still pretty young. If he's an average Center, I think you make a play to keep him, and just focus on beefing up the interior line and getting some depth overall.

I think without injury you've got 3 solid starters and 1 average starter on the Oline right now.

[bravens23]

Defensive linemen / Ends /Edge rushers are continually becoming more athletic, offensive lines across the nfl seem to be lagging behind

I've read some reports/analysis from some different avenues that suggest that, much like QB play, the college game is falling behind at producing quality Olineman, especially at the Tackle spots. Frankly, I think you can find pretty good interior line play across the board... just seems to be a larger than I remember influx in quality Guards in this league.

I think you're seeing a lot of guys who are really struggling coming out of college at the Tackle spots. I think because of the way college offenses are run these days, there's less emphasis on Tackle's being able to block edge rushers in college, and when they get here, they really struggle. Some seem to get better as they go along, others never quite seem to get there and end up shifting inside.

Basically, as long as Ronnie Stanley continues to gradually improve, hang on to him like grim death. Just open the check book in like 4 years and tell him to write in a number, and you agree to that number.

[srobert96]

Fine presentation. Ozzie works all the avenues for personnel - constantly, it seems - maybe better than any other GM. I am sure he will approach the Oline the same way, as you state. The poor 2017 draft class for Olinemen really hurt us. We have to hope the selection will be much better in 2018. I would expect, along your lines, that Oz will be on the lookout for a seasoned vet of about Howard's quality and price. We already know he won't spend big.

Two reasons we should look for a couple of high round picks, if the draft breaks that way: Yanda is fading, and a quality rookie needs a year of seasoning before you can expect him to hit his stride. We don't want to be stuck with Stanley and four guys who are just adequate. And, there is a real dearth of decent Olinemen around the league - how else can you explain us re-signing Zuttah, or massaging guys like Hurst and Skura for so long?

The poor selection of talent did not hurt us. Our guy who had the best chance of replacing Lewis blew out his knee. Loomie was always going to be developmental. No way to predict that Urschel would retire that Lewis, Yanda and Nico would all go on IR before week 3. Before the draft the team is going to have to see where the three injured guys are in their recovery. Yanda told Harbaugh that he intended to come back stronger. That means he is not planning on retiring. I would not bet against him returning ready to play at a high level. Lewis showed enough promise to be opening day starter at G and to move to LT when Stanley was out. Did not look very good at LT. That was with a horrible line coach. The injuries all happened early enough that the team should have a good idea of where they are before the draft. They will also know how Loomie is developing. This past off season everyone was down on the C position and the team was high on what they saw from Jensen in the off season. Jensen has certainly been good enough at C at least early on. With new Oline coach and Roman we may actually see these guys develop. I hope that Jensen plays well and they extend him.

[rhapsody]

If the Injury Gods would smile on us, we could well be in good shape in 2018 for starters (the main thing) with Stanley-Lewis-Jensen-Yanda-Howard. Lewis and Jensen are not wholly proven, but I am optimistic enough about both, especially Lewis. But we need an influx of young quality (more than one player) in 2018 because Yanda and Howard are getting older and Olinemen take time to develop.

We also need more than one quality addition because our depth is so terrible. You can have hope for Siragusa, but he is basically a rookie 4th rounder coming off a severe injury. None of those experimental guys the Ravens like to massage may ever successfully get out of the lab. At least get a guy who plays better than Hurst for less money.

[wickedsolo]

Thats one of the benefits of carrying a clean cap. They don't carry 20 million dead money every year. They can go out and afford to sign OT and guards we can't.

The year they took KO from us we had 16 million dead money and Webb making 9.5 million. This year they are carrying 2.1 million dead money. We are carrying 20 million.

It is what it is.

Dead money should be better next year.


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[usmccharles]

Just because we have a need doesn't mean we draft them in the first round, reaching is never a good idea for need, see BP for example.

[rhapsody]

Just because we have a need doesn't mean we draft them in the first round, reaching is never a good idea for need, see BP for example.

Nice straw man you knocked over there. No one is saying the 1st round pick should be made out of need. What we can hope for is a better crop of Olinemen to choose from coming out in the 2018 draft than we saw in 2017.

[usmccharles]

Nice straw man you knocked over there. No one is saying the 1st round pick should be made out of need. What we can hope for is a better crop of Olinemen to choose from coming out in the 2018 draft than we saw in 2017.

I completely agree, I was more so clarifying because maybe a page back I said I hope our OL is a priority, just clarifying what I meant