Calling all Ravens fans from 1996 onward

[New !]

I need help with a project I’m putting together trying to rank every single one of our draft picks by position. I was 4 years old when the ex Cleveland Browns came to town and didn’t really start following them until I was about 7 or so. The first Ravens game I actually remember watching was opening week September 3, 2000 where we won at Pittsburgh 16-0. Next week was the legendary Jacksonville game and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Anyway, I need some help for certain players who I don’t really know much about. Some of them are listed with more recent players because I want to know where they fit in the rankings. Keep in mind that they are being ranked according to their best single season, so longevity doesn’t matter as much. Contributions made to teams other than the Ravens should not be considered.

Without further ado, I would appreciate it if you could help me rank any or all of the following players from best to worst (by position, not all of them together). Even if you only know one of them, anything helps:

TE:
Quinn Sypniewski
Terry Jones

OT:
Jared Gaither
Ricky Wagner
Tony Pashos

ILB:
Jamie Sharper
CJ Mosley
Tavares Gooden
Patrick Queen

G/C:
Edwin Mulitalo
Jason Brown
Ryan Jensen
Jeff Mitchell
Bradley Bozeman

FB:
Kyle Juszczyk
Le’Ron McClain
Ovie Mughelli

DL:
Anthony Weaver
Timmy Jernigan
Justin Madubuike
Dwan Edwards
Chris Wormley

S:
Kim Herring
Tom Zbikowski
Matt Elam

CB:
Jimmy Smith
Lardarius Webb
Gary Baxter
Duane Starks
Deron Jenkins

Thank you very much for whoever takes the time to do this.

[Purpleglasses]

TE:
Quinn Sypniewski-1
Terry Jones-2

OT:
Jared Gaither-3
Ricky Wagner-1
Tony Pashos-2

ILB:
Jamie Sharper-2
CJ Mosley-1
Tavares Gooden-3
Patrick Queen-4

G/C:
Edwin Mulitalo-1
Jason Brown-3
Ryan Jensen-2
Jeff Mitchell-5
Bradley Bozeman-4

FB:
Kyle Juszczyk-1
Le’Ron McClain-2
Ovie Mughelli-3

DL:
Anthony Weaver-2
Timmy Jernigan-4
Justin Madubuike-3
Dwan Edwards-1
Chris Wormley-5

S:
Kim Herring-1
Tom Zbikowski-2
Matt Elam-3

CB:
Jimmy Smith-1
Lardarius Webb-2
Gary Baxter-4
Duane Starks-3
Deron Jenkins-5

[Captain Silver]

Deron Jenkins-5

5! That is way too high even on that scale.

Him and Antonio Langham are forever known in Ravens cornerback history as the Burn Unit.

[Purpleglasses]

5! That is way too high even on that scale.

Him and Antonio Langham are forever known in Ravens cornerback history as the Burn Unit.

Hey I was just playing by the rules. Lol

[New !]

Thanks guys. I will post the full list when it’s finished. I was able to put together most of it by combing through the ProFootballReference database and reading through old blog and forum posts. I wonder if anyone has access to the old Scouts Inc archives. From what I gather they were like the original PFF. There is a site called footballsfuture that has been very helpful as well as our online home RSR/Ravens24x7. I could be wrong but I probably account for about 99 percent of the clicks recorded on old Demetrius Williams or Dwan Edwards articles from 2009.

Most of the guys above had very similar production so those were the hardest to judge.

[New !]

TE:
Quinn Sypniewski-1
Terry Jones-2

OT:
Jared Gaither-3
Ricky Wagner-1
Tony Pashos-2

ILB:
Jamie Sharper-2
CJ Mosley-1
Tavares Gooden-3
Patrick Queen-4

G/C:
Edwin Mulitalo-1
Jason Brown-3
Ryan Jensen-2
Jeff Mitchell-5
Bradley Bozeman-4

FB:
Kyle Juszczyk-1
Le’Ron McClain-2
Ovie Mughelli-3

DL:
Anthony Weaver-2
Timmy Jernigan-4
Justin Madubuike-3
Dwan Edwards-1
Chris Wormley-5

S:
Kim Herring-1
Tom Zbikowski-2
Matt Elam-3

CB:
Jimmy Smith-1
Lardarius Webb-2
Gary Baxter-4
Duane Starks-3
Deron Jenkins-5

Two things stand out to me:

Jared Gaither being lower than Wagner and Pashos. I have read articles that had him as a top 5 tackle in the league around 2010/2011. I thought most of his problems were off the field and between the ears. I’m not saying you’re wrong, just that I found a wide range of opinions on Gaither in my research.

The defensive line ranking is interesting. My research has been all over the place for this position, more than any other. I expected Jernigan to be higher than he was but that may be recency bias. Depending on where you look, Dwan Edwards and Anthony Weaver have been ranked anywhere from above average starter to bust. It’s interesting to note that PFF agrees with you on Edwards being the best of the five although Weaver was pre-PFF. Still a very helpful response so thank you.

[Purpleglasses]

Two things stand out to me:

Jared Gaither being lower than Wagner and Pashos. I have read articles that had him as a top 5 tackle in the league around 2010/2011. I thought most of his problems were off the field and between the ears. I’m not saying you’re wrong, just that I found a wide range of opinions on Gaither in my research.

The defensive line ranking is interesting. My research has been all over the place for this position, more than any other. I expected Jernigan to be higher than he was but that may be recency bias. Depending on where you look, Dwan Edwards and Anthony Weaver have been ranked anywhere from above average starter to bust. It’s interesting to note that PFF agrees with you on Edwards being the best of the five although Weaver was pre-PFF. Still a very helpful response so thank you.

Are we talking best years as ravens or best years in careers? Gaither was a beast but I think he came across as lazy and was definitely overhyped due to filling Ogden's shoes (we wanted him to be the next Ogden). Jernigan was okay as a raven. Jernigan had more splash plays but I would say the other guys were solid pros. I suppose I steered a little away from your rules. I may have given longevity more value then you were looking for.

[Desert Raven]

Why is Elam there and not Dawan Landry? Heck, even Nakamura

[New !]

Are we talking best years as ravens or best years in careers? Gaither was a beast but I think he came across as lazy and was definitely overhyped due to filling Ogden's shoes (we wanted him to be the next Ogden). Jernigan was okay as a raven. Jernigan had more splash plays but I would say the other guys were solid pros. I suppose I steered a little away from your rules. I may have given longevity more value then you were looking for.

Best years as a Raven. It’s no problem, it’s a weird set of rules. I want the list to be skewed more toward how good each player was at their (Ravens) best. I figure a full season is a big enough sample size to weed out the flukes while being small enough to include guys impacted by injury or trades.

[New !]

Why is Elam there and not Dawan Landry? Heck, even Nakamura

Because their places on the list are already decided. These are the left over guys that I couldn’t decide how they stack up.

[Baltimore35]

Looking forward to the finished product. Going to make for great debate on here

[WNCRavensFan]

I'm going to do this based on the career of the player, not just as a Raven.

TE
1. Terry Jones
2. Quinn Sypneiwski

Jones just has a larger body of work and was better per target and was a good run blocker.

OT
1. Ricky Wagner
2. Tony Pashos
-------
3. Jared Gaither

Wagner was an average-above average RT for years. Pashos put in two very good seasons in Jacksonville but his peak was shorter. Gaither was at best a flash in the pan.

ILB
1. CJ Mosley
2. Jamie Sharper
-------
3. Patrick Queen
4. Tavares Gooden

The first two are way ahead of the second two. Mosley is still underrated around here. Sharper was a key piece of the 2000 defense and had 442 tackles for the Texans over three seasons. They were both really good LB. Queen and Gooden are interchangeable right now but Queen still has time left.

G/C
1. Edwin Mulitalo
2. Jeff Mitchell
3. Ryan Jensen
4. Jason Brown
5. Bradley Bozeman

This is a good list of five. Mulitalo doesn't get enough credit for playing next to Jonathan Odgen, they had good chemistry on the left side. Mitchell, steroids and all, was nearly a Pro Bowl level C for the championship team as well as Carolina. Jensen is climbing this list thanks to his time in Tampa. Brown was an above average C and continued that in Saint Louis. The only reason why Bozeman is last here is because he's still early in his career.

FB
1. Kyle Juszczyk
2. Le'Ron McClain
3. Ovie Mughelli

Just as listed. Juice-check has made five consecutive Pro Bowls and does everything at the FB position. McClain was the rare modern FB that almost had a 1000 yard season (the 2008 Ravens ran the ball a LOT). Mughelli was the classic blocking FB of that ill-fated 2006 McNair team that went on to do good work with the Falcons. The Ravens have been at the forefront of keeping the FB torch burning.

DL
1. Anthony Weaver
-------
2. Timmy Jernigan
3. Dwan Edwards
4. Justin Madubuike
5. Chris Wormley

Weaver was so underrated, just because he wasn't a big sack guy. Jernigan at his best was a difference maker but didn't take care of himself very well. Edwards was just okay and did most of his work after Baltimore. Madubuike is just getting started. Wormley was a disappointment and won't be any more than a rotational guy.

S
1. Kim Herring
-------
2. Tom Zbikowksi
-------
3. Matt Elam

Biggest positional disparity. Herring was really good - everybody on that 2000 defense was really good - and he put in two good seasons in Saint Louis after that. Zbikowski's best contributions were on special teams. Elam was bust city.

CB
1. Lardarius Webb
2. Jimmy Smith
-------
3. Duane Starks
4. Gary Baxter
-------
5. DeRon Jenkins

My toughest decision was Smith vs Webb. Both are/were oft injured, extremely good at their peak, and Baltimore only players. Ultimately Jimmy doesn't match LarDarius's 2011 season when he was snubbed from the Pro Bowl. Side note - both players had an INT in the Billy Cundiff game. Neat.

Starks was probably the weakest link of the 2000 defense but still held up well as a ball hawk; he also had a good 2001 before leaving. Baxter was a solid, physicsl #2 CB for a couple years but was a slight disappointment for a 2nd round pick mainly due to injury. Jenkins doesn't belong in the same conversation as the other four.