Grading Ravens 2010 Draft

[RavenScallywag]

No one has put out draft grades yet, guess they'll wait till end.

Here's my, as objective as I can be, assessment...

By pick:

Kindle - B+ - Kindle is top 1st round talent, who dropped due to injury concerns and character issues from a few years ago. Ravens are confident knee is not a concern, so the benefit of the doubt is with them for now. Kindle will provide a boost to the pass rush. As Newsome noted, it make our CB need less because improved pass rush will help guard lesser corners.

Cody - B - On the one hand, Cody is a bit of a boring pick because he's only a situational DT against the run. On the other hand, that behemoth size and his athletic ability for that size make him a HUGE (no pun intended) addition to our run stuffing game. Again, 1st round talent taken a round later

Dickson - B - Very good pass catcher, nice athletic TE. Doesn't give much as a blocker, but should help open up the middle.

Pitta - C+ - I like Pitta, but right now, he's third on the depth chart. If all goes as expected, his target is 2nd when Heap retires/ is cut. Seems we could've gotten more of an impact player, but Ozzie noted, this was TOTALLY BPA...Pitta was too good to pass up. Could relate this to the way Orioles handle pitching...have so many prospects, you KNOW one of them will work out

David Reed - C - Reed is a nice value, has very good hands, adds value as returner. That said, this was a totally unexciting pick. I'd give it an average grade, his NFL comparison is Brandon Stokely. Reed's long term role then would be a slot receiver, not a starter.

Art Jones - B - Jones had a 2nd round grade before injury concerns. Pass rusher on the inside should provide the yin to Cody's yang.

Ramon Harewood - C - Developmental big guy for the OT spot. Hard to fail on a 6th round pick, but Harewood is nothing special either. Could be very big, or could be a total bust.

OVERALL GRADE: B-...We got some very good pieces, but we also leave a lot of holes which could put us in need spots next year.

[jonboy79]

I'm tougher on it...

Kindle- B - Can he learn to do something besides rush the passer before his knee gives out?
Cody- C- Decent Value, but how much does he bring to the table that we didn't already have in Mckinney?
Dixon - B- Not a bad option in the middle and up the field, but would have preferred a more willing blocker to man the #2 TE spot.
Pitta- D- good value, but too much duplicity... I don't mind drafting 2 TE's, but two mid round picks back to back that can't block a lick?
Reed - C- I don't know enough to knock him worse then this... I will grade him up a level if he is a passable NFL returner, otherwise I see little chance he makes the roster. Hopefully he sticks on the PS.
Jones- C- Hopefully we get an IR year out of him, or else he's likely stolen from our PS.
Harewood- c- Raw, Developmental, Big, probably best inside... meh... should have jsut taken a kicker or something... these guys are everywhere undrafted.

Overall- C- Missed on the second biggest need(CB) and addressed the other two major needs diferently then I would prefer(Passrusher, TE). After Pitta noone is likely to make the roster at all.

[baltimore_hokie]

Pretty pointless to even bother putting grades on anything at this point. Ozzie didn't see any value in CB's, so he didn't take any. He must not be too worried with our CB situation. Foxworth and Webb are a very solid starting combo.

[jonboy79]

Pretty pointless to even bother putting grades on anything at this point. Ozzie didn't see any value in CB's, so he didn't take any. He must not be too worried with our CB situation. Foxworth and Webb are a very solid starting combo.

What are the chances Webb is healthy for week 1? 1 in 10? Washington? 1 in 2 maybe?

[baltimore_hokie]

Harbaugh:

“I don’t think it’s too optimistic because of the way those guys are training,” Coach Harbaugh said. “Right now, we expect those guys to be practicing the first day of training camp because nowadays those ACLs get back fast, but I don’t think you can count on it. I’m sure we’ll have a contingency plan.”

I'm not so sure we need anything long-term at CB. If anything, I could see us signing a veteran until Webb and Washington get off the PUP list (if necessary).

If the Ravens go the free-agent route there are still solid options remaining, including Lito Sheppard (not anymore), Nick Harper, Philip Buchanan, Dre Bly, Nathan Vasher, Fred Smoot and Ken Lucas. Frank Walker is also a possibility, as Harbaugh has shown interest in bringing him back.

[Losac]

I love how people grade these drafts before any of the players have played a single down in the NFL.

[jonboy79]

A bunch of guys who have lost a step...
There really isn't a fall back optioint hat can cover a real WR on the outside of the field. If Webb and Washington start the year on PuP or worse, we are in trouble.

[myfavoriteboxer]

I love how people grade these drafts before any of the players have played a single down in the NFL.

Yeah, why don't we grade the 2005 NFL Draft instead?

So... worst Ravens draft ever?
1-22- Mark Clayton (Notable receivers chosen after Clayton: Roddy White 1-27, Vincent Jackson 2-61)
2-53- Dan Cody (Justin Tuck 3-74, Trent Cole 5-146)
2-64- Adam Terry
4-124- Jason Brown
5-158- Justin Green
6-213- Derek Anderson
7-234- Mike Smith

I guess not quite because of the success of Terry and Brown, even though neither is still with the team. Who can say what would've become of Derek Anderson had he not ended up in Cleveland, (ok probably not much), but his limited success is probably not too bad for a 6th rounder.

[baltimore_hokie]

It's all about value...

“Every year there’s a run. You can be either in the mix or outside the mix,” Newsome said. “To say we were interested in some of the [corerbacks] that went, yes. But when you’re outside of the mix, we don’t feel like we have to reach.”

Three cornerbacks were taken before the Ravens’ were on the clock with the 16th pick in the fourth round. Those players were UCLA’s Alterraun Verner (No. 104 to Tennessee), Kentucky’s Trevard Lindley (No. 105 to Philadelphia) and Oregon’s Walter Thurmond (No. 111 to Seattle).

Instead of reaching for a player lower on their board, the Ravens opted to take Brigham Young tight end Dennis Pitta.

“We were looking at those guys in the fourth round, but we couldn’t justify one of those [corners] over Pitta,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “We’ll find a way to add a corner. We’ve got guys that can play, two guys are getting healthier and I’m real excited about what we’re going to do in the secondary. We’ll be fine.”

[Rxdoxx]

Yep, kinda hard to grade anything especially with in-house scouting that differs from most others.

But what I see is the start of a defensive shift.
For the early part of last year I could have sworn I was seeing a 4-3, wasn't until after a major meeting that I really began seeing flashes of the organized chaos that a 3-4 can provide.

So Cody, the run stuffing beast in the middle
Jones the DT that can penetrate the backfield
Kindle versitile enough for either 3-4 or 4-3

Not sure of a full change this year but signs are we are heading in that direction. Add Cory Redding to the mix


Harewood is the newest project, I'd say they are moving on from someone from the list of Mattison, Hale (remember Bujnoch added as was Daniel Sanders and Greg Ryan all centers), Stephon Rodgers, Joe Reitz, Lou Saucedo

and on the D, I've got Divins, Talavou and even maybe McKinney as in the fight of their lives to stay on the roster, Cody bumps one, Jones unless he is IR gets another.

If Davon Drew doesn't have a fire lit under him now

It wasn't how I wanted to see the draft go but have to sit back and trust Oz
We still have LB Phillips to see if/where he fits in and VanDeSteeg from last year's draft, wonder if Edgar can manage to hang on again.

Hard draft to grade, but I can see all making the team except Harewood to the PS.

[Dont Know]

Yeah, why don't we grade the 2005 NFL Draft instead?

So... worst Ravens draft ever?

No, that would be 2004 (and it isn't even close).

As for this year, incomplete, but let's revisit the topic in 4 - 5 years if anyone remembers.

[chicagoravensfan]

even though it is probably silly to grade the draft at this point, in all fairness Anquan Boldin should be included.