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Ravens 2019 Draft Class, grades and analysis

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
Marquise Brown: A-
Elite burner, elite route runner, elite playmaker. No player will unstack the box and take advantage of cheated safeties quite like this guy can. If he stays healthy, he’s likely a superstar on this run first and play action/RPO based offense. I trust lamar to launch one to the corner and let Hollywood run under it far more than I trust him to hit a slower guy with a “big radius” on a fade. After a lot of thought and consideration, I like this pick and it was the best choice.

Jaylon Ferguson: C+
The value was there, the need is there, but the skill set is worrisome. He has a first step, he has some hands, he has a vicious bullrush and physical play in general, but he is stiff and lacks bend something serious, and is gonna take a lot of conditioning to hopefully slim down and gain some flexibility without losing his power. High ceiling but risky prospect. My hope is that wink has specific things in mind for him and squeezes every last bit of potential out of him.

Miles Boykin: D
I don’t hate the player, the player is pretty solid, he’s as sure handed as they come in any catch situation, and his routes are nuanced and subtle but they are there, he could be a really solid Z receiver and possession guy, what I hate is that in a class loaded with 6th round talent, we gave up 2 sixes for a guy who’s talent level, to me, looked a whole round later. C for the player but costing us a 3, a 6, and another 6, the value drops it down to a D.

Justice Hill: B+
The track team trend continues. The speed of lamar and brown and hill is jaw dropping, this team is a home run waiting to happen with this trio. Solid value for this pick, fills the need for a speedy scat back to complement the power backs we have, if he gets a pass pro and receiving game more developed then look out. Hill and Lamar and brown in this offense should be a nightmare for DCs.

Ben Powers: B+
A lot of people trashed this pick, but it was a good one. We can’t afford to miss on an OL pick, and Powers is about as safe as they come. Low ceiling guy as he isn’t some Uber athlete, he isn’t a road grader, but what he does bring is soundness in all aspects, stout anchor in pass pro, quick feet and lateral movement, great focus and eyes to hold up against stunts and late blitzes, assignment oriented run blocker who can pull, reach, pivot and shield block, as well as mostly anyone in the class. For those that loved Erik McCoy, Ben powers is essentially the same player. The want for a big nasty bastard was overplayed around here, because an athlete and technician who is strong enough to hold up is a bigger tool for Greg roman than a latch-on-and-drive type of blocker. Heady player who could end up a C one day, value is appropriate.

Iman Marshall: A+
I’ve seen very little film but I’ve watched him a few times today, and from what I see so far... Great value, I’m struggling to see what put this guy into the fourth. Classic ravens pick, addressing needs ahead of time. We have the best secondary in the league yet we’re addressing cb, and that’s because you need 3 starting caliber CBs and at least 2 competent ones for depth and certain packages. Marshall is an incredibly smooth and fluid man corner with length, he reroutes his momentum with great efficiency, no wasted steps in his transitions, patient in press, catches the route in off man very well with his great hip turn. Classic ravens pick and a steal.

Daylon Mack: A+
This is THE ultimate ravens pick. An absolute steal and a dream fit. He has a quicker get-off than any DL on this roster, he is regularly between 2 blockers by the time the rest of the line gets off, he is an absolute wrecking ball and gets a shitload of pocket push, he isn’t the fleetest of foot and isn’t gonna be shuffling and finding a crease in the next gap, but what he will do is put 2 blockers right in the QBs lap regularly and if one those 2 blockers has to chip/pick up another rusher, he’s slipping through. As stated before, between him, Henry, pierce and sieler, were gonna have 2 quality interior rushers. Mack will be a cornerstone on this defense and will get a big 2nd contract from the ravens.

Trace McSorley: F
What the fuck? Mcsorley was raw ass all throughout his career. He held back a loaded penn state team. There was no fucking need for this, we don’t need a backup for at least a year, you don’t draft in advance for a backup QB. Wasted pick when there was a shitload of talent on the board. Trade the fuck back and get multiple players with talent and a chance to make the team. This was a completely fucking wasted pick.

Overall grade C+
If we pretend like the mcsorley pick never happened it becomes a B+ based on average.

Overall analysis: the ravens got better with this draft. We found perhaps the biggest offensive playmaker in this class, we found a starting LG who, contrary to popular belief, should be a dream fit in this system of moving parts, we found 2 potential cornerstone players in day 3 at high value positions, we found a spark plug playmaker at RB which was a need, and a high ceiling edge rusher with some risk to him. The real sour part to me was trading up for Boykin when I saw the amount of talent that fell to the sixth. It felt unnecessary to move up for him specifically, and it felt unnecessary to move up for a WR period at that point. But after this draft we’ve plugged a lot of holes with some upside players, we got great value for the most part, and we’re building a strong identity of an ultra speedy run first offense with an exotic block scheme, and defense that’s gonna knock the shit out of you up front and stick to your ass like glue on the back end for years to come, jaylon Ferguson was a player I did not like, but in winks scheme I imagine he could be used pretty damn well, on dimes and nickels and exotic packages, if you put him at the edge and Mack at the 3, you have a really nasty tandem of snap-jumpers with ferocious bullrush.

Didn’t love all the players, and while Boykin should be a decent enough player(really I don’t hate the player) I hated the value of his pick, but big picture this draft has me excited. All picks felt like identity picks, like statement picks. Going into this draft we looked totally barren on offense aside from lamar and 2 TEs, and just over 3 days we turned into what looks like a potential powerhouse with a rushing attack like we have never seen before, and our defensive dominance should continue. The browns and Steelers bailed their drafts, but I guarantee you they aren’t excited about what we did this offseason.

Favorite pick: daylon Mack.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
I kind of wonder if we didn’t value the 6ths very much this year (which would go against everything the ravens had said which is that this is a super deep class) but this may have been a pick to help with rookie minicamp and adding a camp arm with a not entirely dissimilar play style to Lamar and rgiii
 

Charm City

Pro Bowler
If you view McSorley as a QB then he grades very poorly. If you view him as an athletic ST captain and Swiss army knife on offense like Taysom Hill then he grades out very well
 

cobrajet

Hall of Famer
The two things that upset me the most last year was 1. Our shit interior line with Skura and Hurst/Lewis 2. Weddle’s lack of speed closing on receivers. We addressed free safety in free agency by letting Weddle go and picking up Earl Thomas, who I am super hyped about. That left me super stoked for this draft to FINALLY fill in the two shitty holes on the offensive line. The main freaking thing I cared about!!!!!!!

What did we do to address this? Not a God Damn Thing!!!!! If we would have taken Conner McGovern in the third I would have been fine. Just give me someone that I trust would be better than freaking Skura. We go out in free agency and pick up smashmouth Ingram from the Saints, who I like a lot, and we do shit to address the fact that Skura gets pushed back so often I call him Mr. Reverse. And don’t give me we picked up Ben Powers, because I am not freaking impressed one bit!

Eric DeCosta gets an a big grade of “F” from me.....as in “he can go F himself” for not fixing our shitty freaking offensive line. Oh, yeah I will say it, we also got shit depth to on our offensive line. Let there be a big injury or two and watch how shitty this season will become.

We got that speedster Hollywood at Number 1....Just wonderful...we can use him in the slot because with Skura at Center getting pushed back into our quarterback you can forget about having enough freaking time for a go-route to develop.

Yeah, I am wearing my heart on my sleeve right now and don’t feel like sugar coating it. I am pretty pissed off right now over this draft. The biggest freaking need on this team and DeCosta does not do shit about it!!!!! WTF!!!!!!
 
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DeVito52

Ravens Ring of Honor
Mr. reverse lol

If boze can step up and powers wins a spot on the line we will be fine. Skura and hurst as depth is fine. We might find more depth after some cuts as well. I think at worst, hurst will be starting and skura will be on the bench, which I can live with.
 

DeVito52

Ravens Ring of Honor
The sheer speed that could be on the field for our offense is amazing to think about.

I’d say a pretty good draft at first glance. As we all know we really have no clue how it’ll turn out at this point. There will be surprises, both good and bad. Just gotta hope for the best.
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
The two things that upset me the most last year was 1. Our shit interior line with Skura and Hurst/Lewis 2. Weddle’s lack of speed closing on receivers. We addressed free safety in free agency by letting Weddle go and picking up Earl Thomas, who I am super hyped about. That left me super stoked for this draft to FINALLY fill in the two shitty holes on the offensive line. The main freaking thing I cared about!!!!!!!

What did we do to address this? Not a God Damn Thing!!!!! If we would have taken Conner McGovern in the third I would have been fine. Just give me someone that I trust would be better than freaking Skura. We go out in free agency and pick up smashmouth Ingram from the Saints, who I like a lot, and we do shit to address the fact that Skura gets pushed back so often I call him Mr. Reverse. And don’t give me we picked up Ben Powers, because I am not freaking impressed one bit!

Eric DeCosta gets an a big grade of “F” from me.....as in “he can go F himself” for not fixing our shitty freaking offensive line. Oh, yeah I will say it, we also got shit depth to on our offensive line. Let there be a big injury or two and watch how shitty this season will become.

We got that speedster Hollywood at Number 1....Just wonderful...we can use him in the slot because with Skura at Center getting pushed back into our quarterback you can forget about having enough freaking time for a go-route to develop.

Yeah, I am wearing my heart on my sleeve right now and don’t feel like sugar coating it. I am pretty pissed off right now over this draft. The biggest freaking need on this team and DeCosta does not do shit about it!!!!! WTF!!!!!!
Ben Powers is an upgrade
 

Oldfaithful

Hall of Famer
Mr. reverse lol

If boze can step up and powers wins a spot on the line we will be fine. Skura and hurst as depth is fine. We might find more depth after some cuts as well. I think at worst, hurst will be starting and skura will be on the bench, which I can live with.
These are my thoughts. Bozeman should and will be starting. Even if Bozeman and Powers are nothing special, which they aren't.... They're significant upgrades.
 

Dom McRaven

Hall of Famer
Meltdowns are reserved for heat of the moment things, when they make a pick that isn’t the exact player I want so I want to murder the entire FO. No meltdowns after having hours(and days) to think on it
No fuck that! Meltdowns are timeless! Fuck wrong with you?!?!?!
 

cobrajet

Hall of Famer
Ben Powers is an upgrade
I see Bleacher Report gives Powers a Round 5 backup grade to him. Said he is lacking in short yardage situations and his feet get heavy. Said he has good upper body strength but lacks lower body strength. If the plan is Stanley, Powers, Bozeman, Yanda, Zeus Jr. That may possibly work out to be an upgrade. Is this what you are seeing? I am still skeptical brother. I may need more convincing because I am still bummed out about the lack of a bonafide upgrade offensive lineman taken in this draft. No, that’s a lie, I am still very pissed off.
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
I see Bleacher Report gives Powers a Round 5 backup grade to him. Said he is lacking in short yardage situations and his feet get heavy. Said he has good upper body strength but lacks lower body strength. If the plan is Stanley, Powers, Bozeman, Yanda, Zeus Jr. That may possibly work out to be an upgrade. Is this what you are seeing? I am still skeptical brother. I may need more convincing because I am still bummed out about the lack of a bonafide upgrade offensive lineman taken in this draft. No, that’s a lie, I am still very pissed off.
Sounds accurate but lacking. No mention of his great awareness and eye focus in pass pro and assignment blocks, inside zones, traps, counters, pulls, etc. basically all the shit roman loves to do, is where powers shines as a run blocker. He isn’t a powerful drive blocker, but it’s ok. Powers is gonna land glancing blows on pulls sometimes, but effectively, he isn’t a guy that’s gonna get a full head of steam and piledrive your head through your asshole, but he is capable, and in assignment blocking he can be brilliant at times with his positioning, downblocking, pickups, etc.

I’ve said this a lot, and I’ll say it again... I think with skura and Lewis and hurst we have been so damn shellshocked by any G that isn’t a powerhouse who could push over a goddamn building that we forget some things... first of all, that’s not yanda either, yanda is an assignment blocker, he is smart and nifty and aware with a little more than the prerequisite power to succeed in the nfl, but he’s no KO, he’s no Quenton Nelson in the power department, he is a tactical blocker who knows the best way to beat you, and that’s often got more to do with helping his teammates block and then finding the next key defender to eliminate, it’s got a lot to do with using a defenders momentum against them, that’s what REALLY works best in romans scheme, not just a drive blocker who hunkers down and pushes downfield, but guys who can execute assignments and combo block and chain blocks together on one snap with positioning and timing. I think that’s why bradbury got way too much flack, and I think powers is another case of the same.

That said, I preferred Phil Haynes, and I wanna know wtf was up with Beau... but yeah, my guy was Nate davis and the Titans stole him 3 picks in front but we were gonna pass anyway, and then we took powers over Haynes which pissed me off, but powers looks like he’s got a place in the nfl, it’s the mental aspect of his game, I see him do a lot of things that remind me of a yanda or zack Martin, frankly I think yanda is the perfect player to teach him because he’s got some intangibles like yanda has that give him room to grow into something solid
 

cobrajet

Hall of Famer
Sounds accurate but lacking. No mention of his great awareness and eye focus in pass pro and assignment blocks, inside zones, traps, counters, pulls, etc. basically all the shit roman loves to do, is where powers shines as a run blocker. He isn’t a powerful drive blocker, but it’s ok. Powers is gonna land glancing blows on pulls sometimes, but effectively, he isn’t a guy that’s gonna get a full head of steam and piledrive your head through your asshole, but he is capable, and in assignment blocking he can be brilliant at times with his positioning, downblocking, pickups, etc.

I’ve said this a lot, and I’ll say it again... I think with skura and Lewis and hurst we have been so damn shellshocked by any G that isn’t a powerhouse who could push over a goddamn building that we forget some things... first of all, that’s not yanda either, yanda is an assignment blocker, he is smart and nifty and aware with a little more than the prerequisite power to succeed in the nfl, but he’s no KO, he’s no Quenton Nelson in the power department, he is a tactical blocker who knows the best way to beat you, and that’s often got more to do with helping his teammates block and then finding the next key defender to eliminate, it’s got a lot to do with using a defenders momentum against them, that’s what REALLY works best in romans scheme, not just a drive blocker who hunkers down and pushes downfield, but guys who can execute assignments and combo block and chain blocks together on one snap with positioning and timing. I think that’s why bradbury got way too much flack, and I think powers is another case of the same.

That said, I preferred Phil Haynes, and I wanna know wtf was up with Beau... but yeah, my guy was Nate davis and the Titans stole him 3 picks in front but we were gonna pass anyway, and then we took powers over Haynes which pissed me off, but powers looks like he’s got a place in the nfl, it’s the mental aspect of his game, I see him do a lot of things that remind me of a yanda or zack Martin, frankly I think yanda is the perfect player to teach him because he’s got some intangibles like yanda has that give him room to grow into something solid
Yeah, I admit I know nothing about zone blocking schemes. I just love power. That is why I was high on Jenkins. Quentin Nelson was one of my favorite draft prospects in a long time. He reminds me of John Hannah, which is high praise. You all would have hated me if I was the GM because I would have way overpaid in draft stock to get him.
 
If you view McSorley as a QB then he grades very poorly. If you view him as an athletic ST captain and Swiss army knife on offense like Taysom Hill then he grades out very well

Idk why we would even need such a player at all.
On top, you got to think Dehsaun Davis, Ulysses Gilbert, Jalen Jelks were selected after him. And they will all for sure play ST while providing precious depth to the ILB/DE groups.
I wish I could see the value, but I truly don't.
 
e only reached the 3rd qr of the LSU game and I still can't believe Willis went undrafted. He's been absolutely stunning so far.
Doesn't seem as physical as one would imagine, given the size, but man..he's breaking havocs and can move laterally.
 
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