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Rossi's Big Board and Positional Rankings

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
So here it is. This year I've watched more prospects than I ever have before (292 prospects this year) and have draftable grades on 205.

Context plays a big part of the board though - QBs and RBs in particular are ranked a lot lower than they may be graded for positional reasons and the same can be said for a lot of the safety class and some of TEs. For the most part though, this board takes into account fit for the Ravens (or how I project they'd fit).

Some issues when uploading to the google drive mean that all the highlights etc. and colour coding on the positional ranks are no longer there but ultimately they're not that important.

There are 4 tabs on the document. The first tab is the Big Board from 1-205, the second tab is the positional rankings of only the draftable players, the third tab is the same positional rankings but with a clump of all the undraftable players I'd watched at the bottom of each list (they are not ordered in any way - they're only there to make the totals work), the fourth tab is the first 3 rounds of the draft completely blank (for my reference).

Feel free to peruse and criticise - I encourage all criticisms, reviews, questions.

So without further ado:

Rossihunter2's 2020 NFL DRAFT Ravens PurpleFlock BIG BOARD

 
So here it is. This year I've watched more prospects than I ever have before (292 prospects this year) and have draftable grades on 205.

Context plays a big part of the board though - QBs and RBs in particular are ranked a lot lower than they may be graded for positional reasons and the same can be said for a lot of the safety class and some of TEs. For the most part though, this board takes into account fit for the Ravens (or how I project they'd fit).

Some issues when uploading to the google drive mean that all the highlights etc. and colour coding on the positional ranks are no longer there but ultimately they're not that important.

There are 4 tabs on the document. The first tab is the Big Board from 1-205, the second tab is the positional rankings of only the draftable players, the third tab is the same positional rankings but with a clump of all the undraftable players I'd watched at the bottom of each list (they are not ordered in any way - they're only there to make the totals work), the fourth tab is the first 3 rounds of the draft completely blank (for my reference).

Feel free to peruse and criticise - I encourage all criticisms, reviews, questions.

So without further ado:

Rossihunter2's 2020 NFL DRAFT Ravens PurpleFlock BIG BOARD


So basically, this is a list that you complied as if you were the Ravens GM putting together our draft board? That is a distinct difference from putting together a generic "big board" where players who are not necessarily a fit for us, but could be for other teams, will not rank as highly. It makes sense to do it this way, given our perspective and interest.

Without jumping into the list and just looking top 20, Mims is the one that jumps out as an outlier from the norm. I feel like few are giving him 1st round grade. On the flip, Becton at 21 is top 10 in most of the mocks I've seen.

That said, Ian Rappaport has said that he heard from a GM that this year's mocks are farther off from his view than he's ever seen them. That is in keeping with another analyst who claimed that this is one of the most difficult classes to try to grade and that past the top 10-15, the rank order will vary dramatically from team to team/analyst to analyst and that predicting the outcome is really anyone's guess.

An amazing amount of work you've done, but I'm sure you had fun doing it.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
So basically, this is a list that you complied as if you were the Ravens GM putting together our draft board? That is a distinct difference from putting together a generic "big board" where players who are not necessarily a fit for us, but could be for other teams, will not rank as highly. It makes sense to do it this way, given our perspective and interest.

Without jumping into the list and just looking top 20, Mims is the one that jumps out as an outlier from the norm. I feel like few are giving him 1st round grade. On the flip, Becton at 21 is top 10 in most of the mocks I've seen.

That said, Ian Rappaport has said that he heard from a GM that this year's mocks are farther off from his view than he's ever seen them. That is in keeping with another analyst who claimed that this is one of the most difficult classes to try to grade and that past the top 10-15, the rank order will vary dramatically from team to team/analyst to analyst and that predicting the outcome is really anyone's guess.

An amazing amount of work you've done, but I'm sure you had fun doing it.

For the Ravens, Becton gets dinged quite a lot for being the least natural fit at guard of the top 4 guys and he's more boom-bust than any of the other 3 too...

there's quite a few guys where im against the grain i'd say - (if they're highlighted in green im likely a lot higher on them than the consensus)
 
For the Ravens, Becton gets dinged quite a lot for being the least natural fit at guard of the top 4 guys and he's more boom-bust than any of the other 3 too...

there's quite a few guys where im against the grain i'd say - (if they're highlighted in green im likely a lot higher on them than the consensus)
Ruiz at 17 is starting to sound less and less like a pick that is a lot higher than consensus. It would have been a couple weeks ago, but I feel like he's getting more buzz now. Perhaps that's only because that's around the time that I determined he's my #1 guy among those who have a reasonable shot at being there for us and so now I'm more sensitive to any news I hear around other teams having an possible interest.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
Ruiz at 17 is starting to sound less and less like a pick that is a lot higher than consensus. It would have been a couple weeks ago, but I feel like he's getting more buzz now. Perhaps that's only because that's around the time that I determined he's my #1 guy among those who have a reasonable shot at being there for us and so now I'm more sensitive to any news I hear around other teams having an possible interest.

yeah that makes sense - tbf i've had him higher before but i feel pretty comfortable with where he is currently on the big board
 
For the Ravens, Becton gets dinged quite a lot for being the least natural fit at guard of the top 4 guys and he's more boom-bust than any of the other 3 too...

there's quite a few guys where im against the grain i'd say - (if they're highlighted in green im likely a lot higher on them than the consensus)
2 guys I see high on your list (top 40) that could be there for us late 3rd are Robert Hunt and Isaiah Wilson. I firmly believe we're coming away with at least 2 OL players and I think one of them we'd want to have to be available to push to tackle if needed based on injury (since we have no depth at OT right now). These are guys that are NCAA OTs that are expected to be played at OG, but at least have a shot of being used outside in a pinch.

I think the Ravens will have significant interest in guys on OL that can play multiple positions. The reason why Hurst, with all his flaws, was retained by our organization for such a long time.
 

Simba

Staff Member
Moderator
Just a few stray observations...

Love seeing Prince Tega that high. He's going to need some work, but I'm a big proponent of adding a developmental swing T so we never have to see Andre Smith suit up and actually play for this team.

On the flip side, surprised to see Arnette rated that highly. I didn't do a ton of work on him but came away unimpressed at a quick glance and made him more of a day 3 guy.

Not really a surprise, but the first TE in the 90s... what a poor class
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
2 guys I see high on your list (top 40) that could be there for us late 3rd are Robert Hunt and Isaiah Wilson. I firmly believe we're coming away with at least 2 OL players and I think one of them we'd want to have to be available to push to tackle if needed based on injury (since we have no depth at OT right now). These are guys that are NCAA OTs that are expected to be played at OG, but at least have a shot of being used outside in a pinch.

I think the Ravens will have significant interest in guys on OL that can play multiple positions. The reason why Hurst, with all his flaws, was retained by our organization for such a long time.

Robert Hunt I don't think makes it to late 3rd - he's got a lot of Osemele in his game and while he played at a lower level of competition he's shown enough that he's not a secret - if he's there in the 3rd that's absurd value

Isaiah Wilson I don't see making it past the top of the 2nd round - honestly I wouldn't be surprised if someone reaches on him in the 1st

I think Wilson plays tackle in the pros honestly, while I think Hunt plays guard but with the flexibility to provide cover at 4 spots on the OL

in terms of liking guys who can play multiple spots - i think we saw partly why that was last year - because Ben Powers couldn't get on the actives because he was at best covering 2 spots - position flexibility makes you more likely to be active which has value - unless we can guarantee that you'll be a starter (or think you will be) then your value as a backup is much diminished if you can only play 1 spot
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
Just a few stray observations...

Love seeing Prince Tega that high. He's going to need some work, but I'm a big proponent of adding a developmental swing T so we never have to see Andre Smith suit up and actually play for this team.

On the flip side, surprised to see Arnette rated that highly. I didn't do a ton of work on him but came away unimpressed at a quick glance and made him more of a day 3 guy.

Not really a surprise, but the first TE in the 90s... what a poor class

Prince Tega was a guy i first discovered when watching the edge rushers (he and austin jackson both) - it's always a good start to a grade when I notice you because you're dominating the guy I'm actually watching

Arnette for me was interesting - the combine numbers didnt really make sense when i watched him (so like with a lot of those combine numbers - im basically throwing them out)

I might be too high on him because he may well be maxed out already - but he's a really consistent press man corner who shows patience off the snap to get hands on and re-route and/or bail really effectively - can even drop and play zone from that same type of alignment - but he gives very little away and as a bonus is really physical coming downhill to tackle and in run support - the big question is that 4.56 he ran at the combine because not many corners are going to be successful running that slowly

i honestly think that technically he's a 1st round type talent at corner who plays with good fundamentals, shows high level IQ and really nice technique and patience in press but also some aggression too - but he may well be available a lot later than his tape says he should be (or at least what i see in his tape)

if teams are happy with his speed though, then i really wouldnt be surprised to see him go in the 1st round honestly, the vikings and seahawks would be really nice fits for him stylistically
 
Robert Hunt I don't think makes it to late 3rd - he's got a lot of Osemele in his game and while he played at a lower level of competition he's shown enough that he's not a secret - if he's there in the 3rd that's absurd value

Isaiah Wilson I don't see making it past the top of the 2nd round - honestly I wouldn't be surprised if someone reaches on him in the 1st

I think Wilson plays tackle in the pros honestly, while I think Hunt plays guard but with the flexibility to provide cover at 4 spots on the OL

in terms of liking guys who can play multiple spots - i think we saw partly why that was last year - because Ben Powers couldn't get on the actives because he was at best covering 2 spots - position flexibility makes you more likely to be active which has value - unless we can guarantee that you'll be a starter (or think you will be) then your value as a backup is much diminished if you can only play 1 spot
Yeah I must have been basing that comment on old news or generally bad information because as I look around now, I am seeing both Wilson and Hunt receiving grades in the range of mid 2nd to early 3rd round grades. Expecting to get either of them with our 3rd seems unreasonable.
 

cdp

Ravens Ring of Honor
2 questions regarding LBs:
Why do you have Willie Gay on your board? I removed him because of off-field issues (as you know there have been numerous incidents). Do think our organizations feels comfortable taking a guy like him?

2nd: It seems like not only you but also other members of this board are much higher on Troy Dye than I am.
My pros are: range, quick feet, ok breaks, great upper body strength, he's experienced in covering vertical routes, good anticipation.
Cons: inconsistent tackling, takes bad angles against the run, he's been often washed out of run plays and his legs look like toothpicks (aka skipped leg day).
I don't like drafting a subpackage nickel LB or 4-3 Will, especially if we need a MLB
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
2 questions regarding LBs:
Why do you have Willie Gay on your board? I removed him because of off-field issues (as you know there have been numerous incidents). Do think our organizations feels comfortable taking a guy like him?

2nd: It seems like not only you but also other members of this board are much higher on Troy Dye than I am.
My pros are: range, quick feet, ok breaks, great upper body strength, he's experienced in covering vertical routes, good anticipation.
Cons: inconsistent tackling, takes bad angles against the run, he's been often washed out of run plays and his legs look like toothpicks (aka skipped leg day).
I don't like drafting a subpackage nickel LB or 4-3 Will, especially if we need a MLB

Willie Gay i think is 100% draftable - the only off-field issue that would take someone straight off the ravens board without question is DV or sexual violence - which is why Cephus is undraftable even despite him being acquitted

by all accounts willie gay did great in his combine interviews and assuaged a lot of concerns teams might have had about his suspensions (which are still not official as to why - and rumours are he punched or got in a fight with his QB or something like that)

if the organisation is comfortable with what happened/why it happened/what willie gay's like then i dont see any reason for him not be on the board

id be more worried, honestly about Yetur Gross-Matos and his involvement in the hazing and stuff at Penn St

Troy Dye is interesting because he doesnt jump off the screen but sneaks up on you - he's athletic enough and has range, has maybe the most natural drops in the class but also has a good sense to read - he for sure looks skinny but he plays physical and i think there's room for him to fill out his frame better but even so he still sheds better than both murray and queen who are maybe the only rangier prospects in this class at ILB

he's the kind of guy who i think would fit right in at Mike for us
 

Believe Dat

Practice Squad
I appreciate how different your board is from the media consensus, and frankly like it a lot better than most. Impressive work!
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
I appreciate how different your board is from the media consensus, and frankly like it a lot better than most. Impressive work!

there are bits of it naturally that are affected by some of the early player rankings by media boards (that was how i found who to watch to evaluate) but ultimately most of these rankings are impacted by my thoughts on the player as a pure talent, as an athlete, my thoughts on fit, positional need, etc.

if i go this thorough next year i think i want to watch players without any idea where they've been ranked before i watch
 
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