tight ends never seem to get any first round hype, and the ones that get the hype always end up going way later than expected.
mark andrews being probably the best TE prospect ive ever scouted, still not getting first round buzz, but do you all consider him a first rounder?
i say, without question, yes, especially for us, and heres why: maxx williams is looking more and more like a bust. he gets so many snaps, but almost exclusively as a blocker, targets are not schemed, he does not seem to earn targets, on the incredibly rare occasion he IS targeted he tends to make good use of it but then gets up and limps off the field and is gone for the game. nick boyle is a non factor, i dont know why we target him over maxx so often, on occasion he hurdles a tackler but thats it, hes slow as molasses and an average catcher and quite frankly inferior to maxx as a blocker. thank god for ben watson is all i can say.
1. every year expecting watson to return and be productive is optimistic, with him gone TE becomes potentially our biggest need on the entire team, so andrews would fill an enormous need.
2. joe flacco has always favored TEs and has not been able to nearly as often in recent years due to lack of talent, joe plays his best when he is able to lean on a quality TE when he isnt able to drive the ball downfield, he does much better moving the chains, dink and dunking, and with redzone shots when using a TE rather than a slot receiver.
3. who realistically is a better talent at any position that we can expect to be available as far back as the late 20s? i cant think of one. i like anthony miller, christian kirk, darius phillips, billy price, orlando brown, and martinas rankin, but i cant say that they wont mostly be available in the 2nd, and i cant say that any are a better talent and/or value and/or need than andrews. and all the other guys i would like in the first i cant reasonably see them being available, rashaan evans, courtland sutton, ronnie harrison, mcglinchey and nelson, a few could fall but they should all go before we pick.
4. of all prospects realistically available in the mid-late 20s, can you name a single prospect who is more safe and represents a bigger upgrade to this team than andrews? thats my number one basis for grading prospects for the ravens, and there arent too many guys in this class that can present more of an upgrade to this franchise for the short and long term than andrews.
