2022 General Draft Thoughts

I know a lot of people are against drafting an ILB in the first but when I look at our roster there are very few if any spots where a drafted player can become an immediate starter. Bozeman and Elliott will probably walk and Bowser just tore an Achilles which leaves C, FS, EDGE, and Mike LB as the only spots I see as of rn. If Dean is there at 15 idk how we don’t take him considering teams love to get chunk plays in the middle of the field against us and by all accounts he is a smart dude and can take the green dot if chuck leaves at the end of his contract.

JoeyFlex5 said:

I feel very strongly as things stand right now, that one of these top ten talents fall to us and the ravens sprint that card to the podium

Ikem Ekwonu
Andrew Booth Jr
David Ojabo
George Karlaftis
DeMarvin Leal

and that’s who I want, in that order.

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You don’t think Hamilton has a chance to drop to around 10?

Charm City said:

I know a lot of people are against drafting an ILB in the first but when I look at our roster there are very few if any spots where a drafted player can become an immediate starter. Bozeman and Elliott will probably walk and Bowser just tore an Achilles which leaves C, FS, EDGE, and Mike LB as the only spots I see as of rn. If Dean is there at 15 idk how we don’t take him considering teams love to get chunk plays in the middle of the field against us and by all accounts he is a smart dude and can take the green dot if chuck leaves at the end of his contract.

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Also DL if Calais and/or BWills leave (seems likely) and OT if James or Stanley don't recover.

Ive seen Charles Cross mocked highly far more often than Ikem Ekwonu, but have also heard that Ekwonu is a better scheme fit.

If Cross and Ekwonu are the two BPA, which one should we pick?

JAAM said:

You don’t think Hamilton has a chance to drop to around 10?

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Honestly no. He’s too good. He’s “rare”

ChainedBird said:

Ive seen Charles Cross mocked highly far more often than Ikem Ekwonu, but have also heard that Ekwonu is a better scheme fit.

If Cross and Ekwonu are the two BPA, which one should we pick?

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I’d take ekwonu because he is just next level dominant. Cross is an elite pass protector and athlete though

JoeyFlex5 said:

Honestly no. He’s too good. He’s “rare”

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People said the same about James and he dropped to us and we passed. I would never say never honestly.

Dom McRaven said:

Give me a brief analysis of each guy. @JAAM , we may have some #SIIE candidates to review.

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Ekwonu is like quenton Nelson in a body more similar to an OT. Absolutely dominant, KO if KO was an elite athlete.

Andrew booth jr has great ball skills, elite burst, elite movement in all ways imaginable, aggressive, physical, plays like an absolute dog, elite run support and elite coming downhill to tackle.

david ojabo is a freak athlete edge rusher, jaw dropping pass rush moves at times, burst and bend, elite spin move, twitchy as fuck, needs to be stronger at times and hold up better in the run game

George karlaftis is… well he’s a solid white edge defender, I feel like we all know exactly what that means.

Grim said:

People said the same about James and he dropped to us and we passed. I would never say never honestly.

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I thought the same with James and I was stupid high on James but I don’t think these 2 are in the same universe as prospects

Charm City said:

I know a lot of people are against drafting an ILB in the first but when I look at our roster there are very few if any spots where a drafted player can become an immediate starter. Bozeman and Elliott will probably walk and Bowser just tore an Achilles which leaves C, FS, EDGE, and Mike LB as the only spots I see as of rn. If Dean is there at 15 idk how we don’t take him considering teams love to get chunk plays in the middle of the field against us and by all accounts he is a smart dude and can take the green dot if chuck leaves at the end of his contract.

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ChainedBird said:

Also DL if Calais and/or BWills leave (seems likely) and OT if James or Stanley don't recover.

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DL is a need whether Campbell & Williams return or not. We have Justin as our only real young player who could take a major step. Washington seems like JAG to me; potential but I don't expect him to be a #1 starter. We also have Wolfe, who has back injury issues that shut him down the whole year so that's another huge hole on the defensive line. I think DL may be low-key our biggest problem and I want an Edge badly and a CB and even DB but man is our DL bad.

JoeyFlex5 said:

Ekwonu is like quenton Nelson in a body more similar to an OT. Absolutely dominant, KO if KO was an elite athlete.

Andrew booth jr has great ball skills, elite burst, elite movement in all ways imaginable, aggressive, physical, plays like an absolute dog, elite run support and elite coming downhill to tackle.

david ojabo is a freak athlete edge rusher, jaw dropping pass rush moves at times, burst and bend, elite spin move, twitchy as fuck, needs to be stronger at times and hold up better in the run game

George karlaftis is… well he’s a solid white edge defender, I feel like we all know exactly what that means.

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Ojabo looks pretty good from what I saw but I always worry when you have two guys at the same position being touted as going high. It's one of those things where you don't know who is better but usually defer to the widely considered top talent. Ojabo does look really good though, and we do have some nice insight there with the coaching staff.

JoeyFlex5 said:

I thought the same with James and I was stupid high on James but I don’t think these 2 are in the same universe as prospects

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I think it also depends on needs of other teams and what they do. I could definitely see Hamilton be there for us if we wanted him.

JoeyFlex5 said:

I’d take ekwonu because he is just next level dominant. Cross is an elite pass protector and athlete though

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How's Cross as a run-blocker?

JoeyFlex5 said:

Ekwonu is like quenton Nelson in a body more similar to an OT. Absolutely dominant, KO if KO was an elite athlete.

Andrew booth jr has great ball skills, elite burst, elite movement in all ways imaginable, aggressive, physical, plays like an absolute dog, elite run support and elite coming downhill to tackle.

david ojabo is a freak athlete edge rusher, jaw dropping pass rush moves at times, burst and bend, elite spin move, twitchy as fuck, needs to be stronger at times and hold up better in the run game

George karlaftis is… well he’s a solid white edge defender, I feel like we all know exactly what that means.

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Thanks! Got a couple in my candidates list.

ChainedBird said:

Ive seen Charles Cross mocked highly far more often than Ikem Ekwonu, but have also heard that Ekwonu is a better scheme fit.

If Cross and Ekwonu are the two BPA, which one should we pick?

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JoeyFlex5 said:

I’d take ekwonu because he is just next level dominant. Cross is an elite pass protector and athlete though

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I fully agree with Joey on this one. Ekwonu can just outright dominate games. He's the type that can singlehandedly revitalize our line.

Dom McRaven said:

How's Cross as a run-blocker?


Thanks! Got a couple in my candidates list.

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Small sample size because of ms St. offense, but he navigates space incredibly well and uses his hands very well. For a lazy comp he’s a Stanley-esque tackle. Christian darrisaw might be a closer comp. But as far as being “dominant” or “physical” in the run game I’d say nah, he shows some effectiveness within his scheme, but the question is can he be effective in an nfl run game? I’d imagine with him and Stanley as the pair of OTs our screen, sweep, and stretch game could take a huge step forward and we could run such plays without going heavy or 22 personnel, maybe even run these types out of 11 or 1 back 4 wide, we would have a very well moving pair of tackles.

JoeyFlex5 said:

I feel very strongly as things stand right now, that one of these top ten talents fall to us and the ravens sprint that card to the podium

Ikem Ekwonu
Andrew Booth Jr
David Ojabo
George Karlaftis
DeMarvin Leal

and that’s who I want, in that order.

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i love how hard you've come around on Ekwonu already lol

Charm City said:

I know a lot of people are against drafting an ILB in the first but when I look at our roster there are very few if any spots where a drafted player can become an immediate starter. Bozeman and Elliott will probably walk and Bowser just tore an Achilles which leaves C, FS, EDGE, and Mike LB as the only spots I see as of rn. If Dean is there at 15 idk how we don’t take him considering teams love to get chunk plays in the middle of the field against us and by all accounts he is a smart dude and can take the green dot if chuck leaves at the end of his contract.

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um what about DL???
we've got madubuike and washington under contract right now and no one else lol

Grim said:

DL is a need whether Campbell & Williams return or not. We have Justin as our only real young player who could take a major step. Washington seems like JAG to me; potential but I don't expect him to be a #1 starter. We also have Wolfe, who has back injury issues that shut him down the whole year so that's another huge hole on the defensive line. I think DL may be low-key our biggest problem and I want an Edge badly and a CB and even DB but man is our DL bad.

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i like washington but not as a starter - he's a rotational piece i trust to be stout against the run and come in and spell starters

Grim said:

Ojabo looks pretty good from what I saw but I always worry when you have two guys at the same position being touted as going high. It's one of those things where you don't know who is better but usually defer to the widely considered top talent. Ojabo does look really good though, and we do have some nice insight there with the coaching staff.


I think it also depends on needs of other teams and what they do. I could definitely see Hamilton be there for us if we wanted him.

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i often find that when there's 2 really good ones, the less hyped one with the lower stats is often the better one - but things become clearer the further through the process we get

and im jealous of all you guys watching the top prospects - im focussing on the senior bowl guys lol

rossihunter2 said:

i often find that when there's 2 really good ones, the less hyped one with the lower stats is often the better one - but things become clearer the further through the process we get

and im jealous of all you guys watching the top prospects - im focussing on the senior bowl guys lol

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Where have you seen situations where the less touted one was more successful? I’m a little rusty in my memory but I recall situations like Dupree and sort of Smith as one for your argument but also situations of Bosa and the other guy across from him (I forget who) that got hyped. Trying to think of more right now

Grim said:

Where have you seen situations where the less touted one was more successful? I’m a little rusty in my memory but I recall situations like Dupree and sort of Smith as one for your argument but also situations of Bosa and the other guy across from him (I forget who) that got hyped. Trying to think of more right now

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i look somewhat at the miami guys from last year - rousseau and phillips (rousseau came in with top 10/top 15 hype and then people got into the film and he dropped while phillips climbed and eventually went top 20)

jabari zuniga and jonathan greenard sort of (zuniga got all sorts of hype while greenard was more quietly one of my favourite edges that year) although they both got taken in a similar range in the 3rd to each other

ZDS and Dupree is a good example for sure

often was probably the wrong word to use lol - but it's interesting that when you've got 2 talented guys in a pair that one will seem to fade into the background unlike corners where it's normally seen more like a team and a group