2012 Ravens Draft Thread

[TACKLE]

Originally Posted by coordinator0

If we don't get Konz in the first round who is your next on your wishlist? I'm torn between Jones and Brewster. If we're dedicated to running a zone-blocking scheme then Brewster is probably a better fit but if not then Jones would be my top option. I know there are high opinions of Blake and Molk but both have their issues (Blake being older and Molk being short and a Wolverine). Brewster's stock seems to be falling a bit too and if we could get him in the 3rd round that might be my ideal solution to the C position, assuming we don't get Konz.

Phillip Blake would be my choice or ideally Amini Silatolu if they felt they could teach him to play center.

[A Perfect Score]

Originally Posted by TACKLE

Phillip Blake would be my choice or ideally Amini Silatolu if they felt they could teach him to play center.

I'm not huge on the way Blake anchors, personally. I think he's going to get muscled in the NFL, especially by the bigger DTs. He's gaining steam as a prospect though, he's Mayock's #2 rated C as of today. I'd be alright with him in the third, but I wouldn't want him in the second.

Brewster is massively overrated, I don't want him anywhere near our offensive line.

Ben Jones out of Georgia is a guy I do like. He's probably got a late second round value right now, and I think I'd be ok with him there. He's got some mobility issues, especially in comparison to someone like Blake, but he's a mean, physical interior guy who might add a little fire to the inside of our offensive line.

[A Perfect Score]

The more I've been thinking the more I've soured on many of the prospects that are routinely mocked to us. Going back over Konz's tape, he's not quite the prospect I originally thought he might be. Tough as nails, but he's not quite up there in the Alex Mack/Nick Mangold territory as far as C prospects go. He really struggled at times to effectively move guys into the second level and while I love is mobility, I saw him struggle to identify and pick up guys in space on more then one occasion. I wouldn't be unhappy with him, but I'd be far from stoked. Same goes for guys like Hightower and even Jeffery, who I like. Something is just off this year in the draft, and I'm thinking it's because our needs match very poorly with the perceived value at our draft slot. The more I think, the more I find myself hoping that a Courtney Upshaw or Melvin Ingram fall to us.

[TACKLE]

Originally Posted by A Perfect Score

I'm not huge on the way Blake anchors, personally. I think he's going to get muscled in the NFL, especially by the bigger DTs. He's gaining steam as a prospect though, he's Mayock's #2 rated C as of today. I'd be alright with him in the third, but I wouldn't want him in the second.

huh? Where are you getting this from? He's 320, has a really thick lower body and squats over 650lbs. You are LITERALLY the only person I've ever heard say that. In fact his lower body strength and ability to anchor is widely regarded as the greatest strength.

[GoRavens]

TOP 10 OLB PROSPECTS

4 1st round caliber prospects
COURTNEY UPSHAW
MELVIN INGRAM
NICK PERRY
WHITNEY MERCILUS

3 rounds 2-4 prospects
ANDRE BRANCH
VINNY CURRY
BRUCE IRVIN

3 round 6-7 prospects
ADRIAN HAMILTON
JONATHAN MASSAQUOI
BRANDON LINDSEY

All ten of these selected players would translate best onto the Ravens defense. After watching the Giants win the SuperBowl, Baltimore soon realized how badly their defense could use a Giants-esque type, explosive athletic pass rushers. No denying Suggs as an animal, but Jarrett Johnson is a free agent, and even if the team re-signs him, a situational edge rush is needed deep within games.
Ideally, my top three is as followed (Assuming Upshaw is gone by now)
3) Bruce Irvin
2) Nick Perry
1) Melvin Ingram
Ingram is arguably the most versatile and most disruptive defensive prospect in the draft. Although he's a weakness in coverage, he makes up for it by possessing a great motor and a strong physical bull rush.

[Sloopy]

I encourage you all to check out my latest 4 round mock draft :)

http://draftcountdown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51453

[TACKLE]

Familiarize yourselves. Sloop and I are both big fans and have been hyping this guy for a while. Depending on the board, I think trading back into the early 2nd and taking this guy is the best plan of action. Word is he's not getting outside the top 45.

[coordinator0]

Glenn, Zeitler, Silatolu, Osemele, Brooks, or Washington would be ideal. Washington seems to have fallen off quite a bit though.

[Sloopy]

+Rep for finding that video, I had been looking for awhile.

Don't have time to watch this entire video as I am away at a wedding this weekend but what I've seen here has only reaffirmed what I already thought of this guy.

Kind of reminds me a little bit of Grubbs.

Strong and athletic enough to pull. Isn't some huge mauler type but can certainly grind it out in the run game and his ability to pull through the hole is unreal. Fits the MO of where we are going with our OL.

Won't have the feet to play LT at the NFL level but should be a hyper-athletic guard. Dominated his level of competition and should warrant a 2nd round pick.

We may fall right at the top of his range with our 2nd round pick (although he appears to be rising). Probably fits in right behind Z and Osemele on most boards (I would still prefer him over Osemele though).

This guy is my ideal round 2 pick and if we manage to land him there I would venture to say he has the potential to be better than whatever we land in the first round.

[GoRavens]

1st) Melvin Ingram, LOLB.
2nd) Kelechi Osemele, LG.
3rd) Robert Turbin, RB.
4th) Tommy Streeter, WR.
5th) Jerry Frankin, ILB.

[A Perfect Score]

Originally Posted by GoRavens

1st) Melvin Ingram, LOLB.
2nd) Kelechi Osemele, LG.
3rd) Robert Turbin, RB.
4th) Tommy Streeter, WR.
5th) Jerry Frankin, ILB.

This would be a perfect draft for us and I'd be oh so happy with it, but I doubt that we get either Ingram or Osemele with our respective picks.

[coordinator0]

We're on of the teams that Kirkpatrick is visiting. If we feel like we're going to lose Webb and/or Williams it makes sense but I haven't paid close attention to Kirkpatrick as a prospect. I know he's a pretty good player but does he fit well in our mostly man-coverage system?

[A Perfect Score]

Originally Posted by coordinator0

We're on of the teams that Kirkpatrick is visiting. If we feel like we're going to lose Webb and/or Williams it makes sense but I haven't paid close attention to Kirkpatrick as a prospect. I know he's a pretty good player but does he fit well in our mostly man-coverage system?

I'm not a fan, personally. Wasn't really consistent at Alabama and he's one of those guys who may still be feeling the residual effects of the high school hype. He's got all the athletic talent in the world, but the on field reports don't really live up to that. Combine that with the off-field character concerns and I'm not as high on him as I was Jimmy Smith. They're actually oddly similar players but I don't love Kirkpatrick in press-man nearly as much as I loved Jimmy.

Really talented guy, but I don't see him as a Raven. Really, really don't expect him to be there when we pick either.

[coordinator0]

Originally Posted by A Perfect Score

I'm not a fan, personally. Wasn't really consistent at Alabama and he's one of those guys who may still be feeling the residual effects of the high school hype. He's got all the athletic talent in the world, but the on field reports don't really live up to that. Combine that with the off-field character concerns and I'm not as high on him as I was Jimmy Smith. They're actually oddly similar players but I don't love Kirkpatrick in press-man nearly as much as I loved Jimmy.

Really talented guy, but I don't see him as a Raven. Really, really don't expect him to be there when we pick either.

Probably not at 29 but if a team like the Bengals signs Webb then we would be in a good position to take him. I'm not too worried about the Patriots signing him since they don't have a lot of cap space available at the moment.

[A Perfect Score]

Originally Posted by coordinator0

Probably not at 29 but if a team like the Bengals signs Webb then we would be in a good position to take him. I'm not too worried about the Patriots signing him since they don't have a lot of cap space available at the moment.

If we lost Webb, that would change the dynamic significantly. I'd really hate replacing a guy on the back end of a breakout year with a rookie though. That'd be a big blow to us for next year.

The more I think about it, the more I dislike the options likely to be there for us at 29. Trading back might not be a terrible idea this year, unless someone incredibly tempting falls to us.

[GoRavens]

We won't go CB in the first.
Nor will we go O-Line, due to great depth in round 2.
I see either a stud pass rusher, Donta Hightower, or maybe even a WR considering the playmakers available.
- Alshon Jeffrey and Stephen Hill may very well still be available.
However, I like Brian Quick/Tommy Streeter better

[coordinator0]

Originally Posted by A Perfect Score

If we lost Webb, that would change the dynamic significantly. I'd really hate replacing a guy on the back end of a breakout year with a rookie though. That'd be a big blow to us for next year.

The more I think about it, the more I dislike the options likely to be there for us at 29. Trading back might not be a terrible idea this year, unless someone incredibly tempting falls to us.

I wouldn't like it either but there's not much of a choice. Smith and Williams would start with whoever as the nickel corner. Still not a bad group, but not a really good one either.

Originally Posted by GoRavens

We won't go CB in the first.
Nor will we go O-Line, due to great depth in round 2.
I see either a stud pass rusher, Donta Hightower, or maybe even a WR considering the playmakers available.
- Alshon Jeffrey and Stephen Hill may very well still be available.
However, I like Brian Quick/Tommy Streeter better

If Webb signs elsewhere I could see the team going with a CB in the first round. Kirkpatrick, Gilmore, Jenkins (ehh...) would all present decent value at our pick. Saying we're not going with an OL with the first pick doesn't seem like a statement you should be too confident in. Sure there will be guys available in the 2nd round but there could be some very nice prospects at 29 too. I highly doubt the team targets Stephen Hill.

[A Perfect Score]

I think it's very likely we end up with one of Mike Adams, Cordy Glenn or Jonathon Martin come April. Whichever one slips could find their way into a Ravens uniform. I really like Mike Adams and I guess I wouldn't hate Cordy Glenn, but Jonathon Martin is very overrated and definitely not worth pick #29.

[niel89]

There are about 4 OL picks I would be happy with at our pick. I'm good with Martin, Adams, Glenn, or Konz. Hopefully one of them will be there at our pick. I'm still not sure if Glenn is a LT but he would be a good G anyways.

[Sloopy]

Originally Posted by coordinator0

We're on of the teams that Kirkpatrick is visiting. If we feel like we're going to lose Webb and/or Williams it makes sense but I haven't paid close attention to Kirkpatrick as a prospect. I know he's a pretty good player but does he fit well in our mostly man-coverage system?

Dre certainly has the athleticism and body type to play in our system. A big, tall CB who shouldn't have any trouble coming up and pressing.

However, if we took him, I really like the idea of him moving to safety in the future and being a successor to Ed Reed when he finally retires.

I would openly support this pick, even if Webb didn't leave and he some how fell to 29.

Depending on who else is available obviously, but I myself might prefer him over a guy like Konz who I have my own doubts about or even Martin who I dislike immensely.

While I wouldn't be opposed to most receivers in round one, I would probably prefer Dre over most of them with the (Realistic) exception being maybe Wright or possibly Hill.

OLB is a possibility in round one, but I doubt a top guys falls to us and I personally feel a lot of these pass rushers are 2nd round talents who are being pushed into the first due to positional value. I might take an Ingram or Upshaw over Dre

Fact is that Dre is a top 15 talent who has the possibility of falling to us, I'd be all for taking him.

Originally Posted by GoRavens

We won't go CB in the first.
Nor will we go O-Line, due to great depth in round 2.
I see either a stud pass rusher, Donta Hightower, or maybe even a WR considering the playmakers available.
- Alshon Jeffrey and Stephen Hill may very well still be available.
However, I like Brian Quick/Tommy Streeter better

Couldn't disagree more.

I've already stated why I would be in favor of Dre over certain other prospects.

The OL depth in this draft is great but I doubt we would pass on a guy like Glenn just because we could take someone else later or if someone like the Bengals took our first round tender on Webb, and by some chance DeCastro falls to us at that pick.

I do agree that Jeffery is on the lower end of my list of preferred prospects with Hill not being all that much higher

[villagewarrior]

I filled out a mock draft and when the Ravens came up Konz, Kendall Wright, and Osemele were the top players available. Is the consensus among Ravenites Konz?

[A Perfect Score]

Originally Posted by villagewarrior

I filled out a mock draft and when the Ravens came up Konz, Kendall Wright, and Osemele were the top players available. Is the consensus among Ravenites Konz?

I'm not a huge Kendall Wright fan, but I think in that scenario he's probably the pick simply because he's probably viewed as the BPA to Konz. However, I guess it wouldn't shock me if we went O-Line isntead, especially with us bringing in Torrey Smith last year and being ******* ancient and awful up front.

[coordinator0]

That's an interesting situation. I think Wright would be the pick but if the team thinks Konz can fill in at LG they might go with him.

[Sloopy]

Wright would be the pick in my book.

I actually have Konz right in the middle of our ideal picks; below top OTs, OGs, ILBs, CBs and WRs (Wright) and just above settling for a player like Alshon or Zeitler.

A trade down might even be preferable to him in my book.

I'm just not sold on him as a first round center. He certainly isn't on the level of some of the centers who have gone in the first round lately.

People also seem to underestimate the fact that he has never completed an entire season without injury (12-13 games). This should be raising more concerns than it is amongst draftniks about his ability to stand up to an NFL season (16-20 game season)

[niel89]

I'd be more inclined to take Konz because he could slide to LG for a year and then take over C after. I just think that Konz is a good fit for the short and long term. I wouldn't be against a trade down however if its available.