The Baltimore Ravens are still in desperate need of wide receivers after the first wave of free agency. Baltimore made no moves to bolster their incredibly thin wide receiver corps, likely meaning they’ll look to the 2019 NFL draft to remedy the issue.
As I did last season, I’ve used FanSpeak’s mock draft simulator to do an all-WR mock draft. I won’t make any trades and I have to pick a wide receiver on the board with each selection. While this is incredibly unlikely to happen in real life, it’s a good primer for what options the Ravens could be looking at for each round.
I use the CBS Sports big board and FanSpeak’s team needs to do my mock draft. Let’s dive into the 2019 all-WR mock draft for Baltimore.
First round – No. 22: A.J. Brown, Ole Miss
Only D.K. Metcalf was off the board by this point, giving me a wide selection to choose from. But I chose Brown because he’s consistent and hard to get down with the ball in his hands.
I believe a player like Brown is exactly what the Ravens need. He’s big at 6-foot and 226 pounds, still plenty fast with a 4.49 40-yard dash, pretty sure-handed and is a solid route runner. Given how often Baltimore has talked about looking for wide receivers willing and capable of blocking, Brown is an ideal fit in the Ravens’ run-heavy scheme.
He’ll quickly become a security blanket for quarterback Lamar Jackson that can get extra yards after the catch by bouncing off would-be tacklers.
Third round – No. 85: Andy Isabella, Massachusetts
Isabella is almost the polar opposite of Brown. He’s smaller at 5-foot-9 and 188 pounds. But with the smaller frame comes ridiculous speed, with a 4.31 40-yard dash.
Some see Isabella only as a slot option thanks to his size, but he’s shown the ability to work the outside as a deep threat well. Spending the offseason working with Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss on things like footwork and route running, Isabella is a guy I think can make a surprising impact early on when put into favorable matchups either inside or outside.
Isabella also adds value on special teams where he’d likely become the de facto return specialist for the Ravens.
Third round – No. 102: Miles Boykin, Notre Dame
Boykin is exactly what every team looks for physically out of a wide receiver. He’s got the size 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds while being a freak athlete. He posted up a 4.42 40-yard dash (No. 9 among WRs at the combine), 43.5 vertical jump (No. 1), 140-inch broad jump (2nd), 6.77-second 3-cone drill (1st) and 4.07 20-yard shuttle (3rd).
However, Boykin is still really raw. He needs to improve on his route running, focus drops and beating press coverage. Short story — Boykin’s a developmental prospect with all the physical tools the Ravens would want. In a way, he’s almost like Breshad Perriman in that regard, just not in the first round where he’d be asked to produce immediately.
If he can tap into that potential, Boykin could be nearly unstoppable at all three levels of the field. But as a project in the third round, he’d be a guy Baltimore could take their time with developing him while putting him into matchups he can win as a rotational option early on.
Fourth round – No. 113: Jalen Hurd, Baylor
Hurd, a former running back, is a big guy who can do things with the ball in his hands. Like Boykin, Hurd is pretty raw in his route running and needs to work on catching the football a little better.
However, in the fourth round, Hurd is a developmental prospect that could offer immediate upside in the red zone. At 6-foot-5, Hurd is a huge target and if given the ball with a little room to run, can either make defenders miss or power his way into the end zone.
Fourth round – No. 123: Hunter Renfrow, Clemson
Renfrow is a prospect who will likely do well early on but offers limited upside. At 5-foot-10 and with a 4.59 40-yard dash, Renfrow doesn’t bring anything special to the table. What you see from his film is pretty much his ceiling.
However, Renfrow is a great route runner and catches everything. For a Baltimore team that has struggled to catch the ball in recent years, Renfrow would be an immediate asset and breath of fresh air. He’d also be a security option behind slot receiver Willie Snead for injury or when his contract finishes after the 2019 season.
Fifth round – No. 160: Gary Jennings Jr., West Virginia
At this point in the draft, I’m looking for developmental prospects who have the physical skills to be big players but are raw. Jennings fits that mold perfectly. Jennings stands at 6-foot-1 but posted up really solid results at the NFL scouting combine. His 4.42-second 40-yard dash, (ninth), 20 reps in the bench press (fifth), 127-inch broad jump (seventh) and 4.15-second 20-yard shuttle (sixth) shows he’s one of the most athletic wide receivers in this draft.
Jennings is able to create big plays down the field and with the ball in his hands. While he projects as a possession receiver, he’s pretty raw when it comes to running routes and isn’t quick enough to create separation. Meaning he’ll struggle to get open unless he fine tunes his route running and gets savvier on his technique.
But there’s a huge upside for Jennings if he can do those things to become a high-target option in the Ravens’ scheme.
Sixth round – No. 191: Jazz Ferguson, Northwestern State
Ferguson is another physical freak at 6-foot-5 while running a 4.45 40-yard dash. Like everyone around this point in the draft, he’s a developmental project that will need time to work his technique to match his physical gifts.
But Ferguson is a player who can take the top off the defense, make contested catches and is a huge target. He needs to improve his route running and stop focus drops but could be a big weapon on the outside and in the red zone as a jump-ball target.
Sixth round – No. 193: Johnnie Dixon, Ohio State
Dixon is one of the fastest wide receivers in this draft, posting a 4.41 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, which was good enough to rank eighth among his group. He’s been prolific for Ohio State, catching 16 touchdowns over the last two years on just 60 receptions.
Dixon has trouble creating separation and needs to improve his route running. But he has the quickness and straight-line speed needed to play both inside and outside in the NFL. Dixon also offers upside as a gunner and returner on special teams, which is something the Ravens love.
