Less than two months removed from the 2019 NFL draft, teams are already looking ahead to next April. Draft Wire has already begun their look at the 2020 NFL draft and what prospects could be available early on.
Using the Super Bowl odds to help determine final draft order, Luke Easterling put together a two-round 2020 mock draft. In it, the Baltimore Ravens hold the No. 15 and No. 47 overall selections.
In the first round (No. 15), the Ravens select Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith.
It’s an interesting selection considering Smith’s medical history. Smith has had consistent issues with blood clots while at Tennessee that have kept him off the field. However, coach Jeremy Pruitt gave an update about Smith’s condition and provided glowing reviews on his status ahead of the 2019 season.
“He’s probably in the best shape of his life,” Pruitt said, per Knoxville News Sentinel’s Mike Wilson. “When we got here, he weighed 360 pounds. Now, he weighs 321. He does absolutely everything everyone on our team does. The only thing he doesn’t do is have contact. So that goes along with the medicine he’s taking.
“He’s working hard along with his family and his doctors to create a plan for him to hopefully one day be able to resume playing at Tennessee.”
The hope is Smith has better control over his health now and will be able to start every game at Tennessee at left tackle. But luckily, Baltimore would have some time to let Smith ride the bench, learn and further get his health under control.
The Ravens picked up left tackle Ronnie Stanley’s fifth-year option this offseason. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent after the 2020 season, giving Smith a year to develop.
Still, if Smith continues to have medical concerns, it’ll almost assuredly drop him out of the first round and potentially out of the 2020 draft entirely. However, Easterling has a number of other offensive linemen going shortly after Baltimore’s pick at No. 15, leaving options open.
Check out the next page to see who Draft Wire has the Ravens taking in the second round.
In the second round (No. 47) of Draft Wire’s 2020 NFL mock draft, the Ravens select Auburn defensive lineman Nick Coe.
Coe is just one cog in a deep and productive Auburn defensive front. In two seasons, Coe has nine sacks (seven in 2018), and 18 of his 30 tackles have been for loss. If Coe can continue to develop and improve in 2019, he could be one of the more productive defensive linemen in this draft class.
As was the case from the first round, Baltimore loves picking up talent in the trenches. Michael Pierce and Willie Henry are set to hit free agency after this season, and Brandon Williams could be a salary cap casualty in 2021, the final year of his contract. Coe is listed as a defensive end currently but could be moved around under defensive coordinator Don Martindale to fill a number of roles on the defensive line or potentially even be used at outside linebacker.
Drafting more defensive talent early would be a wise decision for a team known for their defensive prowess. It would allow the Ravens to restock their depth chart along the offensive line and potentially make up for the losses of Pierce and Henry. As an edge rusher, Coe would also help boost Baltimore’s pass rush, which saw a number of players leave in free agency this offseason.
As the season starts and wears on, we’ll have a better idea of which players are beginning to separate themselves for the 2020 NFL draft. It’s improbable this mock draft will be perfect, but it’s a great exercise to learn some names and figure out which players might be worth paying extra attention to this year.
