With the NFL offseason comes mock drafts and speculation about which prospects every team will take. There will be debate and arguments all the way up to the cards being run up to the podium and announced officially. But with the Baltimore Ravens’ needs well established, we have a pretty good idea of which prospects aren’t on their radar for the 2020 NFL Draft.
Or do we?
In reality, no prospects will be ruled out entirely. While we can hone in on a handful of players the Ravens will likely be coveting in the first round, there are always some that shouldn’t be completely dismissed, even if they’d be surprising picks.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at six surprising but plausible prospects Baltimore could pick at No. 28 in the 2020 NFL Draft.
S Grant Delpit, LSU
The Ravens have a handful of key needs to fill this offseason and safety isn’t one of them. After signing Earl Thomas last offseason and handing Chuck Clark a three-year contract extension this offseason, Baltimore is as set at safety as any team in the league.
But just as I did in a recent mock draft, if Delpit is available at No. 28, the Ravens are going to have to give it some serious thought. Thomas could be cut as early as next offseason and getting younger and cheaper there would benefit the team greatly right as they’re trying to re-sign big-name players like Ronnie Stanley, Lamar Jackson and Marlon Humphrey.
T Andrew Thomas, Georgia
There doesn’t seem to be a consensus top tackle in this draft, with the top four options being pretty fluid depending on which draft analyst you ask. For some, Thomas is that No. 1 guy and is expected to come off the board at some point in the first round. Baltimore grabbing Thomas would be a shocker for a few reasons.
The first is that Thomas would last until No. 28 when the Ravens are on the clock. Top tackles are a serious commodity in the NFL — just look at what the Miami Dolphins got for Laremy Tunsil as a prime example — and seeing one last until the end of the first round would shock plenty of people to begin with.
Secondly, it’s not a need for Baltimore in any way. They already have Orlando Brown Jr. on the right side and Ronnie Stanley on the left — both Pro Bowl tackles still on their rookie deals. If selected, Thomas would be left sitting on the bench all season long, barring an injury.
However, there is a little method to the madness here. Stanley is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract and there is absolutely no guarantee the Ravens will be able, or want to afford what he’ll end up costing. By the time Baltimore gets around to giving Stanley a new deal, top tackles could end up at or above $20 million per season with around 50% of their deals guaranteed.
It might not make a lot of sense for the Ravens to automatically assume they won’t be able to re-sign Stanley but it seems like an even worse idea for them to not have a contingency plan there. If Baltimore really loves Thomas and he falls to them, they could surprise everyone by snagging him.
RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin
Running backs just aren’t worth what they were even 10 years ago. In today’s pass-happy NFL, offenses typically want to go with a stable of running backs instead of relying on just one player to carry the load. In the few recent instances where NFL teams have handed a running back a big deal, almost all of them have instantly regretted it.
That mixed with the Ravens already having three running backs they like on the roster make the idea of grabbing Taylor in the first round a stretch.
While the case can be made that Mark Ingram going down with a calf injury killed Baltimore’s playoff aspirations last season, he’s coming off a career year and teams don’t plan for poorly-timed injuries. The Ravens also have Gus Edwards as a backup option they feel good about, and as an ERFA, he’s effectively guaranteed to be back for at least 2020 on a cheap deal. We also can’t forget about Justice Hill, who Baltimore took in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
But the Ravens have been fine shuffling around their backfield over the last few years. While it would be shocking, Baltimore might think highly of Taylor and view him as a new bell-cow back that could start with Ingram being the primary backup to keep everyone fresh for a deep postseason run.
Still, with good running backs likely being available on Day 2 or Day 3 of the 2020 NFL draft, taking one in the first round doesn’t seem very wise given the Ravens’ much bigger needs.
WR Henry Ruggs III, Alabama
For plenty of fans, Ruggs would be the ideal pick for the Ravens in the first round. Given the depth this draft class has at wide receiver, Ruggs is the third-best wide receiver on Draft Wire’s position rankings but could still be viewed as a rare true-No. 1 receiver.
Ruggs is a highly-polished wide receiver with game-changing ability. He’s got the deep speed to force defenses into throwing a safety over the top and has the agility with enough physicality to get open on short routes against press coverage with the speed to make any catch a touchdown. He’d immediately become the Ravens’ top receiver.
But that all sounds a little too good to be true for Baltimore. I’ve yet to see a mock draft that has Ruggs falling down to No. 28 and the Ravens aren’t the type of team that trades up in the first round.
On the flip side, the depth at wide receiver in this draft class might see teams hold off on taking one in the first round, looking at other positions for immediate starters instead. Like we saw last year in another really deep wide receiver class, only two wide receivers came off the board in the first round, with Baltimore picking the first one at No. 25.
It seems unlikely Ruggs falls to the Ravens in the first round but weirder things have happened.
CB C.J. Henderson, Florida
Much like I noted for Delpit above, the Ravens are pretty well set at cornerback right now. They have their starters all set with Tavon Young, Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters all under contract through at least 2021. With other guys like Anthony Averett and Iman Marshall still developing behind those guys, Baltimore doesn’t really have a need at cornerback and certainly not for a first-round talent that undoubtedly wouldn’t start immediately.
But if there’s anything the Ravens have drilled into our heads over the years, it’s that they don’t care too much about their needs in the draft. If they love a player and think he’s a value, they’re going to write his name down on the card and send it to the podium. It’s that mentality that got Baltimore Humphrey in the first place actually.
With the Ravens loving to have depth in their secondary, you can’t rule out any defensive back at any point of the 2020 NFL draft. Though Henderson is expected to be selected late in the first round, it’s Baltimore’s draft board that could determine if he wears purple and black in 2020 or not.
DT Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma
Baltimore went into the 2019 season with just five defensive linemen on their 53-man roster. That ended up biting them thanks to both injuries and some inconsistent play, forcing them to bring in Justin Ellis, Domata Peko and Jihad Ward in the middle of the season. That should make taking a defensive tackle like Gallimore less shocking than it would be. Yet, I think most Ravens fans would be legitimately floored if Gallimore was their first-round pick.
Baltimore has had some success finding and developing defensive linemen later in the draft. By running a 3-4 defense and primarily asking their defensive linemen to eat up space so the linebackers can make the plays, taking one in the first round almost seems like a waste of a pick really.
At the same time, it could be the frustration of last season that forces the Ravens into not ignoring the trenches any longer. Brandon Williams is nearing the end of his contract and Michael Pierce is a pending free agent. Though they took Daylon Mack in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, he got a grand total of nine defensive snaps and was a healthy scratch all but one week before ending his season on injured reserve.
Finding a legitimate starter and eventual heir for Williams could actually be a smart move for the long-term, though it would still be pretty shocking to see it happen with the 28th pick in the draft.
