In his first draft as general manager of the Baltimore Ravens, Eric DeCosta has been gifted with a handful of mid-round draft picks. Currently, the Ravens are set to enter the draft with two third round picks (overall selections No. 85 and No. 102) and two fourth round picks (No. 113 and No. 123).
Though the draft is inherently a hit and miss venture — football talent evaluation is far from an exact science — the Ravens have done unusually well for themselves in the mid-rounds of the draft recently. Over the past few draft classes, Baltimore has brought in playmakers such as fullback Kyle Juszczyk, defensive tackle Brandon Williams, defensive end Brent Urban, outside linebacker Matthew Judon and cornerback Tavon Young in the often overlooked mid-rounds of the draft.
Speaking at a pre-draft press conference on Tuesday, DeCosta made it clear that he and the Ravens front office dearly value their upcoming mid-round picks.
Given other remarks given by DeCosta and company at Tuesday’s press conference, it seems as if the Baltimore war room could be looking at addressing the team’s pressing needs at wide receiver and linebacker with these coveted picks.
DeCosta indicated that the team has spent significant time interviewing second-tier linebackers ahead of the draft. Meanwhile, Ravens Director of College Scouting Joe Hortiz said he thought the draft class was deep with talent.
“There’s a lot of wide receivers in this year’s class that have the things you’re looking for,” said Hortiz.
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