The Baltimore Ravens unexpectedly added a new glaring hole on their roster this offseason. With the departure of outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Terrell Suggs, the Ravens went into the 2019 NFL draft absolutely needing to grab at least one pass rusher. And in the third round, Baltimore got the guy tabbed to replace Suggs: Jaylon Ferguson.
Ferguson had broken Suggs’ NCAA sacks record with 45 sacks over his four seasons at Louisiana Tech. That includes 17.5 sacks in 2018. That level of production and upside Ferguson brings to Baltimore’s roster makes him their biggest steal of the 2019 NFL draft, according to Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein had a second-round grade on Ferguson, comparing him to 2018 NFL draft first-round pick (No. 14 overall) Marcus Davenport. Considering the Ravens grabbed Ferguson towards the end of the third round (No. 85 overall), that’s a massive steal.
Easterling also had a second-round grade on Ferguson, ranking him 59th out of the 300 players on his draft board. Easterling also gave Baltimore a “B-plus” grade for the selection of Ferguson.
It’s hard to argue with Ferguson being the Ravens’ biggest draft steal of 2019. He’s expected to get serious playing time this season, likely opposite Matthew Judon. But Ferguson has a ceiling as Suggs’ heir and a three-down linebacker in Baltimore’s defense. If he comes anywhere close to the production of Suggs’ career, Ferguson could have been easily worth a first-round selection.
In Eric DeCosta’s first draft as the Ravens’ general manager, he found some serious value in the middle rounds.
