In his last draft as general manager, Ozzie Newsome went out on a high note and built what — thus far, at least — appears to be one of the more talented draft classes the Baltimore Ravens have ever had.
By trading down several times in the first round while still managing to acquire a top player at a position of need — tight end Hayden Hurst at pick No. 25 — and a franchise quarterback several picks later — Lamar Jackson at No. 32 — the Ravens’ haul garnered an A-minus grade from NFL.com immediately following the draft in April, and the mark still holds up about 10 months later.
In revisiting each team’s 2018 draft class, NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman and Nick Shook had high praise for Baltimore’s bunch after their rookie seasons, giving the Ravens a B-plus grade for their draft class and ranking them at No. 6 overall among all teams.
First and foremost, the two complimented Baltimore’s selection of Jackson:
“Obviously, the big get in this class is Jackson, who teamed with coach John Harbaugh to save Harbaugh’s job and lead the Ravens to an AFC North title, which made the Broncos-bound Joe Flacco expendable.”
Bergman and Shook also doled out praise for Hurst and fellow TE Mark Andrews, both of whom showed encouraging strides at a position that usually poses a steep learning curve.
“Surprisingly, second-rounder Andrews (34 catches, 552 yards, three TDs) ended up contributing much more in Year 1 than first-rounder Hurst (13 catches, 163 yards, one score), who missed the first four games of the season due to injury,” they wrote. “Both could still team up to make a formidable tight end duo in the future; they’ll get more chances when Nick Boyle and Maxx Williams, who are both bound for free agency, depart.”
Though not a member of the draft class, any writer worth their salt would be remiss to neglect mentioning running back Gus Edwards, an undrafted rookie free agent who was a revelation for the Baltimore backfield this season.
“We can’t forget the out-of-nowhere play of Edwards, who helped carry the rushing load for Baltimore’s transformed offense,” wrote Bergman and Shook.
While this draft class shows great promise already, there is still plenty of untapped potential. Because of injuries and more experienced depth above them, four of the 12 rookies — wide receivers Jordan Lasley and Jaleel Scott, safety DeShon Elliott and offensive tackle Greg Senat — didn’t play a single snap in 2018. In addition, cornerback Anthony Averett and linebacker Kenny Young could both see more playing time after showing flashes of talent this season.
