DB424 Mock Draft (Posted 1/12/19)

[diamondbull424]

Offseason Predictions:

Trade: Flacco for conditional 3rd/4th (depending on games started) and a conditional 2020 pick (5th/6th).

Resign: Terrell Suggs to 3 years, $18m

Resign: Robert Griffin III to 2 years, $6m

Sign RFA: Give Pierce and Peanut the 2nd round tender.

Lose: CJ Mosley, Zadarius Smith, Tony Jefferson, John Brown.

Round One, Pick#22:

JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford

6’3” 225 lbs, Projected 40: 4.51s

Pro Comparison: Jordy Nelson

I’ve finally found a comparison that I really like. With JJ you have a guy who is a contested catch master, excellent hands, and does an excellent job of getting open against zone coverage. All things Nelson brought to the table for Aaron Rodgers. Also like Jordy, JJ has a fantastic catch radius to make plays up high and down low. This is a great skillset that will come in handy for when Lamar struggles with his accuracy at times in games. Just like Flacco, Lamar needs to warm up as a passer and having guys like MANdrews, Snead, and JJAWs to throw to will be quite the boon. Throw in Crabtree’s veteran swag and Red Thor and suddenly teams will have a tough time stopping all the weapons the Ravens bring to the table.

Round Three (Flacco trade):

Michael Deiter, C, Wisconsin

6’6”  328 lbs, #63

With Tyler Biadasz choosing to stay at Wisonsin for another season, Elgton Jenkins will likely rise and become the first center taken, perhaps somewhere in the early 2nd. So enter Michael Deiter, he has the ultimate lineman versatility having started at center, guard, and OT for one of the consistently most dominant OL in the country. So why does he fall to the 3rd round? He’s a jack of all trades but master of none and his athletic profile should see him get under drafted like the Ricky Wagner’s of the world. Many OLs in the NFL are going for quicker and more athletic OL, we’ve been on the opposite trend with our selections as of late. A huge center like Dieter that is a smart technician, one whom can make the line calls, and play with nice power is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Round Three:

Bryce Love, RB, Stanford

5’10” 202 lbs; Projected 40 time: 4.42s

Pro Comparison: Priest Holmes

Last year I rated Nick Chubb and Bryce Love with the same rating. Both were 4 star future pro bowl talent level backs. A down year may allow Love to fall in the draft, but not in my mind. He might not have the career durability to ever be an every down back, but we have Gus Edwards and Kenneth Dixon to split carries in the short term (Dixon with one year left on his rookie deal and Edwards as a ERFA). And we know when he totes the rock (and he’s healthy) he can be a huge boon. We don’t over complicate this and welcome Love to Charm City.

Round Four:

Darnell Savage, FS, Maryland

5’11” 200 lbs; Projected 40 time: 4.49s

Player Comparison:  Matt Elam

I know, I know. I compared Savage to a bust. I’m sure some might not like the comparison but watching them play I see stark similarities between the two. I also don’t think Elam was a bust just based off inferior talent. He was just a grade A idiot that cared to little about his NFL opportunity that following his rookie season he decided to “intern” at Foot Locker as a sales associate vs dialing into his football craft. Assuming Savage actually takes his football opportunity seriously he should develop into the player that Elam was never able to become.

Round Four (Comp):

Sam Mustipher, C, Notre Dame

6’2” 305 lbs, #53

I think there is something to be said about the consistency that Mustipher brings to the table. He likely falls a bit in the draft because he doesn’t come with ideal size and length to have versatility along the OL, he’s a center only selection. That being said he’s played on an OL that has shown to really produce some quality pro talent recently. He doesn’t seem to lose the leverage battle often and with his size also comes the leverage advantage with a lower center of gravity. An underrated skill looked at but I also like what I see from him as a snapper if the ball, rarely do I see high quick snaps. He’s able to snap the ball with quality speed all while taking on interior behemoths or pulling around the edge. He’s a natural at snapping the football and that along would upgrade what we currently have in Matt Skura. With Mustipher the competition for the center job would be incredibly fierce and it wouldn’t surprise me if Mustipher beats out Dieter, Bozeman, and Skura to be the starter.

Round Five:

Sheldrick Redwine, SS, Miami

6’1” 195 lbs; Projected 40 time: 4.54s

Player Comparison:  DJ Swearinger

If we think about it logically, it could make a lot of sense to double dip at the safety position this offseason. I’m in the group (well since it’s just me, is it really a group) that believes we should return Weddle, but either way this will be his final season. This also will be the final season for Anthony Levine’s contract. Tony Jefferson should be cut this offseason. That leaves us with a lot of change in the near future. Clearly we won’t have space for all impact players to fit in 2019, but the “redshirt IR” should be applied to get our young players feet wet in training camp and rookie training camp (unless a safety actually gets hurt) and then we can just allow them to learn how to be a professional and engage film study from one of the most cerebral safeties remaining in the NFL (Eric Weddle).

So here’s where Sheldrick Redwine. He seems to be vastly underrated at this point IMO. I think only a few safeties in this class look better (Adderley, Savage, Chauncey GJ, Abram- arguable). He’s got excellent tackling technique, he’s a instinctual player, has good athleticism, and creates turnovers. I see a guy who you can move all over a defense as a versatile piece and he will reward you by making plays.

Round Six:

Ryquell Armstead, RB/FB, Temple

5’11” 215 lbs, Projected 40 time: 4.54s

Player Comparison: Shady McCoy

Why double dip at RB you ask? It’s quite simple, Bryce Love just tore his ACL and thus may or may not be available for the beginning of training camp/season. Then you’ve got Gus Edwards who in his few starts proven to get banged up. Kenneth Dixon is one wrong decision from being off this team and suspended for a season. And Alex Collins wasn’t the most reliable ball carrier (from a fumble perspective). I’d expect Armstead (redshirt) or Love (actual injury) to get IR’d/PUP to start the season and depending on how the RB position looks things could change later in the season. With Gus and Dixon only having one year left on their deal it only makes sense to have high talent RBs in the chamber ready to fire and go.

Round Seven:

Trace McSorley, QB, Penn State

6’0” 195 lbs, Projected 40 time: 4.71s

Player Comparison: Doug Flutie

With Lamar taking over at QB and with RG3 as the backup there’s always the durability question that’s going to present itself. That question should be lessened as we see Lamar running more spread concepts and taking less abuse as a means of jumpstarting our rushing attack. That said the NFL is an Any Given Sunday league and so we have to be ready with a backup QB that should be able to stay on our practice squad without fear of being plucked.

Enter Trace McSorley. He’s a small QB that is very competitive and has proven to be an accurate thrower of the football that can also make things happen with his legs. The obvious collegiate comparison is to Baker Mayfield. Given the right opportunity and the right adjustments on his part, McSorley could grow into a quality NFL starting QB. I’d expect Lamar to work out, but if for some reason he doesn’t it would likely be his accuracy that does him in, McSorley seems like the type of underdog QB that a fanbase like the Ravens can get behind. McSorley compares favorably to Doug Flutie as well.. and not just because of his height. His accuracy could be a boon if for some reason that’s what our passing game is sorely needing.

[sp6488]

Sub in Ty Johnson (RB, UMD) for Armstead and I’d be on board!

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

I think this is the first mock draft I've read here in however many years where I have absolutely no idea who a single one of those players is.

[diamondbull424]

1 hour ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

I think this is the first mock draft I've read here in however many years where I have absolutely no idea who a single one of those players is.

😆 Well in my defense, this doesn’t appear to be quite as sexy a draft as in the past. A lot more of the talent and options are on the defensive and offensive lines. Those guys are definitely less notable. Then because of the lack of 2nd round pick I had to wait to go WR. I had to research talent at other levels to see about finding some potential “diamond in the rough” options. The RB though, there were bigger names, but we definitely need to upgrade the OL before going RB, especially now that we’ve got a runner in Gus that I actually like as a quality option (I’m biased against RBs with fumbling issues). That said, we still can upgrade our committee for sure and look for someone who can be a dual threat option. For as good as Gus is in contact runs, he hasn’t shown what he can do with his hands to this point.

[Danand]

If we would go DT, I would prefer us to grab one of those prospects who will likely fall too far in such a deep draft class.

Once again, I want the Alex Mack, Nick Mangold type of center in the draft and such a player will emerge just like we saw OC's last year. We have momentum at the moment but we could upgrade both LG and OC and we need something on the interior.

Especially with Lamar behind center we have to be able to win that battle up front to set up the pass. Also I don't see the need to add additional wide receivers. Solidify the trenches and add fast athletes. If we have had one weakness this year it is some lack of speed.

[coordinator0]

Wish I could expand more on Bachie, but my time to watch anything on the weekend this past summer/fall has been extremely limited. Way behind on any kind of draft stuff. Might just take it easy this draft season and do homework on the guys Baltimore takes after the fact. 

[diamondbull424]

4 hours ago, Danand said:

If we would go DT, I would prefer us to grab one of those prospects who will likely fall too far in such a deep draft class.

Once again, I want the Alex Mack, Nick Mangold type of center in the draft and such a player will emerge just like we saw OC's last year. We have momentum at the moment but we could upgrade both LG and OC and we need something on the interior.

Especially with Lamar behind center we have to be able to win that battle up front to set up the pass. Also I don't see the need to add additional wide receivers. Solidify the trenches and add fast athletes. If we have had one weakness this year it is some lack of speed.

The “Alex Mack” of this draft class is for sure Tyler Biadasz. My first round selection in this mock came down to: Tyler Biadasz, N’Karl Harry, or Jefferey Simmons.

While Biadasz is definitely a beast, I ultimately sided with Simmons simply because I think he’s a better player and because I have more confidence in us finding a great center in the 3rd round or later than I do us finding a great interior pass rushing DL. I can think of more great/elite centers that have been taken with later picks than great/elite interior DL that can rush the passer (usually they’re just run stuffers that fall). Throw in the fact that we’ve already drafted plenty of mid round interior DL, guys that “fell in stacked classes” and ultimately we generally get simply solid results. We’ve seen Jackson already seemingly elevate the level of play from our OL, so while Biadasz would be a great addition and on an Alex Mack level, I definitely feel like Elgton Jenkins is very much a player and is on that Rodney Hudson level of ability. He’s certainly no scrub. He’s a good scheme fit as well.

[diamondbull424]

UPDATED MOCK DRAFT ADDED TO THE OP ON 1/12/19. 

Down below is the original mock from 12/2/2018. Reposting it for future comparisons.

Be sure to let me know what you think of the new mock. Feedback is much appreciated.

 

Round One:

Jeffery Simmons, DT/DE, Miss St

There was a video that surfaced of Jenkins beating up a woman in a parking lot with another women assisting. That’s going to cause him to drop in the draft, especially given recent events in the NFL. If this were five years ago I’m sure the Ravens might even have him off their board or much lower on it. But times have changed. We need impact players with swagger to continue to rebuild the attitude of our defense as we move forward. What’s more, Simmons has seemingly made big strides in improving his character since that incident.

On the football field Simmons is a HWS beast that in another class and without the character concerns he brings (and such a stacked class) he might be looked at as a top 5-10 talent. Yet he could potentially fall to the 20s. Our defense has had major issues with its ability to generate pressure and a big part of that is that our DL are pretty good at stuffing the run, but haven’t shown an ability to do that and generate pressure. We’ve spent a lot of draft capital in the last few seasons on 34 DEs that haven’t translated as pass rushers. So instead of continuing to select average specimen, we swing for the fences with Simmons and hope he can be a Darnell Dockett, if not even a Cameron Jordan.

Update: Since writing this a few weeks ago, we’ve seen our defense show a strong defensive performance to shutdown the Falcons and we’ve seen Lamar Jackson take over the squad. Adding Simmons will provide our defense with more consistency with being able to get pressure on QBs without needing as much exotic looks to do it. The Falcons played into our gameplan some, but to upgrade the unit to an elite level, we’ll need an elite interior pass rushing option.

Round Three:

Elgton Jenkins, C, Miss St

Now I know what you’re thinking, back to back? Well it just worked out that way. The Ravens go with the best player on that Miss St defensive line and the best player on their offensive line back to back.

Jenkins has proven to be a consistent interior force within the SEC for the past few seasons. It’ll be difficult to pass up on Tyler Biadasz in the first round but Jenkins is a great consolation prize. He’s got the strength to anchor against dominant run stuffers and the quickness and smarts to pass block against quality talent and creative defensive looks. Jenkins is a pro ready center option that can be a plug and play guy that we don’t have to worry about not being able to come in and make an immediate impact on the interior of our OL.

Round Four:

Nasir Adderley, CB/FS, Deleware

Hailing from Flacco’s (and Nick Boyle) alma mater is Nasir Adderley. Watching his tape I’ve been HIGHLY impressed with his burst, acceleration, and speed. He might possess sub 4.5 speed. What’s more he does an excellent job of seeking to make a play on balls in the air. There have been many safety prospects that seem a step slow to react or have the instincts, but not the speed. Nasir has both and thus has the ability to handle a cover one scheme to allow a more aggressive safety to roam closer to the LOS. If we miss the playoffs, there’s a high percentage chance that our safety duo could be replaced in lieu of options able to create more turnovers. Adderley could compete for a starting spot right out of the gates.

Update: We’ve already seen improvements to the defensive coverage with Chuck Clark replacing Tony Jefferson in the lineup. Weddle has also looked better as of late, but he’s getting up there in age and so we should be looking to add capable options to audition to replace him.

Round Four (Comp):

Joe Bachie Jr, ILB, MSU

Not a fan of the song, but I like what I’ve seen so far from Bachie Jr, perhaps @coordinator0 will be able to expound more on his ability, but from what I’ve seen he seems very adept at finding his way to the football and creating turnovers. I see quality athleticism, no worse than what we’ve got with Mosley (at this stage- even though he’s been better as of late).

I have to think that with our success at finding LBer talent and with both Young and Peanut able to step into the lineup right away, we will let Mosley go. Enter Joe Bachie, he’s considered a natural leader and he has the ability to at least jump into the lineup to compete and push our next guys up. His skillset also would lend itself to being awesome on special teams while he sits and develops. 2019 will also be Peanuts last season under his contract and so having a guy like Bachie in the chamber will be a smart way to proceed.

Round Five:

Keelan Doss, WR, UC Davis

Doss is probably the best WR at the FCS level and the most polished option. I’m sure going into the draft the team would love to come away with a premier WR threat, but in this mock things don’t work out that way, so they look to throw a guy like Doss into their offseason competition with guys like Jaleel Scott and Jordan Lasley along with our starters to see if we can’t find out which of our receivers mesh best with Jackson moving forward.

Round Six:

Ryquell Armstead, RB/FB, Temple

The Ravens running situation certainly looks a bit different than just a few weeks ago before the emergence of Gus the Bus as a legit backfield powerhouse that reminds of when we had LeRon McClain back there to finish off runs.

That said, as the running game becomes more connected to this teams success, so does having quality backs to back that up. Alex Collins no longer appears to be the best scheme fit moving forward and for that reason could potentially wind up traded for a late round pick or released (if no buyers can be found). Buck Allen has always been nothing more than a guy that gets the yards the line blocks for, a safe option. But we’ve seen that he can be upgraded with what we’ve seen from Ty Montgomery. Speaking of Montgomery, while we traded for him and he’s playing well, he’s also an UDFA after this season and could choose to sign anywhere he wishes. So all in all, we might be left with Gus, Dixon, and Turner/Thompson (assuming they’re still on the practice squad).

Enter Armstead, hes a small back that has quickness and speed, but still finishes his runs with great power. Reminds me of Lindsay in Denver from the bit I’ve seen of him. What’s more his hands are something he brings to the table. I think Armstead could come in right away and compete with our stable of backs and thrust himself into our #2 RB spot. That all said, Armstead seems like the type of player that is underrated at this point in the process but might be able to work himself into the day 2 conversation as we near closer to April. The cream always rises.

Round Seven:

Lamar Jackson, CB, Nebraska 😎

I’ll be honest, I haven’t watched a single bit of this guy play but it’s the 7th round of my first mock, so why not?

But in all seriousness, I could see this spot here in the 7th round targeting a big corner for us to develop. Someone that can be a core special teams option. As the adage says, you can never have too many corners and particularly with he durability issues that Smith and Canady have both faced as well as Carr getting older bringing in some young options to develop and learn from veterans like Smith and Carr would be an ideal scenario. I can certainly see someone like Lamar Jackson being the pick if he’s got the athleticism. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we target an FCS or division 2 corner that dominated at their level with this pick. Someone like Jordan Brown out of SDSU would probably make a lot of sense at this juncture.

[Danand]

While I am not in the WR in the first round camp, I like almost everything else. Of course you missed the dane, but getting a Wisconsin lineman is rarely a bad idea.

Weddle, Savage (great safety name) Redwine (also a great name), Clark and Elliot seems like a safety group I could get behind. I would add Juan Thornhill to the group of possible safety picks as I believe he could be our next Levine player.

I just mentioned Bryce Love in another post. Not the biggest fan of him early, but if we could get him a little later I am all for it. Whether it is running back or wide receiver, I think we need players who can make the big play based off their speed. To me, Arcega Whiteside fills out the same role as Andrews/Hurst. Great player but we have that guy on the roster already.

Will take a look at some of the other players you posted.

[Danand]

Ok, need to watch a few more games, but so far I can get behind Trace McSorley

[Danand]

You see Redwine as a strong safety type? I see him more as a free safety type who can play deep. From that video, he doesn't seem aggressive enough to be a constant fit in the box and he doesn't use what seems to be exceptional athletic ability to sprint to the ball carrier.

I really like how he seems to play slower than what he is physically capable off. It tells me he doesn't want to over pursuit and take bad ankles. His ability to wrap up around the legs is another thing I like. I don't know what he will time in running, but he seems a lot faster than he plays.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

Another WR named "Doss" drafted to us? That's already a knock on him lol

[diamondbull424]

9 hours ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

Another WR named "Doss" drafted to us? That's already a knock on him lol

The mock with Doss is the previous mock. The new mock has been added to the OP.

10 hours ago, Danand said:

Ok, need to watch a few more games, but so far I can get behind Trace McSorley

Yeah McSorley has just impressed me a lot during his time with Penn State. He never took the next step to be an elite college QB or even a great one, but he seems to be a very capable game manager that has nice accuracy and decision making. Penn State has never been a spread offense but it wouldn’t shock me if within a different offensive scheme he could’ve done some of the things we saw from Baker.

[diamondbull424]

9 hours ago, Danand said:

You see Redwine as a strong safety type? I see him more as a free safety type who can play deep. From that video, he doesn't seem aggressive enough to be a constant fit in the box and he doesn't use what seems to be exceptional athletic ability to sprint to the ball carrier.

I really like how he seems to play slower than what he is physically capable off. It tells me he doesn't want to over pursuit and take bad ankles. His ability to wrap up around the legs is another thing I like. I don't know what he will time in running, but he seems a lot faster than he plays.

I see Redwine as simply a safety. I don’t think he’s a cover one safety or a box safety. I think he can do a little bit of both. He doesn’t yet have the size to really be a physical force within the box, but he’s got the tackling efficiency and grit to make an impact inside.

As a deep safety I like what you saw with his ability to play contained within space and break down and make tackles, preventing the big play. I like how while I can’t see the All-22 angles, that when I assume where Redwine should be based off of how much time it should take a good safety to react to the QB or RB, he’s always where I anticipate he should be when the camera man is able to get him into focus.

I only listed Redwine as a SS because it looked like he lined up in that left safety spot more often than the right safety spot. All in all I see Redwine as more of a left/right safety type vs a free/strong safety type. I see him as a versatile option that with a similarly versatile safety they could interchange roles based off of what the opposing offense is lining up to do. And I especially like the combination of he and Savage because Redwine is a bit more conservative and patient while Savage is all warrior, he’s an aggressive safety. I think that could play off each other well.

In terms of Thornhill, I’ll have to watch him again. Only watched him once before everyone started talking about him and I didn’t come away impressed enough with his athletic profile. But I’ll give him another play. I did watch an interview of his and I really like his story, I’ll say that much. Guys with his story generally have a little more to prove then guys who get by just based off pure athleticism.

[Danand]

1 hour ago, diamondbull424 said:

I see Redwine as simply a safety. I don’t think he’s a cover one safety or a box safety. I think he can do a little bit of both. He doesn’t yet have the size to really be a physical force within the box, but he’s got the tackling efficiency and grit to make an impact inside.

As a deep safety I like what you saw with his ability to play contained within space and break down and make tackles, preventing the big play. I like how while I can’t see the All-22 angles, that when I assume where Redwine should be based off of how much time it should take a good safety to react to the QB or RB, he’s always where I anticipate he should be when the camera man is able to get him into focus.

I only listed Redwine as a SS because it looked like he lined up in that left safety spot more often than the right safety spot. All in all I see Redwine as more of a left/right safety type vs a free/strong safety type. I see him as a versatile option that with a similarly versatile safety they could interchange roles based off of what the opposing offense is lining up to do. And I especially like the combination of he and Savage because Redwine is a bit more conservative and patient while Savage is all warrior, he’s an aggressive safety. I think that could play off each other well.

In terms of Thornhill, I’ll have to watch him again. Only watched him once before everyone started talking about him and I didn’t come away impressed enough with his athletic profile. But I’ll give him another play. I did watch an interview of his and I really like his story, I’ll say that much. Guys with his story generally have a little more to prove then guys who get by just based off pure athleticism.

Completely agree with the bolded part. And one thing I don't think I wrote very well, was that Redwine can play faster and has more range than what that video showed. I think he is a guy who will test well. More than Savage I think there is some potential with Redwine that haven't been developed yet.