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Evaluating the 2019 draft class


Danand

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7 minutes ago, RavensTillIDie said:

Personally, I think the biggest hindrance to Boykin's development is his chemistry with Lamar - it's not existent, especially compared to the bond Lamar has with Hollywood. You'll often see shots of Lamar joking with his wide receivers on the side line and Boykin is just standing beside them, contemplating a way to fit in/get in on the conversation. I don't know if that's just his personality or he just has very little in common with the other guys, but we've clearly seen Lamar prefers to target "his guys" in Hollywood and Andrews because he trusts them and knows he can rely on them. Hard to get more looks/become one of "his guys" if Boykin can't mesh with Lamar off the field and build that trust, imo.

I don't know how much we can put into those observations, but I certainly remember either Lamar og Marquise Brown talking about how they where quite young and had equal minds while Boykin was a lot more mature and grown up. Maybe that was just Boykins voice.

I had a feeling that Boykin just doesn't have the nuances to his game that allows him to be a more viable option. Too many drops could also be a reason Lamar doesn't have confidence in him.

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Eh. Brown and Ferguson were the only ones we've seen enough from to start drawing conclusions. Brown is good. Just needs to stay healthy... and man what is he going to look like when he's actually fully healthy heading into a season. Ferguson wasn't particularly impressive. Didn't pop much or make a ton of relevant plays. He needs to take advantage of a full NFL offseason and improve his body. 

I'm not leaning one way or another on Boykin. Just wasn't involved enough. Hopefully Roberts isn't brought back  so either Miles or some other quality option can get those snaps. Same with Hill, but his path to playing time is way more crowded. The team loves Ingram and Edwards will be back. Maybe some snaps in the slot, taking away from Snead, is a viable option. 

Everyone else? Get on the field. Don't know anything until then. 

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On 1/21/2020 at 7:29 PM, diamondbull424 said:

Patrick Mekari overall has looked better in my estimation than Skura looked this season (outside of the Bills game where his snaps were slightly off, which was in 20 mph winds). Mekari seems to struggle less in pass blocking with speed/quickness, his anchor handles strength negligibly better, and the run blocking is quite similar without Mekari having an NFL offseason to transform his body. 

PFF actually concurs with my anecdotal evidence whereby Skura graded out at 68.7 compared with Mekari with a 70.5 grade. IIRC rookie Skura was rated somewhere in the 50s. All Pro Jason Kelce scored an 81.0 this season. Within a year or two can Mekari (if he remains healthy) improve an additional 10 points like most of the lineman did from their rookie seasons until now on our squad? I think he can for sure. Even if he doesn’t, he’s at pro bowl level, just not at an All Pro level. But as Kelce ages out, as Mekari improves, and with Mekari playing with a superstar QB; he’s got a good shot at the exposure to make an All Pro team.

You are being quite generous to the player whose horrific performance vs the Titans cost us a chance to advance in the playoffs. He was getting blown up pretty much every play. More than any other player, Mekari lost us that game. The Ravens were able to mask his lack of functional strength for a while but he got badly exposed in that game.  

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On 1/21/2020 at 1:38 PM, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

3, Pick 85: DE Jaylon Ferguson

Lots of hype in the preseason from coaches, but ultimately I was not impressed at all with Ferguson this year. Didn't offer much rushing the passer, and couldn't set the edge if his life depended on it. Hopefully with another year of development he'll continue to improve, but right now looks like nothing more than a depth OLB.

I am a bit more bullish on Ferguson. Any time a 4-3 college DE transitions to a 3-4 OLB in the NFL there are going to be growing pains the first year. I noticed Ferguson sometimes would make a very good play, followed up by a very bad play. If he can learn from his mistakes and become more consistent, I think he'll be an effective starter. 

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4 minutes ago, AngusMcFife said:

You are being quite generous to the player whose horrific performance vs the Titans cost us a chance to advance in the playoffs. He was getting blown up pretty much every play. More than any other player, Mekari lost us that game. The Ravens were able to mask his lack of functional strength for a while but he got badly exposed in that game.  

😂 

Dude was going up against Jurrell Casey and Jeffery Simmons. You’re acting as though Skura didn’t consistently get undressed as a rookie against players that WEREN'T top quality IDL prospects. He was going up against Joe Schmoes and rating in the 50s.

The Point is Mekari just had perhaps the best performance for a rookie Ravens center in franchise history, didn’t miss a beat from Skura (improved upon him in the regular season actually), yet his potential is capped at Skura? I think not and don’t agree with that in the slightest.

And the nonsense about “protecting” him happens with most any OL when young or going up against top notch foes, heck Skura was still being “protected”.

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4 hours ago, diamondbull424 said:

😂 

Dude was going up against Jurrell Casey and Jeffery Simmons. You’re acting as though Skura didn’t consistently get undressed as a rookie against players that WEREN'T top quality IDL prospects. He was going up against Joe Schmoes and rating in the 50s.

The Point is Mekari just had perhaps the best performance for a rookie Ravens center in franchise history, didn’t miss a beat from Skura (improved upon him in the regular season actually), yet his potential is capped at Skura? I think not and don’t agree with that in the slightest.

And the nonsense about “protecting” him happens with most any OL when young or going up against top notch foes, heck Skura was still being “protected”.

I actually think the scheme was protecting Bozeman quite a bit this year, he's definitely the worst O-lineman. But having two weak players at C and LG eventually caught up with the Ravens. I think generally the Ravens offensive line was overrated this year though because Lamar is such a problem at QB for defenses to deal with. For instance I think Stanley is very good, but All Pro is a little above his level at this point. 

I'm all for Mekari and Skura battling it out for starting C in training camp next year. May the better player win. If Mekari improves his strength he'll definitely be a good player in this league. 

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1 hour ago, AngusMcFife said:

I actually think the scheme was protecting Bozeman quite a bit this year, he's definitely the worst O-lineman. But having two weak players at C and LG eventually caught up with the Ravens. I think generally the Ravens offensive line was overrated this year though because Lamar is such a problem at QB for defenses to deal with. For instance I think Stanley is very good, but All Pro is a little above his level at this point. 

I'm all for Mekari and Skura battling it out for starting C in training camp next year. May the better player win. If Mekari improves his strength he'll definitely be a good player in this league. 

I lean this way as well. It's much easier to play OL when our scheme is runnin' and rollin'. The Titans game they got whooped when we had to play like a traditional offensive line. We got zero push up the middle with Mekari in there. I mean this boards most hated player James Hurst played well in the one game he played. Am I fine going into next year with Skura/Mekari? Sure, I guess.. Am I going to be excited about it? Absolutely not.

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3 hours ago, M.10.E said:

I lean this way as well. It's much easier to play OL when our scheme is runnin' and rollin'. The Titans game they got whooped when we had to play like a traditional offensive line. We got zero push up the middle with Mekari in there. I mean this boards most hated player James Hurst played well in the one game he played. Am I fine going into next year with Skura/Mekari? Sure, I guess.. Am I going to be excited about it? Absolutely not.

James Hurst was a turnstile in his younger seasons but he was also coming off a severely broken leg in the final game of his senior career. Prior to that he was a day 2 LT prospect. The idea that he’s improved at LT, especially after he showed to be a good LG when he was healthy two seasons ago... I’m buying into that. He’s an invaluable piece for the depth of our OL for sure.

5 hours ago, AngusMcFife said:

I actually think the scheme was protecting Bozeman quite a bit this year, he's definitely the worst O-lineman. But having two weak players at C and LG eventually caught up with the Ravens. I think generally the Ravens offensive line was overrated this year though because Lamar is such a problem at QB for defenses to deal with. For instance I think Stanley is very good, but All Pro is a little above his level at this point. 

I'm all for Mekari and Skura battling it out for starting C in training camp next year. May the better player win. If Mekari improves his strength he'll definitely be a good player in this league. 

The Lamar Jackson effect is a real thing that I believe in, especially with our rushing attack. We were generally middle of the pack in pass protection prior to him coming though... that said his impact on curtailing DEs/IDL running upfield aids the OL for sure. But Casey is a top talent for a reason. Even if we had an All Pro center, Casey would’ve been a problem. It will have been a great lesson for Mekari moving forward.

Honestly I hope there’s no competition moving forward as Harbaugh is veteran oriented enough that I’m hoping there’s no need to protect him from himself. We’ve seen worse players get the start before (Tony Jefferson).

Skura tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL if I’m not mistaken. If I’m Harbaugh I’m not even considering him in the competition unless he’s 100%... which he might be, but that’s a brutal injury and that would be a miraculous recovery. Even still I’m not sure he’s got the same potential as Mekari moving forward. We’ll see though, Mekari is young enough that potential can always go either way. As it stands though, he’s on a PB track, especially considering how efficient he was as a blocker in college.

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