The Ravens have picked in the top 15 just once since 2006, so they’ll start Thursday night in an unfamiliar position, sitting in the No. 14 slot of a potentially chaotic draft.
They will nonetheless be subject to the whims of owners and general managers elsewhere as the top half of the first round takes shape. In a year without a franchise quarterback or a consensus top prospect, mysteries abound. Here’s a look at five overarching questions that might determine the Ravens’ options.
What players or positions should the Ravens be rooting for to go early?
Any quarterback picked in the top 13 would be a gift to the Ravens, because it would increase the odds of a top-tier edge rusher, cornerback or offensive tackle dropping to No. 14. Most mock drafters seem to believe some team, whether it’s the Carolina Panthers at No. 6 overall or a dark horse, will take the plunge on Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett or Liberty’s Malik Willis. The Ravens will be disappointed if a team doesn’t. Could they be lucky enough to watch two quarterbacks come off the board before they pick? It’s not impossible, but not enough teams seem motivated to trade up or forgo better value to take a risk at the sport’s most important position.
Wide receivers will pose the more interesting and practical question for the Ravens, who seem unlikely to draft a pass catcher, after they used their first picks on the position in 2019 and 2021. Analysts don’t see a guaranteed superstar in this receiver class but view six or seven players as having very good first-round values.
The Ravens would love it if teams got antsy and started snapping up receivers in the 8-to-12 range, as NBC’s Peter King predicted in his mock draft. For one thing, such a run would push those top edge rushers, cornerbacks and tackles down the board. For another, it might give the Ravens greater flexibility to trade down if they so choose. What if a team such as the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints or Kansas City Chiefs is hot to get to No. 14 for a specific receiver such as Alabama’s Jameson Williams or Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson? The Ravens covet multiple good options wherever they’re picking, and wide receivers might be their key to achieving such a plum position in 2022.
How could trades shape the Ravens’ first-round approach?
For now, the first 13 overall picks are split among 10 teams, with the New York Jets and New York Giants set to double-dip. But it seems unlikely that the draft order will remain unchanged by the time the Ravens get on the clock.
The Jets, who are expected to address their defense with the Nos. 4 and 10 overall picks, have reportedly shown interest in acquiring San Francisco wide receiver Deebo Samuel. A draft day trade would likely require at least one first-round pick, which the 49ers could earmark for a top receiver — a break for the Ravens.
The Seattle Seahawks, who’ve been connected at No. 9 overall to defensive standouts that the Ravens likely covet — notably LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux — are reportedly open to moving down. Depending on who swoops in, that could help the Ravens’ margin for error at No. 14.
The Houston Texans, who pick right before the Ravens, are also open for business. Houston general manager Nick Caserio told the NFL Network that there was only a 50% to 60% chance that the Texans use their No. 13 overall pick, though the team could move up or down. If the Ravens want to jump a spot in line and secure their top available prospect before the talent-starved Texans can grab him, It might not cost general manager Eric DeCosta more than a fourth-round pick.
Would an unpredictable draft help or hurt the Ravens?
They’re rooting for chaos, because chalkier draft boards have the best talents at their positions of need going before pick No. 14. The Ravens don’t believe in zeroing in on one player. They’ve preached a “best available” philosophy since their first draft in Baltimore in 1996. So there are plenty of scenarios they would be happy with.
That said, we know the Ravens need an edge rusher, and we know they need depth at cornerback and offensive tackle. These are the positions projected to dominate the upper half of the first round. It’s entirely possible that the top four edge rushers, the top three tackles and the top two cornerbacks will go off the board in the first 13 picks. That would not be ideal for DeCosta, though solid options such as Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning and Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie would likely still be available.
But would the Ravens love it if, on Thursday night, we’re all staring wide-eyed at an unexpected quarterback pick or a run of four wide receivers in the top 10? Of course they would.
Will there be a run on edge rushers before the Ravens get a chance to pick one?
DeCosta predicted as much at the Ravens’ predraft news conference. “Typically, those guys go fast,” he said. “We think there will be a run of those guys, probably in the top 10.” He added that one or two could get to pick No. 14.
Georgia defensive end Travon Walker, once thought to be an option for the Ravens, is now the favorite to go No. 1 overall. If it’s not him, it would probably be Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. The two who could fall are Thibodeaux, a top-five talent who has fended off questions about his devotion to football, and Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson II, a stout run defender and athletic pass rusher.
We’ve seen projections all over the top 20 for these guys. Might DeCosta be tempted to move up if a player as gifted as Thibodeaux drops to within a few spots of the Ravens’ pick? He has acknowledged how difficult it is to find pass rushers in the draft and free agency, so we can’t rule it out. But if Walker, Hutchinson, Thibodeaux and Johnson fly off the board in the top 13, the Ravens would be left to consider Purdue’s George Karlaftis, a powerful, high-effort pass rusher who might not live up to their standards against the run. Or they could wait for Day 2.
Which teams could be trade-back partners with the Ravens?
The Dallas Cowboys, who have the No. 24 overall pick, are reportedly looking into moving up and could target Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross (a projected top-10 pick), Southern California wide receiver Drake London (a projected top-15 pick) or Northern Iowa’s Penning (a projected top-20 pick). Would the Nos. 24 and 56 picks be enough to get the Ravens to deal No. 14 away?
Reports linking the Philadelphia Eagles to Alabama’s Williams at No. 15 might also get the Ravens’ phone ringing. Take Green Bay, for example, which picks twice in the first round (Nos. 22 and 28) and twice in the second round (Nos. 53 and 59). If the Packers are wary of the second tier of wide receiver prospects, could they look to package a first- and second-round pick for the chance to draft Williams as their Davante Adams replacement?
In the AFC, Pittsburgh and Kansas City could test the Ravens’ willingness to get a deal done. The Steelers are in the market for a new starting quarterback; if they get antsy at No. 20 overall, would the Ravens help them move up? The Chiefs, meanwhile, need wide receiver help for quarterback Patrick Mahomes after trading away Tyreek Hill. Could last year’s Orlando Brown Jr. trade pave the way for another high-impact deal between the AFC contenders?
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