Open Rants by kkunert327

With the draft in the books time to go back and do a wrap up of how teams made out. I might be a bit of a harsh critic to the top 3 round picks, but that is where you need to hit in the draft to be successful. Sure most of the league is 4th rounders and later, but any that turn into Pro Bowlers or All-Pro players is mostly out of luck. So without further adieu, let's go over the best draft of the year with the Baltimore Ravens doing what they do best. 

1 (28) - Patrick Queen LB LSU - A++++

2 (23) - J.K. Dobbins RB Ohio St - A+

3 (7) - Justin Madubuike DT Texas A&M - A+

3 (28) - Devin Duvernay WR Texas - D+ 

3 (34) - Malik Harrison LB Ohio St - A- 

3 (42) - Tyre Phillips OL Mississippi St - C+

What a haul in my opinion here just working the draft board letting great players fall to them all over the place in this draft. No way should Patrick Queen have been there at 28 and going after Jordyn Brooks no less. Maybe not being able to work out due to popping a hammy at the Combine hurt his stock a bit, but his talent is high upside elite at the linebacker spot. After losing C.J. Mosley the year prior they certainly needed help in the middle of their defense. Their weakest spot last year was clearly run defense last year after getting torched by the Titans in the playoffs. They certainly took it to heart bringing in Queen, Calais Campbell, and others this off season to turn that around. They followed up the great pick of Patrick Queen with an equally great one of J.K. Dobbins who can be a perfect compliment to Mark Ingram. Dobbins very well could have been taken much higher than this and I would contend he could have been the top back of the class. He is a versatile, tough, and well balanced runner despite his smaller size. Often he was the driving force behind Ohio St's offense and often did it while banged up playing his hardest in every game. In their run first oriented offense he should be a great addition for them. Madubuike comes in providing that same run first stopping mentality they are looking for. In a surprising turn of events he was still available in the 3rd round for the Ravens to steal. He might be an odd fit as more of a three-technique fit, but paired alongside Campbell, and hopefully a healthy Derek Wolfe. In any case, he has a ton of upside and should be able to contribute early for them. Duvernay is a talented receiver, but to me he seems like a dime a dozen slot receiver who will move the chains. He is a high volume option, but I am not sure he will provide much to stretch the field. A better deep threat option, or a bigger size option would have been better here. I might not love the Duvernay pick, but I will not be shocked if he turns out solid for them anyways. Lastly, they put a bow on their need at linebacker landing one of my favorite mid round options in Malik Harrison who feels like every Ohio St linebacker who comes into the NFL. He has a high floor, with solid instincts, and speed to roam all over the field for them. Pairing him with Queen might give them one of the best one-two duos at linebacker even as rookies. I like the Phillips pick, but I felt like they could have gotten a better fit at guard who can help out right away. Phillps has a bit of a ways to go to develop into a guard switching from tackle. However, the value was solid and he should be a quality player in no time for the Ravens who develop blockers pretty well. 

4 (37) - Ben Bredeson OG Michigan - B- 

5 (25) - Broderick Washington Jr DT Texas Tech - C

6 (22) - James Proche WR SMU - A

7 (5) - Geno Stone S Iowa - A

They continue to amaze me and landed a few other players who could start even on their elite roster. Bredeson has nice starters appeal, but he feels along the same lines of a Pat Elflein and other smaller Big 10 guards to hit the NFL. He should be a steady back up, but I also would not be shocked if he never turns into a steady option. If he was able to work out at a Pro Day or do meetings in person he might have gone much higher than the 4th round due to his pedigree and experience at Michigan. They clearly wanted to just shut the door down on any run attacks what so ever and get back to their nitty gritty defensive style of the past. I think it was a little redundant to land another tackle who might not be able to fit into their defense with Madubuike and others already now blocking his path to playing meaningful snaps. I really like the Proche pick and at one point he was said to be the next best receiver to hit the college game. Unfortunately, it did not play like that for him, but he has a ton of size, upside, and ability. I would not be shocked if he ends up being a better contributor than Duvernay due to his size and route running ability to stretch the field. Stone is another quality pick to be a nice back up option to develop behind Earl Thomas and could actually be in considerations to be the safety to start next to him. He lacks high end athleticism, but he reads defenses very well and comes with great instincts. This was just an amazing draft by the Ravens that are no led by Eric DeCosta who is proving to be every bit as good of a GM as his mentor Ozzie Newsome. Maybe he might be better since he finally broke the trend and took an LSU talent over an Alabama one. This draft hands down gets an A+ and could be key to the Ravens finding their way back to the Super Bowl after reloading their defense with some young talented prospects. 

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