Round 1: TE Hayden Hurst QB Lamar Jackson Round 3: OT Orlando Brown Jr. TE Mark Andrews Round 4: CB Anthony Averett ILB Kenny Young WR Jaleel Scott Round 5: WR Jordan Lasley Round 6: S DeShon Elliott OT Greg Senat C Bradley Bozeman Round 7: Zach Sieler Here are your 2018 Ravens draft picks. As fans, with a few days to take it all in, which draft picks are you most excited about seeing in the near or distant future? This is just a post to see where everyone's hype falls
I guess if I was to assign an excitement meter to each pick here they are in order of most excited to least: Lamar Jackson Hayden Hurst Anthony Averett Orlando Brown Jr. Kenny Young Jaleel Scott Jordan Lasley Mark Andrews DeShon Elliott Greg Senat Bradley Bozeman Zach Seiler I guess I don't know enough about the last 5 guys we drafted to get too excited. I would also add I am excited to see from last year: Tavon Young- could team with Averett to make a nice stable of Corners (don't think we have ever had 5 solid guys at the position) Niko Siragusa- like drafting another O Lineman this year since he never even made it through camp Tim White- looked like an intriguing puzzle piece Ken Dixon-even though we have seen a bit from him already in real game time play
I'll share my excitement: I'm actually fairly excited about Jordan Lasley. He dropped very far from where some pundits seem to have expected due to a lot of off the field issues. He was arrested twice, once for alcohol possession as a minor and once for presenting a fake ID. He was also suspended in college twice. Once for fighting and once for an undisclosed reason. Honestly, none of that bothers me. Most college students drink alcohol before they turn 21, same with having a fake ID. Both of these happened in 2016 also. Fighting a teammate can be an issue, but it didn't bother anyone before we signed Steve Smith Sr (yes I know he was proven beforehand). What I do know is that Lasley had an impressive 1200+ yard season and 9 TDs while missing 3 games due to suspension. He balled out when he was on the field. I watched one of his highlights and the one thing I noticed was, even when surrounded by multiple defenders, he always fights to move forward. I'm a big fan of that type of play. After Lasley, I've been getting more and more excited about Lamar Jackson. The more research I do the better he looks. Before looking into him, most opinions are of him being a run first QB. The thing is, something like 70-75% of his rushing yardage came from designed QB run plays. He wasn't just running after his first read. In fact, of all the first round QBs, I read that Jackson went beyond his first read more often than any of them. And as I said in the draft thread, he's coming to the perfect situation with QB coach, Urban, offensive coordinator, Mornhinweg, and Greg Roman all having been successful with QBs of his athleticism and skill set. There are a few others I'm looking forward to seeing on the field, players who I think will definitely help the team win games, but these two are the two I'm currently most excited about
Thats the thing w Balt, they were crushed w injuries during camp and preseason...guys that would have started or been key reserves will be back....this team still had a really solid defense and now the O added players w Crabtree, Brown, Snead and Hurst....I expect them to contend for the division w Pitt
Did anyone read the article on the decision between Ridley and Hurst? At the end of the day, to me, they chickened out on Ridley because they have failed so bad drafting and developing receivers. That's the pick I hate the most going with the notion that somehow now Max Williams is a blocking TE. I think the Jackson pick though was brilliant from a football and marketing perspective. I'm just worried we aren't creative enough to get the best out of him.
I didn't read that article, but I'm not upset with their decision to draft Hurst. TE has been a bigger issue than WR lately, which is amazing to say. My main reason for not likely the Hurst pick is that they could have just gotten Jackson at 25, then drafted whichever of the top 3 TEs was there in the second (Goedert was drafted by Philly at our pick) and saved next year's second round pick Personally, I was never a fan of Ridley.
I read this article and I really don't think that we'd have lost value drafting Ridley AND taking Goedert in the 2nd. My guess is that Maxx is never going to live up to expectations because of the knee injury. Regarless of what is said about him, Boyle is a beast and a capable pass catcher too but is one PED violation from a season long suspension. TE could've been filled in the 2nd with Goedert who might not be as dynamic as Hurst, but still a top talent. That would've allow them to draft Ridley who I think is every bit as good as Moore (who I actually preferred...thanks a lot, Carolina!). Time will tell on those two, but as many accolades as they got for their draft, to me it was more for securing additional draft picks and less about who they selected. Maybe Ridley's a bust and we dodge a bullet, maybe he's the next Jerry Rice and we blew it. Again, time will tell on them.
Do you think ONLY Baltimore got better this off season with the draft and free agency? The receivers OVERALL are comparable to last year, maybe slightly better if Hurst can step in and contribute right away. Two of the three receivers have a history of injury, so there are NOT a given. OL is deeper but not necessarily much BETTER than it was at year end. Running backs......better depth with Dixon back from injury. Defense..........comparable, but its the same defense that gave up several leads late last year with no new playmakers/signings, and a few key aging contributors a year older (Suggs, Weddle). Still a question mark at other ILB too. Pitt won the division last year by FOUR games, and the schedule this year is more difficult for the Ravens, assuming there isn't a wave of injuries to starting QBs that the Ravens were fortunate enough in timing (2017- no Carr, Rodgers, Luck, Watson, etc). The Ravens REALLY need to have 8 wins prior to their final three games in December to have a good chance at the playoffs, and outside of the home opener and first game at Cleveland, there aren't ANY I'd feel real confident about winning if I were a Ravens fan. You could easily be 2-6 or 3-5 before the bye week. If that were to happen, does Flacco get to finish the season, or are there calls for Jackson to get the nod and the new era begins? AFC West is wide open but someone will win the division and all three other teams could vie for a wild card........one wild card will likely go to the AFC South between Jacksonville/Tennessee. Winning division might be your best shot at making playoffs, but Pitt will be loaded again and heavily favored to win it. Keep in mind the added "de-motivation" for Flacco this season. Its obvious he WON'T be in Baltimore in 2019, even if they win the Super Bowl this year. If he plays well this year and they make the playoffs again, he gets traded......likely for a late round pick at best because of his contract figure. And traded to a team that he possibly has no say in. If he plays badly and the season sours towards the end, he gets cut next February by the Ravens, either outright or as a June-1 designation to spread his dead money between 2019 & 2020........and possibly retires if he decides his heart isn't in it anymore. So if you're him with basically one foot out the doorway with Harbaugh/Ozzie/DeCosta's foot on his butt........what is your motivation to play well this year other than the descriptor "professional" in your job title? Pride? Looking to end on a good note? Think 9-7 again is likely this season, and you'll need to be .500 or better before your bye to do that.
This all and well maybe, but not everything is kosher in Pittsburgh land either. Laveon is diva'ing it up with his contract demands, you don't have a reliable 2nd receiver outside of AB. Ju-ju was nice but he is no #2, a decent slot man for sure and returner but thats it. Your TE's are garbage and your defense may never get your best player back in Shazier. Your defensive backs are garbage as well. Pittsburgh has an overall talent edge on the division but do not be surprised to see a tight logjam by December with all these teams, yes, even Cleveland. 9-7 may very well WIN this division considering the schedule, so buckle up and enjoy mediocrity because all of the AFC North is right smack dab in the middle of it.
Of course most teams got better but the guys Balt lost were already in the NFL and not rookies coming in...Balt will be better book it
I don't think Flacco will be "de-motivated"...that's not how he works. Regardless, Lamar Jackson is a ways off from starting barring injury. The next couple years will be interesting to say the least. I'm still ambivalent on the LJ pick but he has talent and there will be a new GM next year. I wouldn't be happy with dropping Flacco like bad habit, but the fact is that it'll DeCosta's team and he might be looking for more wholesale changes than Ozzie. It's less a knock on Joe than it is of Ozzie's traditional approach.
I actually think it is extra motivating for Joe this year. When he was on the final year of his contract a few years back, he played lights out with a singular focus to cash in on his performance. I think this season is similar. I think he understands that he would like to keep playing on his current deal and not sign a new one after getting cut for much, much less. In order to keep his 20+ mil a year salary going on this deal, he needs to be at the top of his game to either be the starter here for a few more years or be traded on his current deal to a different team. Either way, he needs to be back to 2012 form.
Any o-line that gets a healthy Marshal Yanda added to it's lineup is flat out better. Is it? They gave up leads late in games due to taking on a conservative approach more often than necessary. It's a new DC who's stated he wants to be more aggressive. There are examples out there of teams improving with no more than a coordinator change. You do realize the Steelers also avoided playing against Rodgers, Luck, and Watson as well....right? By this logic, the season will be very difficult for Pittsburgh unless they get a few fortunate QB injuries as well. This isn't true. If you were a Ravens fan you'd be more optimistic about a lot of the games, but since your a Steelers fan you lean on the pessimistic side, or a "they have to prove it to me" angle. That's normal of die hard fans in relation to their rival team. In terms of the first 13 games, I can see Baltimore winning vs Buffalo, vs Denver, @ Cleveland, @ Tennessee, vs Pittsburgh, vs Cincinnati, vs Oakland, and @ Kansas City. I'm also not writing off the games against the Falcons or Panthers. Will they will them all, who knows. But you're putting way too much stock into last season, as if the 11-5 Saints from last season weren't 7-9 the year before. This is a fair point. Although many (not me) already think Flacco's been playing unmotivated football for years anyway. And if they are right, it won't be all that much different from the norm. Humans are greedy. Joe might just play for more money. 100M isn't enough for everyone. He may actually enjoy playing more than most think. Either way, I would be fine with the team cutting him before week 1 and just moving forward with the new QB. I'm not a Joe hater at all, but why delay the inevitable. Now, with all this said, the Ravens could go 5-11, they could go 11-5, or anywhere in between. My point here was that it's far to early to be speaking as of it's a foregone conclusion how the season will go.
Sounds like the Ravens are committed to getting LJ on the field early and often. Gotta admit that's a little scary for a Steelers fan. Running QBs have done some damage to this team historically. Steelers obviously have some holes as well but whoever suggested JuJu isn't a quality #2 wide receiver is smoking the good stuff. The kid is a young Anquan Boldin with the ability to grab 50/50 balls, block and run after the catch.
I don't believe any Ravens fan here derided Juju here or anywhere. I personally mocked him to the Ravens in Rd3 on this site, As for the rest, I agree.
"... you don't have a reliable 2nd receiver outside of AB. Ju-ju was nice but he is no #2, a decent slot man for sure and returner but thats it."
