The Baltimore Ravens lost in the Divisional playoff round to the eventual champion New England Patriots. The Ravens held two 14 point leads but could not hang on due to a pathetic secondary. If Jimmy Smith is healthy do the Ravens win the Superbowl? It’s very possible; Baltimore will have a lot of holes to fill after being raided in free agency. Torrey Smith, Darian Stewart, Pernell McPhee, Owen Daniels, and Tyrod Taylor have gone else where. Will the magical Ozzie Newsome be able to put together another fantastic draft after landing C.J. Mosley and Timmy Jernigan a season ago?
The Raven philosophy is always to select the best available player regardless of need. This pick will ultimately come down to the best player who is left standing at the 26th overall pick. The team could also trade, something that has been frequent in the past. In my latest Mock Draft I selected cornerback Marcus Peters from Washington for the Ravens at 26. Peters is the best corner in the draft except there are some off the field red flags. This could be the Jimmy Smith story written all over again. Smith was a top 10 talent surrounded with red flags. Smith has turned into an all pro as I expect Marcus Peters to do the same as long as the proper locker room is in place. It doesn’t get much better than the Ravens. A secondary with Smith, Peters, and Lardarius Webb could create a scary trio.
The Ravens could also be thinking wide receiver in round one as well as the entirety of all seven rounds. The current groups contains Steve Smith, Marlon Brown, Michael Campanaro, and Kamar Aiken. Brown and Aiken are vastly under rated and will make an impact come 2015. Jaelen Strong from Arizona State has been rumored to be a player interested by the team yet I feel Marlon Brown already fills that role. Strong reminds me of a Anquan Boldin tough possession receiver. Breshad Perriman out of Central Florida has been a fast riser and could be on the Ravens radar. After running a 4.25 at his pro day even Perriman may have priced himself out of Baltimore. Expect the Ravens to look later in the draft for players such as Justin Hardy, Nelson Agholor, and Jamison Crowder.
The notion around Baltimore is always to select the best available player regardless of position. Projecting who will become a Raven is a tough task when factoring this in. Nevertheless count on the Ravens striking gold in the draft as they do just about every year. Other needs that will addressed one way or another include halfback, tight end, defensive line, and the secondary. Below is the list of every 2015 Raven Draft pick.
Round 1: No. 26
Round 2: No. 58
Round 3: No. 90
Round 4: No. 122
No. 125 (from Detroit for Haloti Ngata)
No. 136 (compensatory)
Round 5: No. 158 (from Detroit for Ngata)
No. 171 (compensatory)
No. 175 (compensatory)
Round 6: No. 203 (from Dallas for Rolando McClain)
