OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) 鈥� Eric DeCosta felt the Baltimore Ravens were ahead of the curve with their first two draft picks, when they took a cornerback and an offensive tackle.
鈥淚t seems like if you鈥檙e going to define this draft, it鈥檚 the draft of the run,鈥� the Baltimore general manager said. 鈥淵ou saw the quarterbacks in the first round, and then you saw the corners at the end of the first into the second, and at the end of the second into the third, you saw the offensive linemen.鈥�
The Ravens were near the front of those runs. They took cornerback Nate Wiggins of Clemson toward the end of the first round, before four straight cornerbacks were selected early in the second. Then Baltimore picked tackle Roger Rosengarten of Washington late in the second 鈥� the start of a stretch in which 10 offensive linemen were taken in a 20-pick span.
Both those players filled needs for the Ravens, who sustained quite a few losses this offseason. Guards Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson exited as free agents and tackle Morgan Moses was traded. Free agency also claimed linebacker Patrick Queen and pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney, along with running backs Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins.
Baltimore needing help on the offensive line, where the Ravens lost those three starters, and depth in the secondary.
It was easy to see how Baltimore’s draft addressed quite a few holes. After Wiggins and Rosengarten, the Ravens picked edge rusher Adisa Isaac of Penn State in the third round, wide receiver Devontez Walker of North Carolina and cornerback T.J. Tampa of Iowa State in the fourth and running back Rasheen Ali of Marshall in the fifth.
鈥淢ore often than not 鈥� not in every single case 鈥� but the best player was at a position of need,鈥� DeCosta said. 鈥淲e basically started just checking off boxes, working our way down through each pick.鈥�
Baltimore even drafted a quarterback 鈥� Kentucky鈥檚 Devin Leary 鈥� in the sixth round after backup Tyler Huntley signed with Cleveland. Then the Ravens selected center Nick Samac of Michigan State and safety Sanoussi Kane of Purdue in the seventh.
NO SALE
The Ravens didn’t make any trades after the draft started. They entered it with nine overall picks and at least one in every round, and they made each of them.
UP FRONT
Coach John Harbaugh said Rosengarten will have an opportunity to start. Moses’ departure created an opening at right tackle.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to look at him everywhere,鈥� Harbaugh said. “He can play guard, if we needed him to, and he can play left tackle, if we need him to. We鈥檙e just going to roll the offensive line out there and let them compete.鈥�
DeCosta said Samac might also be able to play guard in addition to backing up Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum.
BEEN A WHILE
Baltimore hasn’t had much to worry about at quarterback since drafting Lamar Jackson in the first round in 2018. The Ravens did draft quarterback Trace McSorley in the sixth round in 2019, but Leary is the first QB they’ve taken since.
Harbaugh said veteran Josh Johnson will be Jackson’s backup this season, but the team sees potential in Leary. DeCosta said quarterbacks coach Tee Martin had a significant say in drafting him.
鈥淲e gave him a project, basically come back to us and tell us who he thought (were) his favorite backup-type quarterbacks in this year’s draft class, and he came back with Devin as one of his very top guys,鈥� DeCosta said. 鈥淭hat was exciting for us to take a quarterback. It’s been a few years since we’ve done that.鈥�
NEW TARGET
Walker had 41 catches for 699 yards and seven touchdowns in eight games last season at North Carolina. The Ravens took receiver Zay Flowers in the first round last year and Rashod Bateman in the first round in 2021. They’ve drafted at least one wide receiver in six of the last seven years.
___
AP NFL:
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
