Ravens Draft Preview: 1st Round Targets

With the first round of the draft being this coming Thursday its time to look at who the Ravens may select with the 29^th selection in the first round. I have looked through all of the mock drafts that I could find and these are the names that the experts have said the Ravens may pick.

Image from Wikipedia.

More after the break.

                The first name that has been mentioned quite often in connection with the Ravens is Peter Konz, a center from Wisconsin. The Ravens are not getting any younger on the offensive line. Current center Matt Birk is 35 and his age has begun to show the last few seasons in Baltimore. Konz is ranked the No. 1 center available in the draft by cbssports.com. Konz has started 31 games and played in 37 during his time in Madison. This past season Konz was a Rimington Trophy finalist as well as being named a first-team All-American by Pro Football Weekly. Konz stands 6’5’’ and weighs 314 pounds. He would provide size up front and with not much other depth at the center in this draft if the Ravens don’t pick Konz they most likely are content with what they have at least for the time being. Below are the experts who believe that Peter Konz will become a Raven.

o   Bucky Brooks (NFL.com)

o   Steve Wyche (NFL.com)

o   Charley Casserly (NFL Network)

o   Dane Brugler (Cbssports.com)

o   Jim Corbett (USA Today)

o   Nate Davis (USA Today)

o   Mel Kiper (ESPN)

o   Matt Vensel (Baltimore Sun)

The second most common name being tied to the Ravens is Dont’a Hightower. The linebacker led Alabama to the National Championship this past year while picking up first-team All-American honors by the AP. Hightower was a finalist for the Lombardi, Butkus, Lott, and Chuck Bednarik Awards. Alabama’s defense was ranked No. 1 in scoring defense, rushing defense, and total defense this past season. Hightower stands 6’2’’, 265 lbs. and ran a 4.68 40 at the combine.  It may be time for Ozzie Newsom to begin looking at drafting a successor to Ray Lewis. Lewis certainly can still play, put at 36 years old and having played 16 seasons in the league it is anyone’s guess with how long he can hold up. Hightower is a very physical middle linebacker who idolized Lewis growing up and has been described as a young Lewis. This could be the Ravens chance to draft a linebacker who could provide security at middle linebacker for another 8-10 years. There are many mock drafts that have the Steelers taking Hightower so there is not guarantee that he falls to the Ravens, and if Ozzie wants him he may have to trade up a few picks to get him.

o   Peter King (Sports Illustrated) [trade up to pick 23, Lions]

o   Rob Rang (CBSsports.com)

o   Jarrett Bell (USA Today)

o   Rob Rang (NFLDraftScout.com)

o   Wes Bunting (National Football Post)

Only Chad Reuter of the NFL Network has projected the Ravens to pick Cordy Glenn an offensive guard/tackle from Georgia. Glenn is another big body lining up at 6-5 348 lbs. Glenn has some flexibility having started 28 games at left guard, 18 at left tackle and four at right guard. He could feasibly come in and play at either for the Ravens and could potentially be the Ravens left tackle of the future. The Ravens have seemed apprehensive at the possibility of Michael Oher being the tackle of the future because of inconsistent play. They brought in Bryant McKinnie who played well but again has had weight issues as well as being older for a left tackle. This could be viewed as a project as he only started playing tackle this past year or he could replace Ben Grubbs who left as a free agent to sign with the Saints and come in and play left guard.

The Washington Post in their mock draft has the Ravens taking Jerel Worthy a defensive tackle from Michigan State. Worthy was a first-team All-American last year who finished his career with the Spartans with 107 tackles, 12 sacks and two fumble recoveries. The Ravens are kind of loaded with players similar to Worthy already having Haloti Ngata, Arthur Jones, Pernell McPhee and Terrence Cody as younger defensive line players on the roster. I doubt the Ravens go this route unless they see something in him that makes them think he is a future star. I think the pick would be better used elsewhere.

Another name that has been linked to the Ravens is Kevin Zeitler an offensive guard from Wisconsin.  Zeitler is a name that I hadn’t heard before looking up as many mock drafts as I could but Sam Farmer of the Chicago Tribune thinks he would be a good fit for the Ravens. Zeitler was a first-team All-American this past season and has made 36 starts over three years at right guard. Similar to Glenn, Zeitler could potentially fill in for Grubbs who left in free agency. Zeitler does not have the same flexibility that Glenn does as he has never played tackle before and would most likely be strictly a guard at the next level.  Glenn does have good size at 6’4’’ and 315 lbs and having made quite a few starts for a good Wisconsin team he could very well come in and play. That being said if the Ravens do go offensive line in this draft I think Glenn or Konz are the more likely choices.

Finally, Todd McShay of ESPN thinks that Harrison Smith, a safety out of Notre Dame, will become a Raven on Thursday in the first round. Smith has started 47 games over four years for the Fighting Irish. He finished his career with over 300 tackles, 7 interceptions and 32 pass break ups. All seven of his interceptions came in 2010. Smith is the only player in Notre Dame history to record over 200 tackles, 15 tackles, and 15 pass breakups in his career. Smith started his career at safety and moved to linebacker as a sophomore and made nine starts for the Irish at strong-side linebacker that year. He also saw time at both safety and linebacker the following year in 2009. What this tells me is that he is very physical and could be a presence in the run game similar to Bernard Pollard. The Ravens have lost Tom Zbikowski and Haruki Nakamura in free agency so Smith makes sense as depth at safety. Similar with linebacker the Ravens need to start thinking about their future at safety with Ed Reed getting older and having contemplated retirement in the past. Currently the Ravens have Reed, Pollard, Emanuel Cook, and Sean Consideine as safeties on their roster. The Ravens do need to find the future at safety and the successor to Ed Reed soon but I am not entirely convinced that picking Smith in the first round would do that. I am not opposed to taking him later in the draft if he falls through.

Image from BleacherReport.com
Tom Zbikowski 2.0?

Vince's take: I am a huge Dont’a Hightower fan. I think he has the ability be a long term answer at inside linebacker. As a Raven fan all I have ever known at middle linebacker is Ray Lewis. However, this may soon be coming to an end. Hightower did tear his ACL in 2009 so that may be a concern, however, he returned and was an impact linebacker in 2010 and 2011. Yes he played on a star studded defense with Mark Barron, Courtney Upshaw and Dre Kirkpatrick who all have a possibility of being first round picks. However, I believe he has the skill set to have a long and successful NFL career. Some experts believed that the Steelers may be interested in selecting Hightower at 24 but I believe if the Ravens feel he is the player for them they will make a move to jump ahead of them to ensure that they get their guy. 

Matt's take: Like Vince, I think Hightower is the player to target for the Ravens. However, I am not confident he passes San Diego and Pittsburgh among others down the draft order. The Ravens trading up to get him shouldn't be ruled out and there have been some mumblings about the Ravens potentially doing just that (or at least trading up in the first place). Bottom line, the Ravens won't mortgage their future and current picks for one player in this year's draft. I wouldn't be surprised to see them jump a few spots up. If the Ravens decide to stay right where there are I think Upshaw is the player they target given the Alabama roots and pass rushing potential that they really could use opposite Suggs. Let's not rule out trading back, perhaps even out of the 1st round as they did two years when they snagged Kindle and Cody. Given the vast array of possibilities for teams after the top two picks, it's conceivable a player the Ravens like slips and may be had early in the second round.

Tyler's take: As with my fellow bloggers, Hightower is the name that jumps off the page as a Raven-type of player and could slide right into key role in the linebacking corps. There are concerns about him though, mainly past injury concerns, and I have a hard time seeing his "big name" status dropping to the Ravens in the early 20's where they could possibly trade up, let alone pick 29. Drafting so low in the first round, there is anything but a sure pick available. This, like the 2010 draft, is one where I see the Ravens using that late first-rounder as leverage to a team looking to trade up to get a player at a skill position such as QB, WR or RB, something teams are willing to give up multiple picks for. I can see the Ravens trading into the pick for a pick in the middle of the second round along with probably two additional picks. With that being said, I think the position that they should target most is linebacker. With Jarret Johnson departing, Ray Lewis getting older and the uncertainty of some of the other linebackers on the team, a Hightower, Upshaw, or someone of the like should be targeted. So after all this, I have no idea who they will pick. I do think that the first player they select will be a linebacker, though. Whether that is at the 29th pick, a pick they trade up for, or sometime in the second round, who knows? Oh, the NFL draft.

UPDATE:

Shea McClellin OLB Boise State

Sportscenter’s mock draft says that the Ravens will take McClelllin with their pick. This is the first that I am hearing about McClellin. He capped off a successful career at Boise with 7 and 9.5 sacks the past two seasons. He also recorded over 130 tackles and 33 tackles for loss in his career. McClellin played mostly defensive end at Boise but appears as an OLB in mock drafts. He stands at 6-3 255lbs which is good size to use as a rush OLB. He could team with Suggs/Kruger and rush the ends trying to get to the quarterback. SI’s Tony Pauline reports that the Ravens would “jump at the opportunity to draft McClellin” if still available at 29. We are roughly 28 hours away from the start of the draft so we don’t have to wait that much longer to see but this is another added quirk and may give us a clue as to what position the Ravens are going to target in the draft.