Ravens Draft Grade
By Joe Barnes
Round 5 (#156): David Reed, WR, Utah: C. This is an average pick. I shared my opinions on Thursday night why the Ravens shouldn’t draft a receiver at all in this draft. Remembering that Justin Harper and Marcus Smith are coming back this season, I think it will be a huge challenge for Reed to even make the roster. Again, I would’ve liked for them to go after a cornerback here.
Round 5 (#157): Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse: B. This is a very good pick depth-wise. With Justin Bannan and Dwan Edwards leaving, and Cody already being drafted, adding another defensive lineman for depth was a good move. As an added bonus, Arthur Jones is not your average depth pick.
Round 6 (#194): Ramon Harewood, OL, Morehead: B+. I said coming in that the team should add a big offensive lineman in the later rounds, just because it’s always good to pick one up. They did just that with Harewood. A guy who has an extreme upside, the Morehead alum is 6’7″ and 360 pounds of man. He only started playing football four years ago, as he grew up in Barbados, a country that has as many football players as severe droughts. (For those of you who are a bit slow, they don’t have severe droughts in Barbados.) If he develops well, he could eventually become a solid lineman, and being so big, he’s sure to do some damage.
In conclusion, this draft was very, very good for the Ravens. No. It was great. I honestly can’t remember another draft where during the draft, I could see these guys developing as future stars. The two 2nd rounders are incredible selections, and the only pick I didn’t think was a top-notch selection was Reed, only because he’s a receiver. Keep in mind that I grade especially tough. I have no problem giving out Ds and Es, so the fact that the lowest grade was a C tells you something. The only thing I didn’t like was that the team didn’t pick up a cornerback, and this draft was so full of good ones that it may have been a mistake to pass up on them. Donovan Warren out of Michigan went undrafted, so maybe the team will go after him.
The official EbonyBird.com 2010 Ravens Draft Grade: A-