With the 186th pick in the 6th round of the NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens have selected Chuck Clark
With options at wide receiver still on the board, the Ravens decided to take a safety. They have selected Chuck Clark out of Virginia Tech. Unless they trade and acquire more picks, the Ravens are done in the 2017 NFL Draft. As it stands, it will be the second time in team history that they have not made a trade in the NFL draft. It also ended a seven year streak where the Ravens have taken a wide receiver in the draft.
Clark was a top performer at the NFL combine in the 20-yard shuttle, posting a score of 4.07 seconds. He has a ton of experience, starting 49 games in his four years at Virginia Tech. He played at both safety and cornerback.
Looking at Clark, he adds more depth to the Ravens secondary. He will go into the season as a back-up behind Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson. After bringing back Lardarius Webb on a cheaper contract, it did not seem like the Ravens would target another secondary player. I see his role being more in special teams than on defense. The Ravens do not have two of their top special team tacklers in Kyle Juszczyk and Kendrick Lewis anymore. He could be a very quick gunner on the edge for the special teams unit.
Obviously it is not a pick that is going to wow people, but once you get into the later rounds of the draft, you are looking for players that can contribute in a variety of ways. Clark has the ability to do this for the Ravens. Jerry Rosburg is one of the best in the business when it comes to special teams.
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It still does confuse me why the Ravens did not go after a wide receiver. Options like Isaiah Ford and Malachi Dupre were still available. They make a similar pick last year in Maurice Canady and never saw anything from him. On the bright side, the Ravens will have their chance to go after undrafted free agents and veteran wide receivers. Anquan Boldin and Eric Decker are two names that immediately stick out. If they bring in a veteran wide receiver now it will not cost them a compensatory pick .