Baltimore Ravens: 2015 NFL Draft Sleepers

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Tight End

Unfortunately, the tight end crop isn’t that deep in this year’s draft. The Ravens will have Dennis Pitta returning, but at this point getting 16 games out of him feels like nothing short of a miracle.

That does put Baltimore in a nice place to take a late round gamble on a tight end.

Two guys stand out here; Nick Boyle and Blake Bell.

Dec 6, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners tight end Blake Bell (10) catches the ball in front of Oklahoma State Cowboys linebacker Ryan Simmons (52) during the second quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Bell is a former quarterback turned tight end. Weirder things have worked, so why not Bell’s transition?

He’s 6’ 6” and 252 lbs. He understands how to find holes in zone coverage from a quarterback’s perspective. He has good hands and runs through arm tackles.

He’ll also require patience.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said, “[Bell] Improved by leaps and bounds as a blocking tight end.” Even with those leaps and bounds Bell is still far behind an average tight end. His frame, however, is about 15 pounds short of being Martellus Bennett.

For a sixth round pick the Ravens might find it worth the time to develop and worth the money to trot out in the red zone.

Boyle, on the other hand, stands at 6’ 4” and 258 pounds.

“All the qualities to be a legit NFL starting tight end and passes the eyeball test. Solid blocker who made major strides in that area.” wrote Bo Marchiante of CBSSports.com. “Top competitor and high character person on-and-off the field. A bit of a high-motor type player who does the little extras. All the intangibles, upside and potential.”

That has fifth round Ravens draft pick written all over it.

Plus, Joe Flacco could probably use somebody on the roster to watch the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens games with. And what better cheering mate then fellow Blue Hen alumnus Nick Boyle? Can’t you just feel the chemistry?

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