2015 All-Time NFL Draft Has Baltimore Ravens Selecting a Familiar Face

Aug 3, 2013; Canton, OH, USA; Jonathan Ogden (right) and Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome pose with the bust of Ogden at the 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Fawcett Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

We spend a lot time talking about the actual, for-real draft getting ready to take place beginning this Thursday. But sometimes it’s just fun to play the “what if” game. While there are a lot of redrafts floating around based on recent years, NFL.com has come up with a unique concept that retains this year’s draft order, but teams are allowed to take any player who is no longer active.

In addition to those rules, players are evaluated only on their college credentials. That means no Joe Montana’s on this list. It also means that players are selected based on current team needs, not just a best player available approach. Other than that, the 2015 All-Time NFL Draft closely resembles the normal 2015 draft.

The list is filled with some interesting names and you could debate for hours all of the selections (Tony Gonzalez over Randy Moss, Troy Polamalu over Bruce Smith?), but it’s a fun exercise nonetheless. Perhaps the most intriguing selection is that of the Baltimore Ravens at number 26, and it’s a person they are quite familiar with: Ozzie Newsome.

Tight end is certainly a need area for the Ravens, and Newsome was one of the best college tight ends in history. Newsome had it all coming out of Alabama: great hands, speed, leadership skills, and blocking chops. He also went on to have a heck of a career with the Cleveland Browns, never missing a game across 13 seasons and holding the team’s record for receiving yards in a game for 29 years (until Josh Gordon broke it in 2013).

We all know how the rest of Ozzie Newsome’s story played out, as he has proven to be just as good in the front office as he was on the field. If the Baltimore Ravens had existed back in 1978 when Newsome entered the draft, he might just have gotten to spend his entire career with the organization.

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