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2016 NFL Draft: Ravens Should Not Take OT With Top 10 Pick

By Chris Schisler

Dec 31, 2014; Atlanta , GA, USA; Mississippi Rebels offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil (78) prepares to block TCU Horned Frogs defensive tackle Terrell Lathan (90) during the first quarter in the 2014 Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2014; Atlanta , GA, USA; Mississippi Rebels offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil (78) prepares to block TCU Horned Frogs defensive tackle Terrell Lathan (90) during the first quarter in the 2014 Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2016 NFL Draft is almost here and I know one thing the Baltimore Ravens should not do when it gets here. The Ravens should not select an offensive tackle with the sixth overall pick.

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Ronnie Stanley has been a player that you’ve seen in several mock drafts, including ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s first of the draft season. But the offensive tackle from Notre Dame isn’t worth the Ravens sixth overall pick. Laremy Tunsil, who will likely be off the board by the time the Ravens are on the clock, shouldn’t be the answer either.

There are things I don’t love about both of the top tackle prospects in this draft class. With Tunsil, I worry that we’re looking at a player who over relies on his upper body strength. Tunsil sometimes has lazy feet, and as the coaching cliché goes “Stop your feat, get beat.” With Stanley I’m not sold on his strength. Stanley is a very lean 6’6″ tackle whose athleticism and quickness to the blocks is eye opening. But is he the bulldozer offensive tackle that Jonathan Ogden was? I don’t see it.

With a top 10 pick the Ravens have to get a long-term starter. The player they draft will be expected to be a cornerstone in the future success of the franchise. When you draft an offensive tackle this early he has to be a great left tackle, right away. You have to be sold on the tackle as a potential future hall of famer. While I see the upside to Stanley and Tunsil I am not sold on either player.

The Ravens need on the offensive line isn’t as urgent as some make it out to be. The Ravens may lose Kelechi Osemele, but John Urschel is a strong guard who can fill his shoes. Eugene Monroe is the Ravens starting left tackle, and while he is injury prone he is good enough when he is on the field. The Ravens need a reliable back up to Monroe but they don’t need to draft an offensive tackle in the first round to get that need filled.

The Ravens have far more pressing needs than on the offensive line. The Ravens secondary has been the joke of the NFL in the past couple of seasons. The Ravens pass rushers are past their primes and there will come a day soon when they need to be replaced. The Ravens still need a game changing wide receiver. There are better players, at position of need, that the Ravens will have the option of taking with the sixth overall pick.

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Neither top offensive tackle is going to make the impact the Ravens need from their top ten draft pick. The 2015 season was horrible and now the Ravens must cash in on their misfortune. The Ravens need a game changing talent with their first round pick. I don’t see that kind of talent in either Stanley or Tunsil.

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