After a crazy first round, there is still a ton of talent for the Baltimore Ravens to go after.
What a first round of the NFL Draft. It did not go the way any of us expected, but that is the beauty of the draft. The Ravens surprised as by selecting a very good cornerback in Marlon Humphrey out of Alabama.
With Marlon Humphrey added to the secondary, the cornerbacks are pretty much locked up. This leaves wide receiver, pass rusher and offensive lineman as the top needs left for the Ravens. Was cornerback the top need? No. But when the top three receivers are gone by #10 and Derek Barnett and Hasson Reddick are also gone, it is either trade back or best player available. The Ravens chose to stay at #16 and take Humphrey.
Good news for the Ravens, there is still a ton of talent left to go after in the second round. That is the beauty of this draft. It is deep in positions that the Ravens need to add to. Their next pick sits at #47 in the second round. If you take a look at it from a different angle, they have the 15th pick in the second round.
Top guys available for Ravens who have 15th overall pick in Rnd 2: OL-Cam Robinson, Forrest Lamp; WR-JuJu Smith-Schuster, Zay Jones, cont'd
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) April 28, 2017
Robinson, Lamp, Smith-Schuster are the top three prospects that stick out as targets for the Ravens. You also cannot count out pass rushers in Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams. I know fellow site expert Chris Schisler is very high on Smith-Schuster. It really just depends on who goes early in the second round. Only two running backs were selected and more could start going tomorrow night.
Offensive Lineman or Wide Receiver
With their next pick, I think the Ravens should target an offensive lineman or wide receiver. Adding a pass rusher would be nice, but I think they can afford to wait until the third or fourth round to find one. I would not be saying this if prospects like Cam Robinson and Forrest Lamp did not drop into the second round.
If they could get Robinson or Lamp at #47, it would be getting first round talent in the second round. The Steelers just added pass rush depth with T.J. Watt so adding stability to the offensive line is very important. There is still a huge hole at right tackle. They could also look to help out Joe Flacco in the passing game. After missing out on Davis, Williams and Ross it could be the time that they finally target a wide receiver. I think people are underestimating the ability of the current wide Ravens receivers, but it never hurts to add more depth. They are still looking for that possession receiver that can play the sticks.
The Ravens have already surprised us in the first round and they could very well do the same going forward. It’s going to be a fun one. Stick with us here at Ebony Bird going forward.