The 2017 NFL Draft resulted in massive upgrades to the Baltimore Ravens defense. Here are five post NFL Draft predictions:
The Baltimore Ravens drafted five defensive players with their seven picks in the 2017 NFL Draft. They added three players to the front seven, all three of which look like instant impact players. They added two players to their secondary as well. Marlon Humphrey was one of the top cornerbacks in this draft class. The other two picks were to help the offensive line. The Ravens selected Nico Siragusa and Jermaine Eluemunor on the third day of the draft.
Earlier today, Remy Cabache explained what we learned about the Ravens through their NFL Draft selections. Now, I am going to give you five predictions based off the Ravens draft picks. The focus of the Ravens draft was primarily defense, so my first prediction will start on that side of the football.
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Prediction 1: The Ravens Will Have The Best Fourth Quarter Defense In The NFL
The Ravens struggled late in games last season. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Ravens on Christmas, with a touchdown, in the last ten seconds of the game. The Philadelphia Eagles almost beat the purple and black with a two point conversion at the end of the game. Baltimore had a ten point lead with just about four minutes to go. The Ravens came back and took the lead against the Raiders, only to see it get grasped back by Derek Carr. There were numerous examples of the Ravens defense falling short in the final moments of the game.
The Ravens entire offseason has been very helpful to solving this problem. The Ravens signed Tony Jefferson and Brandon Carr. This strengthened the secondary before the draft. The addition of Jefferson next to Eric Weddle, will take away a lot of big play chances for the Ravens’ opponents. Adding Humphrey to the mix makes the secondary incredibly deep and talented. The Ravens have four players who could realistically be the number two cornerback and that bodes well for them.
A top 10 defense got upgraded:
The front seven was given three new players as well. Every player the Ravens added to the defense (with the exception of Chuck Clark) is going to make a big impact. The Ravens starting defensive line is pretty impressive. Players like Michael Pierce, Carl Davis and Brent Urban are going to rotate in and out of the game. There linebacker group is incredibly loaded too. All this depth means two things. First, the Ravens have the players for every defensive occasion. Secondly the Ravens will stay fresh throughout the game. Teams could wear the 2016 defensive unit down. Nobody is going to do that in 2017. Not to this defense.