Baltimore Ravens 2017 NFL Draft strategy is coming back to bite them

The 2017 NFL Draft wasn’t the greatest work of Ozzie Newsome. Other than Marlon Humphrey, there was no game changer in that draft class:

The Baltimore Ravens failed in the 2017 NFL Draft. They did get Marlon Humphrey, who looks to be one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks for the next decade, but what else did they get? What impact has the 2017 draft class had on the Ravens current season?

Go down the list. Tyus Bowser has a whopping seven tackles. Tim Williams has two sacks but hasn’t been a consistent force for the Ravens’ defense. Chris Wormley has 11 tackles and a sack this season. Nico Siragusa is on the practice squad and Jermaine Eluemunor isn’t all that good of an offensive lineman. Chuck Clark has become a good player, and integral to their special teams play. Overall the draft class is overwhelming.

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By now, we’ve driven it into your brain that the Ravens passing on JuJu Smith-Schuster in the second round was a mistake. Baltimore selected Bowser and other than an interception and three sacks last season he hasn’t done much of any thing. Bowser was a great collegiate athlete at Houston and he may become a great player down the line. The problem is that Baltimore can’t really wait several years for a second round pick to flourish. When the Ravens drafted Eluemunor on the third day of the draft they knew it would be a project; but they intended to get a star out of Bowser.

Bowser has been outplayed by Matt Judon, Za’Darius Smith and for this season, Tim Williams. Judon was a 2016 fifth round pick who has become one of the best defensive players on the Ravens. Za’Darius Smith was taken in 2015 in the fourth round. No matter how you slice it, Bowser hasn’t given the Ravens second round value.

They took a player at a position of relative strength rather than fixing a need. The Ravens continued to ignore their needs and took Wormley and Williams in the third round. Do you see any stud running backs on this team? How about young wide receivers? If offensive line was such a priority, why did they wait until the fourth round? And then why would they take Eluemunor, who was at best completely raw and at worst never going to develop?

Forget about Smith-Schuster, the Ravens passed on plenty of good players, that was just the tip of the “Oh come on” iceberg. The draft strategy in 2017 made no sense. It has to be said the Ravens drafted players at good values. On draft day, Bowser in the second round seemed about right. Tim Williams was thought to be a steal and taking Humphrey was absolutely the right pick. The problem is that Humphrey and Clark were the only real hits of the draft. Everything else is up in the air and that doesn’t do Baltimore much good.

When a general manager ignores need, his picks better all pan out. When Bowser underwhelmed and Wormley and Williams didn’t make a big impact, it was felt severely on this roster. If the Ravens defensive front got three dominant players there, it would be tough to complain about the void of young talent the drafted by the Ravens talent on the roster. Instead there is plenty of complaining to do.