2019 Senior Bowl: Final notes for the Baltimore Ravens

The 2019 Senior Bowl has come to a close, and now is the time for us to sit down and discuss everything we learned for the Baltimore Ravens.

I had an opportunity to talk to quite a few players during my week at this year’s Senior Bowl, but these three in particular stood out to me the most:

• Montez Sweat

Sweat was unavailable, by choice, during the beginning of the week, but was available for talks on the final day of practices. Sweat has been linked to the Baltimore Ravens via mock drafts on more than one occasion, leading to our growing curiosity about him. Sweat talked about his respect for Terrell Suggs, a player he watched growing up, and how neat it would be to player for the Ravens and their historically good defenses.

Oshane Ximines

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Ximines came seemingly out of nowhere in 2018, despite his ridiculous stat sheet during his tenure at The Old Dominion. Ximines is a physical specimen and was a daunting looking individual. However, Ximines walked right up to me and talked with me before shaking my hand and heading off to talk to the next person. Ximines, just like Sweat, mentioned how amazing it would be to play next to Terrell Suggs.

• Nasir Adderley

Adderley is a popular name in the NFL Draft community right now, and he excelled this week at the Senior Bowl. Adderley may have struggled in one-on-ones, but he looked phenomenal as a deep-safety; the same position he’ll play at the next level. Adderley was approachable and professional all week while talking to all sorts of different teams. When asked about the comparisons he’s received to a young Eric Weddle, Adderley was humbled and said it’s an honor to be compared to someone of Weddle’s caliber. Could Adderley become Weddle’s successor in the Ravens secondary?

Jaylen Smith, a former wide receiver for the University of Louisville, was kind enough to talk with me about his old teammate, Lamar Jackson. Smith had nothing but high-praise for the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner. When asked about whether or not Smith would enjoy returning to Jackson’s side as his top receiver, Smith gleamed with excitement and said “Absolutely!”

The wide receivers stood out in a big-way this week, but none more impressive the South Carolina’s Deebo Samuel and Ohio State’s  Terry McLaurin. Samuel killed it all week with his ridiculous feet movement, deep-speed, and catch radius. Perhaps no receiver benefited more from the Senior Bowl than Samuel did, as he was once considered a top wide receiver prospect. McLaurin, meanwhile, was overshadowed at Ohio State, but he certainly stood out at Senior Bowl practices. McLaurin was running silky smooth routes all afternoon and made defensive backs look silly.

The 2019 Senior Bowl was a blast, and there are many people I can thank for making it a wonderful experience. But on-the-field, I was able to learn a lot about players and rumors both linked to the Baltimore Ravens or otherwise. The 2019 NFL Draft will be an important one for the Ravens, and they’ve certainly done their fair-share of homework from what I could tell.