2020 NFL Draft is best chance for Ravens to finally pick from LSU

The Baltimore Ravens have never drafted a player from LSU. This is a year where that could very well change:

While the NFL Scouting combine has the attention of Baltimore Ravens fans, here is an interesting fact. The purple and black have never drafted a player from LSU, an SEC powerhouse and the current NCAA champion. When you consider how good the LSU Tigers are at producing NFL talent, that’s almost shocking. This is a good year for that to change.

Many mock drafts see Patrick Queen as the Ravens selection with the 28th overall pick. Queen, who is one of my personal favorite prospects, is an aggressive linebacker with the speed to make plays all over the field.

If the purple and black are going to take an inside linebacker with the 28th pick it’s either going Queen or Kenneth Murray. Murray, who Daniel Jeremiah took for the Ravens in his original mock draft, hails from Oklahoma. There are some big name Sooners on the Ravens roster including Orlando Brown Jr., Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown. If inside linebacker is where the Ravens are going it’s a toss up between which linebacker they will choose.

Baltimore is also needy at the wide receiver position. Justin Jefferson is a draft pick that Ravens fans seemed to be very interested in. Jefferson has been mocked into the back half of the first round. Daniel Jeremiah’s first mock draft has him going to the New Orleans Saints with the 24th overall pick. Lance Zierlein has him going 30th to the Green Bay Packers. If these two NFL.com analysts are correct in their line of thinking, Jefferson is a player that could be within the Ravens reach.

Jefferson ran a 4.43 at the NFL Combine and had a 37.5 inch vertical jump. He has the kind of  athleticism the Ravens are looking to pair with that of Marquise Brown. He’s a productive receiver from the most explosive offense in College Football. Joe Burrow is probably going to be the number one pick in the draft and Jefferson was his favorite target.

Two dark horse candidates for the purple and black to take in the 2020 NFL Draft are Clyde Edwards-Helaire and K’Lavon Chaisson. Edwards-Helaire is an unlikely pick because the Ravens probably won’t go with a running back with their first round pick. He could be an option on the second day of the draft, if he falls to the right spot, it’s something to keep an eye on.

Chaisson is a long shot because it’s hard to imagine that a pass rusher with his explosiveness and his physical traits could fall to the 28th pick. He’s the one player on this list that Baltimore has to take if he’s there at 28. There’s almost no chance that he makes it outside of the top 20. If DeCosta was going to trade up for somebody, this is the player he would want.

Queen seems like one of the most likely targets for the Ravens. The Ravens drafting Jefferson is also quite in the jurisdiction of reality. The fact that the LSU Tigers have so many draft prospects at positions that the Ravens need, makes 2020 the year Baltimore may finally draft from the Bayou.