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Day one 2020 NFL Combine for Baltimore Ravens: Wide receivers shine

By Richard Bradshaw

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 25: Denzel Mims #WO36 of the Baylor Bears speaks to the media at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) *** Local Capture *** Denzel Mims
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 25: Denzel Mims #WO36 of the Baylor Bears speaks to the media at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) *** Local Capture *** Denzel Mims /
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Day one of the 2020 NFL Combine is in the books and the Baltimore Ravens have to be happy with what they saw from the wide receivers group.

The 2020 NFL Combine is the next major step in the 2020 NFL Draft process and the Baltimore Ravens will be very busy studying the wide receiver group. That position just so happened to go first and the guys in this class proved their worth. The quarterbacks and tight ends went out as well, but that position is hardly relevant to Baltimore. No, the Ravens are looking hard at the wide receivers available this year.

The 2020 NFL Draft has been dubbed a wide receiver gold mine and it was on full display on Thursday evening. The players come in all shapes and sizes and Baltimore’s wide receiver depth is currently thin and underwhelming. They’ll likely look to add a guy-or-two in the upcoming draft.

Now that day one is over and done with we have plenty of takeaways that we can apply to the Baltimore Ravens. What have we learned so far? Let’s take a look.

  • With the recent news that the Baltimore Ravens may be shopping Hayden Hurst around, is drafting a tight end late a possibility? It very well could be, and Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam had himself a day. Okwuegbunam had a tight end-best 4.49 40-yard dash. Unfortunately, that speed doesn’t show up on his tape, but he’s nonetheless a good athlete that the Ravens could target on day three of the draft.

Notre Dame’s

Chase Claypool is the 2020 NFL Draft’s feel-good story

and his draft process went up at the Combine following his

4.42 40-yard dash, 40.5″ vertical jump, and 126″ broad jump

. Claypool, who measures in at 6’4″ 238-lbs., has been the subject of potentially changing positions, from wide receiver to tight end. Baltimore could be intrigued by his versatility, but also by his dynamic athleticism. Claypool is a name to monitor on day two of the draft.

Related Story. Ebony Bird round table: Combine players for Baltimore Ravens to watch. light

  • We all knew coming into the 2020 NFL Combine that Alabama’s Henry Ruggs was fast; we just wanted to know how fast. Well, Ruggs went on and had a Combine-best 4.27 40-yard dash time, confirming that he is pretty dang quick. Ruggs has likely secured top-15 pick status but that doesn’t mean he’s completely out of play for the Ravens. The team could easily fall in love with his speed and trade up for him. And don’t worry everyone, Ruggs is the complete package and not just a speed guy like Breshad Perriman was.
  • Of all the wide receivers in the 2020 NFL Draft, none has raised their stock higher than Baylor’s Denzel Mims. It started with a strong performance at the 2020 Senior Bowl, where he worked defensive backs all day long. Mims followed it up with a dominating performance at the Combine that saw the 6’3″ 207-lbs. receiver run a 4.38 40-yard dash and posted remarkable numbers across the board. The last two years have seen Mims dominate Big-12 competition, and Mims has gone on record saying he loves to run block. If I’m the Baltimore Ravens, Mims has to be near the top of my wide receiver rankings.
  • To the surprise of no one, Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb both had stellar Combine performances. The two will battle it out for the rest of the 2020 NFL Draft process for the title of “WR1” and both made strong cases on Thursday evening. Baltimore would have to trade a pretty penny in order to be in a position to draft either of these studs, but they’d be well worth the investment.
  • Unfortunately, not everyone had a good workout and no one suffered more than TCU’s Jalen Reagor. Reagor, who was supposed to compete with Henry Ruggs as one of the fastest players in the 2020 NFL Draft, ran a subpar 4.47 40-yard dash time. While the 40-yard dash means very little in terms of one’s game-speed, Reagor was hurt by a 7.31 three-cone drill. Again, these drills don’t indicate how fast someone is one the football field, but these bad times may be alarming to some. Baltimore has been linked to Reagor in mock drafts on more than one occasion, but he shouldn’t be a round one target for the team.
  • Arizona State’s Brandon Aiyuk may have had a lackluster 40-yard dash time (4.50), he overall had himself a solid workout. Aiyuk had a 40″ vertical and 128″ broad jump, showing off the athleticism we all know he has. Aiyuk is in play for the Ravens with the 28th overall pick, but he could be had on day two of the draft thanks to a deep draft class.

    • Next. 2020 NFL Draft: Baltimore Ravens should consider Jalen Hurts. dark

    Overall, the first day of the 2020 NFL Combine was an important one for the Baltimore Ravens. the team must get stronger at the wide receiver spot and they should be pretty happy with what they saw today. Whether or not they use a first-round selection or even a day two or day three selection on one remains to be seen, but there’s little doubt that they should be able to find themselves a stud.

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