Darin McCann’s ideal first three picks:
Top three choices for the Baltimore ravens in this year’s draft? Easy. Give me Chase Young, Isaiah Simmons and Henry Ruggs. I want a guy to chase the quarterback, a guy to torment quarterbacks and a guy to make opposing defensive coordinators shiver in bed the night before a game because of the connection he can make with a quarterback.
Three ideal realistic options for the Ravens to kick off their 2020 draft class? Well, that’s a little different. Now you are kind of at the whim of others, subjected to a board picked clean by all who have gone before you. But there is an ideal scenario in my head. Here we go.
The Ravens are a run-first team and that requires a good offensive line. Also true, the Ravens lost an arguable Hall-of-Fame guard in Marshal Yanda. The easy take here is the Ravens need an infusion of real talent to the interior, and Ruiz brings that. Draft the talented guy and let the competition on the practice fields determine playing time.
I don’t believe Shenault is as good a pure receiver as some players on my big board, but for the Ravens, I’d love to see him on the roster. He can return kicks, he can take short passes and end-arounds and make big plays out of them and he is a 220-pound ball of athleticism and aggression who can block and bring some fire to the offense. I don’t love him for every team, but I do love him for Greg Roman and the Ravens.
There are other linebackers in the class who have more physical traits, but, like Shenault, I love Wilson’s fit for the Ravens. Wilson is smart and tough, and he’s pretty darn athletic. He diagnoses well, has a feel for what’s happening around him and was a three-time captain in college. The Ravens have Chuck Clark and Anthony Levine to play linebacker in substitution packages. Wilson can do the rest from Day 1.
Now that you know what the guys at Ebony Bird would do, all we can do is wait and see what happens. We will be with you every step of the way.