The Baltimore Ravens made four selections in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. If you went to bed before the Ravens made all their picks we have you covered:
The Baltimore Ravens were very busy on the second night of the 2020 NFL Draft. The Ravens set up a very busy third round when they traded the 60th pick to the New England Patriots. After selecting Patrick Queen and J.K. Dobbins the Ravens added even more value with their third round picks. We’re going to get into the grades here, but the main takeaway is that this was a good night for the Baltimore Ravens.
This is an absolutely great pick. The Ravens are committed to the defensive front and they’ve done a great job fixing it. Justin Madubuike is a player that fits the mold for the Ravens at the five technique. He’s a defensive end who should be able to make an impact as a rookie who rotates into the game. Basically, when Derek Wolfe needs a break, Madubuike will give the defensive line fresh legs.
He’s had five and a half sacks and over 40 tackles two seasons in a row. This is a good pick because it makes the Ravens even tougher against the run and it provides some pass rush. One of the big problems from a season ago was a defensive line that didn’t collapse the pocket well enough. The Ravens have effectively used NFL Free Agency and now the NFL Draft to fix that problem. The Ravens should be able to get much more push up front. This is a solid pick.
I had him ranked as my 78th player and the Ravens were able to get him with the 71st overall pick. The value was spot on here. Baltimore is getting great value. While fans will be quick to point out that the Ravens didn’t get the edge rusher of their dreams, Baltimore all the sudden has a surplus of talent when it comes to interior pass rush. Calais Campbell may be a defensive end, however he offers you the same as a great outside linebacker when it comes to getting after the passer. Campbell, Wolfe and now Madibuike should lead the Ravens to a good sack total.
Grading the pick of Devin Duvernay:
This is a phenomenal pick by the Ravens. They couldn’t walk away from the night without improving the wide receiver position. Wide receivers went early in the second round. When the Jets took Denzel Mims, the Ravens ended up trading out of the 60th overall pick. They found a potential star at receiver with the 92nd pick when the options were getting limited. The Ravens got a steal here. Getting a wide receiver that projects to make an instant impact solidifies the draft plan for the Ravens. With the Duvernay pick, the pick of J.K. Dobbins is elevated. The Ravens added two play-makers to the offense, yet Duvernay was the one they really needed.
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Duvernay’s production skyrocketed in his senior season with the Texas Longhorns. He had 106 receptions for 1,386 yards and nine touchdowns. He showed off at the NFL combine with a 40 yard dash of 4.39 seconds. The Ravens now have a slot receiver with good speed to pair with Marquise Brown. If Miles Boykin takes the next step and Dobbins and Ingram become a dynamic duo, the Ravens will have too much speed for defenses to handle.
Duvernay just has a knack for getting open, especially working out of the slot. While he’s not the big bodied target that would be a good opposite of Marquise Brown, The Los Angeles Rams built the greatest show on turf with a dynamic running back, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Well the Ravens have several dynamic running backs and instead of having an Isaac Bruce they could have two Torrey Holt types in Brown and Duvernay.
Grading the pick of Malik Harrison:
This is an awesome pick just because of the value. Before you even think of it from a football perspective let’s just go through how much of a steal this was. Harrison was a player commonly linked to the Ravens as a second round prospect. I thought of him as the third best linebacker in this draft class behind Isiah Simmons and Patrick Queen. In my eyes, Harrison is a player who can be a three down linebacker. I thought he was clearly a top 25 player coming into Thursday night. The NFL over thought this and the Ravens are the winners for it.
Baltimore just turned a weakness into a strength. I would not at all be surprised if Queen and Harrison become a pair of Pro Bowl linebackers in the middle of the defense. They both have very high ceilings. Because the knock on Harrison was what he could offer in pass defense and his overall athleticism, he’s the perfect linebacker to pair with Queen.
Queen has incredible athleticism. He can fly around on the football field while Harrison is a downhill machine against the run. A linebacker rotation of Patrick Queen, Malik Harrison and L.J. Fort almost sounds too good to be true.
The Ravens drafted five players on Friday night and the first four will provide an instant impact. The duo of Queen and Harrison reminds me of the combination of Ray Lewis and Jamie Sharper. You have a guy who can make plays all over the place and a tackling machine that makes running the football a real hardship for the opponent. This is such a great pick by Baltimore that it almost makes my head spin. How did Eric DeCosta pull this draft heist off?
Grading the pick of Tyre Phillips:
Tyre Phillips wasn’t the offensive lineman I would have gone with here. In fact I had quite a few offensive linemen ahead of Phillips. It’s still very hard to get upset about this pick. Phillips can play guard or tackle in the NFL and he’s a big bodied man you don’t want to mess with. He is 6’5″ 331 pounds and he’s a good run blocker. This is a solid shot at improving the offensive line depth. Phillips may not come in and take the starting job away from Ben Powers, though he will give Powers some competition. That’s really all the Ravens needed to accomplish for the offensive line in this draft.
With this grouping of picks, the Ravens attacked every single one of their needs other than edge rushers for the defense. Phillips is a player with upside who at the very worst is going to be a quality back up. With every major need addressed and only three picks to work with DeCosta has the freedom to do just about anything on the third day of the draft. What you have to credit Baltimore with is their responsible drafting. In a year where many fans wanted them to use their extra picks to move up and get premium stars, they were able to stick to their board without forcing the issue.
The pick of Phillips, just like the rest of the picks was a case of responsible drafting, The Ravens didn’t make one bad pick in this draft process. So far, a B minus is the lowest grade they’ve gotten from me.
It was a busy Friday night for the Baltimore Ravens. Tomorrow is going to be a marathon of draft coverage to get through. We’ll be here for you. That’s a promise Ravens Flock.