Baltimore Ravens best-player-available 2021 NFL mock draft
The Baltimore Ravens always use a best-player-available approach to the NFL Draft, so let’s do the same in our newest 2021 NFL mock draft.
The Baltimore Ravens have always used a best-player-available philosophy when it comes to the NFL Draft, and a whole lot of pundits, mock drafters, and fans have seemingly forgotten this, exclusively mocking positions of need to the purple and black over the last several months. But it’s just not the Ravens Way.
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So if we’re going to simulate a true Ravens draft, we need to use this approach. For that reason, there are no receivers or offensive linemen taken in the top five rounds. So shoot me.
Does a team in a Super Bowl window truly want to bank on unproven rookies as the answer to their two biggest needs? Of course not. The idea that a rookie receiver will come in and become a 1000-yard guy, in a run-first offense and an organization that has shown no ability to develop wideouts, is devoid of logic. And the lack of production Baltimore got from Tyre Phillips and Ben Bredeson in 2020 shows there’s no guarantee that drafting for need means the problem has been sufficiently addressed.
The Ravens draft as well as they do because they select talented football players instead of selling themselves on the idea that a given player can be the answer at a position of need. A best-player-available approach in the draft is actually what will allow Eric DeCosta and company to allocate more cap dollars towards accomplished veteran receivers and linemen in free agency.
So without further adieu, let’s draft.