The Baltimore Ravens drafted the most exciting wide receiver prospect outside of Ja’Marr Chase and Devonta Smith. Rashod Bateman was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the 27th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Baltimore Ravens did not indicate that this was the direction they were going to go in the first round. Eric DeCosta played down the need at wide receiver before the draft. The rumors about the Ravens wanting Julio Jones via trade look to be a clever game played by the Ravens.
Bateman is a prospect that we tried not to tease you within our Ebony Bird draft coverage. He’s been mentioned as a dream scenario, but we never allowed ourselves to think this was really going to happen. It happened, and it’s an incredible pick for Baltimore.
The Ravens stayed put at 27 and got a receiver that could be a difference-maker. A lot of pundits just assumed that if the Ravens wanted a receiver that could make this kind of impact they would have to use their two first-round picks to trade up.
The Ravens made two selections in the first 32 picks. The Ravens also had the 31st overall pick, where they took Jason Oweh, an edge rusher from Penn State.
Baltimore made these picks in the right order. There was very little chance the Ravens would have gotten Bateman with the 31st pick. They may have actually spoiled the plans of the Green Bay Packers.
Let’s get to the report card. How did Eric DeCosta do with this move?
The Bottom Line:
The bottom line is simple. The Ravens got a great player and sent a statement while doing it. This was the first sign that the Ravens aren’t just going to do the same old thing on offense. They want to build the passing game up and now they have given Lamar Jackson some much-needed help.
If you count Marquise Brown as a hit, the Ravens haven’t had a miss in the first round since they drafted Breshad Perriman in 2015. Hopefully, Bateman can continue the trend for the Ravens. He is the most promising draft pick the Ravens have ever had at the wide receiver position.