Ravens add athletic, high-upside DT prospect in Travis Jones

The Baltimore Ravens continue to crush the 2022 NFL Draft. This time, they were able to add a player who most had in the top 40-50 players in this class in the form of Connecticut defensive tackle Travis Jones.

Jones joins a stacked draft class that already features the likes of Kyle Hamilton, Tyler Linderbaum, and David Ojabo. Much like his predecessors, Jones just feels like a Ravens pick.

The Ravens went into the draft with a need to bolster their defensive line depth, and that’s exactly what they did here. Jones is an athletic, high-upside defensive tackle prospect who should immediately compete for snaps as a rookie.

The Ravens have nailed this draft from both a talent and value standpoint. Jones is just the latest addition.

Travis Jones is a high-upside addition to the Ravens’ defense

A former three-star recruit, Jones was originally recruited as an offensive guard before switching to defensive tackle in college. Jones would go on to start three years at Connecticut where he developed into one of the team’s most important defensive players.

The 22-year-old led his team in sacks in 2021 and emerged as one of the better defensive tackle prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Following the loss of Brandon Williams in free agency, the Ravens opted to bring back Michael Pierce. However, Pierce is far from a long-term solution and he has a substantial injury history.

At 6-foot-4, 325 pounds, Jones is best fit as an athletic nose tackle/1-technique hybrid who’s strong against the run with the explosiveness to offer upside as a pass rusher as well.

The Ravens needed to upgrade their defensive interior and Jones was arguably the best interior defensive lineman still available. Quite frankly, it’s very surprising he lasted as long as he did.

It’s hard to argue with the Ravens’ draft strategy this year. Just pure talent and value. Travis Jones continues that trend.