It’s hard to have imagined the Baltimore Ravens draft going any better than it has to this point. Still armed with ample Day 3 capital, the Ravens have absolutely smacked it out of the park in the first three rounds.
That’s not just me saying that either. It’s not just Ravens fans. The Ravens have been receiving near-universal praise and acclaim for their 2022 NFL Draft class so far.
And that praise is well-deserved.
The Ravens have been able to land the top consensus safety (Kyle Hamilton) and center in this class (Tyler Linderbaum), a top-15 talent at edge rusher (David Ojabo), and a stud defensive tackle who most thought would be a top-50 pick (Travis Jones).
General manager Eric DeCosta and the rest of the Ravens front office deserve all the praise they’ve been getting.
Entering each draft every team hope it falls their way. Can’t imagine it falling much better than it has for the Ravens. Hamilton, Linderbaum, Ojabo, and Travis Jones aren’t just all starters, they are likely high-end starters. #RavensFlock
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 30, 2022
Ravens man. Crushing this draft.
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) April 30, 2022
Of course the Ravens land David Ojabo.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 30, 2022
Baltimore just crushes the draft.
The Ravens receive critical acclaim for their historic draft class
The Ravens’ approach this draft season has been simple. Target talent and target value. They’re not drafting for need — that much was made very apparent with the selection of Hamilton.
They’re still filling holes and have landed four players who will likely serve as core starters this season (or when they return from injury in Ojabo’s case). But they’re doing so by targeting blue-chip talents.
Yahoo Sports gave them an A+. So did Sports Illustrated. They’ve received ‘A’ grades from pretty much every outlet imaginable and have been almost universally declared one of the draft’s biggest winners.
And it’s hard to argue with any of that logic. The Ravens have landed two players, in Hamilton and Linderbaum, who were considered to be two of the best prospects at their respective positions in years.
They landed a player in Ojabo who many mocked to them in the first round before suffering a torn Achilles at his pro day. He’s a top-15 talent.
And they also landed a player in Jones who most believed wouldn’t make it out of the top-50. Not only does Jones fill an important need, but the value they got with him at pick 76 is incredible.
The Ravens are hitting a home run, and they still have plenty of Day 3 picks to throw around. Ravens fans should be over the moon right now.