Top 15 best draft picks in Baltimore Ravens history
By Justin Fried
4. Marshal Yanda, OG, Ravens (86th overall – 2007)
It was really, really difficult to rank these top four (or even five) players. If you’re looking for the best pure value draft pick in Ravens history, you probably aren’t going to do much better than Marshal Yanda.
Drafted 86th overall in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft, Yanda put together a Hall-of-Fame-worthy resume complete with eight Pro Bowl nods, two first-team All-Pro selections, five second-team All-Pro honors, and an inclusion in the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade team.
A high school tackle, the Ravens envisioned Yanda as a guard in the NFL. They were right as the former Iowa standout is one of the best guards in recent NFL history.
The best non-first-round pick in Ravens history, Marshal Yanda deserves is an obvious choice for the top five on this list.
3. Jonathan Ogden, OT, Ravens (4th overall – 1996)
It feels wrong to leave Jonathan Ogden, arguably the greatest offensive tackle in the history of the NFL, out of the top two. But given who’s ahead of him, it was the only way to rank these players.
What is there really to say about Ogden? The first draft pick made in Baltimore Ravens history, Ogden will go down as one of best picks to team has ever made.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer started 12 years in Baltimore, making the Pro Bowl in all 11 years he spent as a full-time starting left tackle.
He is quite literally one of the greatest football players of all time, but solely because of his high draft status (and the two guys ahead of him), he doesn’t rank in the top two.