5 NFL Draft Prospects ESPN is linking to Baltimore Ravens

1. Will the Baltimore Ravens really draft Hendon Hooker?

This one is surprising to some, but obviously not others. ESPN Believes that if Hendon Hooker is on the board at pick 22 he will be on the Baltimore Ravens when things are all said and done. That is not the most likley thought in our book, though.

First, the Ravens do have Lamar Jackson under contract. Things do not look great, and while the Odell Beckham signing does not mean anything, as we stand right now, he is their quarterback. A team has to actually make an offer at Jackson for him to go anywhere else. If no team goes after him he has to decide to play for Baltimore or sit out. We know he will not sit out.

Second, of all the quarterbacks that are a pivot from Jackson, Hooker is the least likely to do anything. He tore his ACL late last season. If you draft Hendon Hooker, when does he start, week 10? If Baltimore started Tyler Huntley all season, do they pick in the top five next year? Then, they draft a quarterback and wasted Hooker. You draft Hooker when you have somebody that is a stop-gap, not if you need him to start right away.

They cannot draft Hooker, and have him sit behind Lamar Jackson for a year. If Jackson stays, they need to use that pick on a non-quarterback. If Jackson leaves, they still need someone who can start week one, and Hooker does not help that. ESPN may have great analytics, but this one does not make sense as we sit here right now.