Ravens shun thin OL for versatile CB in NFL.com Mock Draft

The Baltimore Ravens have lost most of their starting offensive line from last season, making the 2024 NFL mock draft prognosticators move away from assigning the best player available at No. 30 overall and focusing more on finding a long-term solution at one of the tackle spots.

Players like Oklahoma's Tyler Guyton and Washington's Troy Fautanu have been linked to the Ravens late in the first round after losing John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler to free agency and Morgan Moses to a trade with the New York Jets. The defense has some depth holes, but going defense at No. 30 could be seen as unusual.

Daniel Jeremiah, however, believes that Baltimore will once again bang the BPA drum and select a player very few believe will be available at No. 30 overall. In his most recent NFL.com mock draft, Jeremiah opined that Baltimore could use their first-round draft pick on Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean.

DeJean, who is recovering from a season-ending broken leg, has been regarded as a consensus first-rounder and one of the top three cornerbacks in the class by many observers. The 1-2 punch of DeJean and Marlon Humphrey in the secondary could be difficult to throw on for years to come.

Baltimore Ravens select Iowa CB Cooper DeJean in 2024 NFL Mock Draft

DeJean is a physical corner who is well-built and can use his frame expertly to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage and wash them out of plays. A sticky man-cover corner with very good technique after being coached by the great Phil Parker in Iowa, DeJean should be a pro-ready player instantly.

DeJean is more than willing to stick his nose into piles in run defense, showing both a willingness to give max effort in run support and some surprising hitting power.

Where DeJean struggled is with his raw long speed and lateral fluidity, both of which led to him losing some reps against more agile wide receivers. His length isn't amazing when compared to other cornerbacks in this range, and the Hawkeyes played a bunch of creampuff offenses that didn't place DeJean in competition with elite receivers often.

The Ravens' selection of DeJean will hinge on both his health and how well they believe he can fit in as a CB2 next to Humphrey. If he performs like he did with the Hawkeyes (a team that has been kind to the Ravens in the past), he, Humphrey, and Kyle Hamilton could form a nightmarish secondary.