Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s lead NFL Draft analyst, checked most of the boxes for the Baltimore Ravens in his seven-round mock draft on Wednesday.
He addressed the offensive line, the team’s biggest need, in the first round with Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan — and again in the fifth with Pittsburgh guard Matt Goncalves. He didn’t wait long to add an offensive playmaker, with the second round yielding South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette.
In the middle rounds, he attacked two of the Ravens’ biggest remaining needs, adding secondary help with Wake Forest safety Malik Mustapha in the third round and Oregon cornerback Khyree Jackson in the fourth — and a developmental edge rusher in Colorado State’s Mohamed Kamara, who was also taken in the fourth round.
He used Day 3 of the draft to add depth with sixth-round pick Marist Liufau, an inside linebacker out of Notre Dame; and seventh-rounders Tarheeb Still, a cornerback from Maryland; and Logan Lee, an interior defensive lineman from Iowa.
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Brugler didn’t have the Ravens making any trades, which they traditionally do in the draft. He also didn’t have them selecting a running back, which general manager Eric DeCosta all but guaranteed in the middle rounds.
However, if the draft plays out similarly as Brugler projects for Baltimore, it would represent a typical Ravens’ haul. Needs were mostly addressed. The Ravens again drafted a wide receiver early and got secondary help later. They found good value in the middle rounds, and Day 3 brought special teams help.
It’s hard to quibble too much with Brugler’s mock from a Baltimore perspective, but let’s analyze it further.
What I liked
The selection of Morgan isn’t sexy, but it’s plenty sensible. For all the talk about the strength and depth of this year’s offensive line class, it’s going to be hard for the Ravens to find a plug-and-play offensive tackle on Day 2 and beyond. And they need to come out of this draft with a starting-caliber offensive tackle with Morgan Moses having been traded and Ronnie Stanley perennially dealing with health issues.
Morgan has experience at both tackle spots and some evaluators believe he profiles best as an NFL guard. He offers versatility for a Baltimore team that also has questions at guard. The Ravens could pencil Morgan in as a starter the second he signs. You could make a case that Morgan is more of an early second-round guy, and the best situation for the Ravens would be trading back into the second round, adding an extra Day 2 pick and still having the opportunity to take either Morgan or BYU tackle Kingsley Suamataia. However, there’s no guarantee DeCosta’s phone will ring with interest in the No. 30 pick. Even if it does, the Ravens will only want to go back so far.
The buzz in this draft is that most teams don’t have close to 32 players with a first-round grade. Thus, it’s conceivable that the Ravens may have to settle for taking a player at No. 30 with a second-round grade. With nine offensive linemen coming off the board within the first 25 picks in Brugler’s mock, Morgan would be a decent consolation prize.
Legette would be very good value at No. 62. He was just one of two SEC receivers last year to average 100 yards per game. The other one, LSU’s Malik Nabers, will come off the board in the top 10. More than anything, the 6-foot-1, 223-pound prospect would diversify the Ravens’ receiving corps. They need a big and physical target who can make contested catches.
Xavier Legette caught 71 passes for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns in his final season at South Carolina. (Jeff Blake / USA Today)
I also like Brugler prioritizing the safety position with the third-round selection of Mustapha. It’s an underrated need for the Ravens after they lost Geno Stone in free agency and haven’t yet re-signed Daryl Worley. They currently have no obvious No. 3 safety on their roster behind Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton, unless they use Ar’Darius Washington, who they like in the slot, in that role. That’s a potential problem, given Williams’ recent injury history and the coaching staff’s preference for moving Hamilton around. Mustapha lacks ideal size and length, but he plays with the physicality and aggression Baltimore loves.
Waiting until the fourth to grab a cornerback hasn’t recently been a great drafting recipe for the Ravens (more on that later). But Jackson, a Maryland native, has a ton of upside. Long and athletic and with good ball skills, Jackson fits the profile of the type of cornerback Baltimore drafts.
Kamara, who had 13 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in his final college season and 28 sacks over his final three campaigns, is a nice mid-round prospect. The Ravens already have a youthful edge rushing room. They don’t need to reach at the position, but they also shouldn’t turn down the opportunity to add more talent. Kamara “plays like a Raven” and he’d be an interesting addition to their pass rush.
What I didn’t like
Jackson could very well develop into the starting-caliber corner the Ravens need, but this feels like a year that DeCosta needs to take a bigger swing at cornerback. It’s both a current and a future need with Marlon Humphrey coming off an injury-plagued season, Brandon Stephens a season away from free agency and several of the team’s younger corners having yet to establish themselves as impact guys. The Ravens have selected just one corner (Stephens in the third round in 2021) within the first three rounds over the past six drafts. This is not a particularly deep cornerback class, and waiting until Day 3 to address the position isn’t ideal.
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Is Goncalves a good enough guard prospect to potentially start as a rookie? Brugler’s scouting report on Goncalves in “The Beast” says he projects to be an NFL reserve, so that suggests the answer is no. Look, the Ravens aren’t going to be able to perfectly fill every need in this draft. However, after losing their two starting guards and backup center in free agency, finding a starting-caliber guard has to be close to a priority next week. There’s nothing wrong with adding depth, but the Ravens will have to be comfortable with Ben Cleveland and Andrew Vorhees as their two starting guards to hold off until the fifth round before selecting one.
With nine selections, the Ravens have more than enough draft capital to use a mid-round pick on a running back. Yes, they added Derrick Henry, and Justice Hill showed he could be a solid complementary back last season. However, Henry is on a short-term deal, Hill is a free agent next offseason and Keaton Mitchell’s status is uncertain going forward after sustaining a major knee injury in December. This isn’t a star-studded running back class, but there are several ball carriers who can come in and immediately contribute. The Ravens should and likely will take one of them.
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What I would have done differently
Projecting trades in mock drafts is good fun, but it’s impossible to know how realistic the scenarios are. There’s a decent chance that when the Ravens are on the clock at 30, DeCosta’s phone may not ring. Still, if the contingency plan for a scenario where all the first-round offensive tackles and cornerbacks are off the board before No. 30 is to select one of the second-tier tackles like Morgan, Suamataia or Houston’s Patrick Paul, the Ravens should make every effort to trade back into the second round and try to secure that extra Day 2 pick.
In the two picks after Brugler has the Ravens taking Legette at No. 62, Kentucky cornerback Andru Phillips and Rutgers cornerback Max Melton come off the board. Legette is a nice pick and his skill set is much needed with the Ravens’ wide receiving corps, but I would have gone cornerback with Baltimore’s second-round pick. Melton, in particular, would have been a nice fit.
Brugler mocks five running backs going in the fourth round: Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen (No. 112), Notre Dame’s Audric Estime (No. 125), Kentucky’s Ray Davis (No. 126), Clemson’s Will Shipley (No. 127) and Oregon’s Bucky Irving (No. 131). With two fourth-round picks, that would have been an area where I connected the Ravens with a back.
(Top photo of Jordan Morgan: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
