We are getting closer to the NFL Draft (April 22nd – 24th) and the projected available options for the Baltimore Ravens at the 25th pick overall are coming into sharper focus.
Here are the results of a couple of recent Mock Drafts:
NFL.com posted April 2nd:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d817461d4&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true
25. Baltimore Ravens
Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee
The Ravens have an obvious need at tight end, but this team typically takes the best available player on the board regardless of position. Williams would give the Ravens a young defensive tackle to pair with Haloti Ngata in the middle of their defense. (Previous pick: Jermaine Gresham)
Pro Football Weekly posted March 29th:
http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/03/29/qb-bradford-still-atop-latest-mock-draft
25. Baltimore Ravens
Dan Williams, NT — Tennessee
With Kelly Gregg aging and the Ravens losing Justin Bannan to the Broncos in free agency, Greg Mattison could use more help in his defensive line rotation. Williams is ideally suited for the Ravens’ movement front and could be too difficult to pass up despite more pressing concerns at cornerback.
Yahoo! NFL Shutdown Corner
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ys-headtoheadmockdraft033110
25. Baltimore Ravens
Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma
With Todd Heap(notes) getting up in age and Joe Flacco(notes) needing as many reliable targets as possible, Gresham would be a great fit here. People will look at Gresham’s size and debit him for not being as physical at the line as other big tight ends, but Gresham projects better as a down-field threat – think more Antonio Gates(notes) than Brandon Pettigrew (notes).
Notes / Thoughts:
1) National Football Post has Williams as the 6th best DT available in the Draft. Pro Football Weekly has Williams 3rd. NFL.com has Williams as the 6th best DL.
NFL.com’s bio on Williams: http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/profiles/dan-williams?id=496873#tabs:tab-overview
Overview
Williams was a three-year starter for the Vols and had a breakout season in 2009. He has an excellent combination of size, strength and athleticism for an interior defender. He plays with great pad level and a natural base to anchor effectively versus the run. He is a powerful bull-rusher who can collapse the pocket in the passing game. Williams can be inconsistent with his effort but does play with an attitude (can be nasty) in the trenches when he wants to. He is tough to move due to great initial punch and good balance and will draw many double-teams on the inside. He doesn’t have great initial quickness to penetrate gaps but is a better run defender than pass rusher in base defenses. He feels pad pressure well and understands how to leverage blockers to maintain gap responsibilities. Williams will fit best as a nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme and will improve his draft status if concerns about his weight and work ethic are answered.
Strengths:
Thickly built in the lower half with excellent strength. Almost unblockable one-on-one and maintains good balance to eat up double teams. Shows a strong punch and uses heavy hands to control blockers. Collapses the pocket with a strong bull rush and is athletic enough to make plays in space. Explosive tackler who plays mean.
Weaknesses:
Carries around too much weight. Lacks a good initial burst to consistently provide a good pass rush. Does not always give a solid effort and takes plays off. Plays too high and struggles to disengage from blockers at times. Lacks the closing speed to make plays from the backside.
1a) I love the idea of pairing adding a talented weapon next to Ngata on the line. Offensive lines would have to pick which Raven to double-team, and face the collapse of the pocket from the other. If the Ravens choose this route, I will certainly get on board with that decision.
2) Interesting range of opinions on the available TE’s. NFP has Aaron Hernandez 1st, while PFW, and NFL.com have him 4th. (Gresham number 1 on both PFW, and NFL.com).
Aaron Wilson reported that the Ravens worked-out the Pittsburgh TE’s, with Dorin Dickerson being the higher rated option. If the Ravens decided to go with Williams (or another D-line option) in the 1st round, I would love to see one of the TE’s fall to the Ravens in the 2nd round. I wonder if Gronkowski will still be available at this point? Has anyone seen a projected round for Jimmy Graham? Would he potentially be around in the 5th due to his lack of football experience, or will he be gone earlier due to his physical ability?
3) How great would it be to come away from the first two-rounds with a DL and TE? What a haul it would be to add a Gresham, and Dunlap to the fold, or a Williams and Gronkowski / Hernandez.
4) If the Ravens do not trade Gaither, and add an additional high-pick (1st or 2nd) to the stable of picks; or trade down from their 1st and pick-up and additional pick – they would have to use their existing 1st, or 2nd to address the Secondary. I tend to believe Reed will be returning, and that Saftey is a non-issue. If the Ravens are very uncomfortable with the health of Webb, and Washington, it is possible they go after a CB. A personal favorite of mine is Brandon Ghee from Wake Forest as a dark-horse 2nd-rounder.
5) I am not seeing the Ravens drafting a WR in the 1st round, but it is interesting seeing the differing opinions on Demaryius Thomas from Georgia Tech. Thomas has the size and athleticism you can not teach. He also put up huge numbers in the Yellow Jackets Triple-Option run 1st, 2nd, 3rd offense. Though as I have written before, it should be remembered that the Triple-Option creates a lot of single coverage defense for wideouts (which is part of the reason I want to see MD adopt the offense). NFL.com has Thomas going 29th overall, and lists Thomas as the 4th best WR in the draft. PFW has Thomas going 26th overall, and lists Thomas as the 2nd best WR in the draft.
NFP (West Bunting) has an article from today stating Thomas is not a 1st round caliber WR, and has him as the 12th best WR in the draft.
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Tech-WR-Thomas-has-talent-but-he-needs-time.html
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.