Joe Flacco, Michael Oher and Haloti Ngata: Three guys the Baltimore Ravens traded up for. It’s not a coincidence that all three became long-term starters. When the Baltimore Ravens fall in love with a prospect, odds are he’s pretty good. Oher is considered an exception, and even he had a long stint as an average to above-average player on the Ravens’ offensive line.
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Don’t expect the Ravens to trade up into the top 10 of the 2015 draft. The price will be too high. But if the right guy falls within their range, the Ravens will pounce. Here are three guys that could be worth pulling the trigger on should they drop into the middle of the first.
Trae Waynes, CB Michigan State
Aside from their two starters, the Ravens have diddly squat at cornerback. We saw the ramifications of that last year, when the Ravens lack of depth cut their playoff run short. Trae Waynes would fix that immediately, as he is the most pro-ready cornerback in this draft.
Fast and instinctive, Waynes is the ideal cornerback for the Ravens’ Cover-3 and Cover-4 defenses. He has the speed to stay with deep routes, the aggressiveness to jump short routes and the instinctiveness to tell the difference between short routes and double moves.
Much has been made about Waynes mediocre quickness, as evidenced by his mediocre three-cone drill (7.06) and short-shuttle (4.39) times. That’s a fair complaint, but Waynes’ film is so good that it isn’t too concerning. After all, Tracy Porter, Gary Baxter, Terrell Thomas and Dre Bly were all slower in the three-cone drill, while Josh Wilson and Mike Jenkins had slower short-shuttle times. All of those guys had successful careers (though Jenkins’ character concerns derailed his career).
The Ravens could bring Waynes along slowly as the nickel corner, pushing Lardarius Webb inside in those situations. It would be a great situation for Waynes, who might need a little time to get acclimated to NFL pass interference rules.
Kevin Johnson isn’t too far off Waynes in skill set, being probably the second best man corner in this draft. Johnson could be gone by the time the Ravens pick as well, meaning if they really do love a cornerback in this draft, they will probably need to trade up.
Shane Ray, OLB Missouri
Missing Pernell McPhee? Then you’ll love Shane Ray, who has McPhee’s unique ability to rush from anywhere, inside or out. What Ray has that McPhee doesn’t is very good athleticism: a sub-4.7 40 and good short area quickness.
Though Ray lined up as a defensive end, Missouri used him in many different ways, including as an interior pass rusher and in coverage. He handled all those responsibilities with success.
What matters to Ravens fans is his ability to rush the passer, and Ray is excellent at it. His first step is blinding and more consistent than Randy Gregory’s, while his hand usage is more consistent than Vic Beasley and Bud Dupree (though not as good as Gregory’s). When Missouri rushed him up the middle, Ray was too quick and too violent with his hands to be blocked. On the edge, Ray’s first step is so explosive that he should have little trouble beating many NFL offensive tackles around the edge.
Like Waynes, Ray would be in a great situation in Baltimore. There would be an opportunity to play, but he wouldn’t be pressed into too big of a role too early. Should he fall into the late teens, Ray could be worth a trade up, which would make him the latest in a long line of great pass rushers to wear purple and black.
DeVante Parker, WR Louisville
There is arguably no play more impressive in the NFL than a leaping catch, and DeVante Parker is among the best jump ball receivers I have ever seen on film. He is like a taller, faster Anquan Boldin, a thought that should make Ravens fans salivate. More importantly, Parker would make Joe Flacco and offensive coordinator Marc Trestman salivate.
Parker would immediately improve the Ravens red zone offense and deep passing game. Additionally, he has a chance to be the go-to guy Flacco has lacked throughout his career.
Mike Evans caught Ravens’ fans imaginations last year. Though Parker is not as tall as Evans, he is a better player overall, so that Parker doesn’t have the same fervor around him is surprising. Maybe fans just think he will go too early to be a possible option for the Ravens.
Parker will probably end up going in the top-15. It’s hard to envision him getting past the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins, who pick 11-14. If the Ravens could get a good deal, Parker would be worth moving up to the 10th pick in the draft to jump ahead of those receiver-needy teams (aside from the Saints), and if Parker is still on the board at 15, then there is no question in my mind they should make a move to get the Louisville product.
Shawn began his writing career with Bleacher Report as a Ravens featured columnist and Breaking News Team writer. He moved on to write for Yahoo! and work on the Ravens Central Radio podcast. Most recently, he was an Editor at the Baltimore Wire. Shawn is a 2013 graduate of the Catholic University of America.