The Ravens had two first round draft picks this year and used them on WR Rashard Bateman and LB Odafe Oweh. This was the fifth time Baltimore has had two first round picks in the same draft. Of course, the only way to get multiple first-round picks is to make a trade.
Let’s look at those five trades and grade them out, starting with the most recent one.
2021 – Bateman was chosen with the Ravens’ own pick at #27, while the pick used for Oweh was acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs. Baltimore traded OT Orlando Brown Jr. and their 2nd-round pick (#58) for the #31 (Oweh), #94 (3rd round-G Ben Cleveland, and #136 (4th round), which was traded to Arizona for #160 (5th round-CB Shaun Wade) and a 2022 4th round pick.
Brown would look pretty good filling a role on that decimated offensive line right now, especially since he could have again taken Ronnie Stanley’s LT spot. Oweh, however, is considered to have a huge upside with his freakish athleticism and big-play ability. The jury is out on Cleveland, who has been injured part of the season and made his first start last Sunday, and Wade was traded to New England for the nebulous “future draft considerations,” probably a 7th round pick since Wade has hardly played there.
Grade – Incomplete; could go either way but will earn a high grade if Oweh realizes most of his potential.
2018 -The Ravens started out with the #16 pick but traded down twice and took TE Hayden Hurst with the #25 pick in the first round, He showed promise in his first two years before being traded to Atlanta. Famously, Baltimore then shocked the NFL world by trading with Philadelphia for the #32 (last) pick in the first round to draft QB Lamar Jackson. They gave up their 2nd and 4th round picks in 2018 and 2nd rounder in 2019, receiving the Eagles’ 4th rounder (#132) to draft WR Jaleel Scott who caught only one pass in two seasons before being cut.
Events in recent weeks may have raised questions in some fans’ minds about Jackson’s future but let me remind anyone who doubts-he is the team’s QB of the present and future. For him to still be available at #32 and cost the Ravens only two 2nd round picks was a steal.
Grade – A-, could go up to an A if he leads a Super Bowl run soon, down towards a B- if he does not resign with the team after his contract is up next year.
BTW, I think that 2018 draft was the best one overall for the Ravens in recent years. They also drafted Orlando Brown Jr. in the 2nd round, TE Mark Andrews in the 3rd (talk about a steal), CB Anthony Averett in the 4th, S DeShon Elliott and C Bradley Bozeman in the 6th.
2003 -The Ravens drafted future Hall-of-Famer LB Terrell Suggs with their own pick at #10, then traded the 2003 2nd round pick and the 2004 1st round pick to NE for their first rounder, #19. That pick was QB Kyle Boller.
In recent years, Ravens Head Coach at the time Brian Billick has addressed this mistake. He said, “Biggest error we made when evaluating Kyle Boller out of Cal was justifying his low completion percentage by criticizing the talent he had around him.” Boller started 42 games during his five seasons in Baltimore, posting a 20-22 record.
New England drafted NT Vince Wilfork in 2004 with the pick they got from the Ravens. Wilfork was named to five Pro Bowls and is a Hall of Fame semi-finalist this year.
The Patriots won that trade big time.
Grade -D, not an F because Boller did win 20 games as a starting QB, but of course much, much more is needed from a 1st round pick.
2000 -The Ravens owned the #10 pick in the first round that year and made the first of several disappointing WR choices when they selected Travis Taylor. That year’s trade, however, worked out much better. Baltimore had traded their 2nd round pick in 1999 to Atlanta for the Falcons’ 2000 first rounder, which wound up at #5.
The Ravens selected RB Jamal Lewis, who remains the franchise’s all-time leading rusher with 7,801 yards. He was a big contributor to Baltimore’s Super Bowl win in his rookie year, and his ACL injury was a big contributor to them not repeating the following year. No one who watched it will ever forget his 295-yard record setting game against Cleveland in 2003. In fact, his 2,066 yards rushing that season remains one of the greatest seasons a RB had ever had in the NFL.
Grade -A, duh.
1996 -I saved this for last because it is the gold standard of drafts for this franchise, oddly enough their first one, kind of. The front office had been largely in place in Cleveland, but still, the first two draft picks this team made are arguably the two best players in team history.
Thanks to the Cleveland Browns’ 1995 collapse after their move to Baltimore was announced, the Ravens owned the #4 pick in the draft. You may had heard the story of how owner Art Modell wanted to draft flashy RB Lawrence Phillips. Fortunately, Ozzie Newsome talked him out of that, “staying true to his board,” as he would later say, and chose OT Jonathan Ogden, who became the first Raven inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The St. Louis Rams drafted Phillips at #6, but he would play only three seasons in the NFL for three different teams. While serving a 31-year sentence on assault convictions, he was charged in 2015 with murdering his cellmate. While awaiting trial, he committed suicide in solitary confinement-a truly tragic story.
The path to that second first round pick was a murky one. Here’s the write up from the Ravens’ media guide of the trade made before the 1995 draft, when the team was still in Cleveland: “Obtained second 1st-round choice (26) from SF along with 49ers 1995 1st-, 3rd- and 4th- (from KC) round picks for Cle. 1995 1st-round pick (obtained from Atl. for RB Eric Metcalf and Cle. original 1995 1st-round pick).”
Got all that? Good, neither did I. All that matters, however, is that the Ravens held the #26 pick and drafted LB Ray Lewis, the second Raven inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ogden was a great player, but it was Lewis that became the heart, soul, and face of the franchise. Like Ogden, he is mentioned in conversations about the best to ever play their positions.
As good as the trades for Jackson and Jamal Lewis were, you just ain’t gonna beat this one.
Grade -A+, also duh.
The Ravens have twice traded for a 1st round pick in the following year’s draft. Those trades landed them Ray and Jamal Lewis. I wouldn’t mind seeing them try that again sometime.
Fascinating Factoid of the Week
You may know that the Browns were not the first team to leave Cleveland, but did you know that they were actually the fourth? I didn’t until recently.
The first two Cleveland franchises, the Tigers (renamed Indians) and Bulldogs, folded in 1921 and 1925. The Bulldogs returned in 1927 but were sold and moved to Detroit to become the Lions as the end of the season (move #1).
In 1931, the Orange Newark Tornados moved to Cleveland and became the Indians, but were sold to George Preston Marshall, who moved the team to Boston (move #2) and renamed them the Braves, then soon relocated to Washington where they were known for many years as the Redskins-apparently he finally ran out of Indian related names.
Some of you history buffs may realize that the Los Angeles Rams started out as the Cleveland Rams in 1937. Following their championship season of 1945, then moved out to the bright lights of LA (move #3). They are still the only NFL team to relocate the year after they won a championship.
The Browns appeared in the old All-America Football Conference, and thanks largely to head coach Paul Brown, they attracted a large and passionate following until they moved to Baltimore in 1996 (move #4). The current iteration of the Browns seems pretty settled, but time will tell. As it turns out, history is stacked against them staying for the long haul.
I’ll be back after the holidays when it again will be Steelers’ week. I’ll drill down a bit into their joint history with a look at the coaching rivalry between John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin. Let’s also hope that Coach Harbaugh finds a new two-point play idea under his Christmas tree.
Until then, you can follow me on Twitter @jimjfootball and remember; it’s okay to look back as long as you live forward! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Ravens Nation!
Jim Johnson spent most of his life in Maryland, growing up with the Orioles, the Colts, Terps, and later Ravens. He started his sports writing career as “The Courtmaster,” covering the Terps and ACC hoops and was a frequent guest on Bob Haynie’s old WNST show and other sports talk across the region. He is currently in his second run at BSL. After previously covering Maryland and Big Ten Football, he now writes about the NFL, primarily the action in the AFC North. Jim covers both current and historic stories, seeking perspective and having fun in the process.