Twelve Ravens Thoughts following rookie camp
Luke Jones, Baltimore Positive
A key to Baltimore’s success with first-round cornerbacks has been bringing them along slowly. Chris McAlister was the only one to make double-digits starts as a rookie, and he didn’t make his first one until October. Wiggins won’t need to start until he’s truly ready for it.
Exercising Odafe Oweh’s fifth-year option felt a little like how Baltimore used the franchise tag on Matthew Judon in 2020. The Ravens didn’t really view Judon as a $16.8 million player at the time, but that was a calculated risk to retain someone for another season and further evaluate him.
Barring a veteran acquisition, it’s tough to remember too many non-first-round rookies facing the kind of expectations Roger Rosengarten is with right tackle being wide open. Harbaugh said, “To see him in person out here moving his feet, I’m like, ‘OK, he’s everything that we thought he would be athletically.’”
One could envision Eric DeCosta adding a veteran along the offensive line or at outside linebacker or wide receiver, but a trustworthy third safety remains an underrated need. You really don’t want to limit Zach Orr’s ability to move Kyle Hamilton all over the field.
Last year, it was Brandon Stephens. Broderick Washington did it in 2022. Which third-year talent is ready to make a jump after a relatively quiet first couple seasons? Travis Jones has been solid to this point in his career, but I could see him really pushing to start this fall.
Newly Extended Rashod Bateman Has Plenty To Prove Entering Fourth Season With Ravens
Hayden Sweeney, PressBox
The extension came as a bit of a surprise to Bateman but provides some security in knowing he’s no longer entering a contract year.
“Just knowing that they want me here and having them in my corner, having the team trust me, having some type of security, it’s kind of like a fresh start for me all over again,” Bateman said. “I’m definitely excited, looking forward to it. I’ve got a lot to prove.”
Bateman had a productive rookie season after groin surgery sidelined him for the first six games. He caught 46 passes for 515 yards but hasn’t been able to match those numbers in the two seasons since. A season-ending foot surgery limited him to just six games in 2022, and while last season was his healthiest (16 games), he posted just 32 receptions for 367 yards.
“Lamar trusts me. I’ve trained with Lamar, I’ve worked out with Lamar, but last year, we did not have that connection. And that’s due to me and my injury,” Bateman said. “… And for a quarterback, it’s tough. It’s a feeling thing. You’ve got to know your receivers, you’ve got to feel your receivers, and me just coming back, it kind of threw everybody else off schedule and it changed the game plan.”
Baltimore Ravens 2024 NFL Draft picks, analysis and rookie spotlight
Trevor Sikkema, PFF
DRAFT GRADE: A-
ROOKIE SPOTLIGHT: CB NATE WIGGINS, CLEMSON
Strengths:
• Rare athleticism. Smooth yet explosive.
• Elite recovery speed.
• Really good arm length to hand fight in press and disrupt the catch point.
• Very quick and fluid hips.
• Feet are light, quick and balanced.
• Equally as confident in man or zone.
• Competitive player who does not back down.
Weaknesses:
• Slender build. Shows up in run defense, though he did improve there in 2023.
• Lack of weight allows offensive players to push him around, especially in the run game.
Do more draft picks lead to wins? Plus, Michael Irvin out at NFL Network
Jacob Robinson, The Athletic
Importance of draft picks: Do more picks equal more wins?
Unsure if a high number of draft picks correlates to wins, I ran the numbers for the past 10 completed seasons, looking at the total draft picks, total first-round picks and total wins for all 32 teams. A few things stood out:
No first-rounders, no problem: We know trading down is smart. How about trading for veterans? Since 2014, the Rams have made just four first-round picks (32nd) yet have 87 wins, good for 12th among teams, plus two Super Bowl appearances and one championship. Instead of top rookies, the Rams acquired players like Matthew Stafford and Jalen Ramsey.
The Baltimore exception: Four teams have made 13 first-round picks in the last 10 years, most in the NFL: the Giants, Jaguars and Jets, the three teams with the worst records across that span. Bad teams chasing big-name hope, rather than building steadily? The fourth team: the Ravens, who won 98 games (tied for seventh-best) with a best-player-available approach.
Most draft picks since 2014? The Vikings (99 picks), 49ers (95) and Packers (95) are the top three, and combined to win an average of nine games per season.
Fewer picks, no problem? The Saints (61), Dolphins (61) and Eagles (65) are bottom three in draft picks since 2014, yet they also combined to average nine wins per season — despite having 30 fewer picks over the past 10 years.
AFC North teams face toughest strength of schedule in 2024 NFL season; NFC South has easiest slate
Kevin Patra, NFL.com
Let’s first acknowledge that since SOS is based solely on how a club’s opponents finished the previous season, it’s a flawed metric. It doesn’t consider how teams wound up where they finished a year ago (i.e., injuries), nor does it factor in offseason improvements. It also says little about how a team’s future season will go.
We can further break down the schedule based on how many previous playoff teams a club is set to face — again, this is not a metric for determining future outcomes but a simple fact that could affect how many prime-time or standalone games a club might find on its schedule.
The Baltimore Ravens face 10 2023 playoff teams, one more than any other club.
Ravens (10): CLE (2x), PIT (2x), PHI, BUF, KC, DAL, HOU, TB
Bengals (9): CLE (2x), PIT (2x), BAL (2x), PHI, KC, DAL
49ers (9): LAR (2x), DET, DAL, KC, GB, MIA, BUF, TB
Cowboys (9): PHI (2x), BAL, TB, HOU, DET, CLE, PIT, SF
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