Baltimore Ravens Mock Draft Roundup 6.0

The Ravens move Jackson and start building around Tannehill, their bridge guy, in 2023. Johnston is a big, long, physical, YAC specialist with serious vertical ability. In the Lamar Jackson trade, the Ravens get this selection, 2024 first-round and second-round picks from Atlanta along with 2025 second-round and fourth-round picks.

When your WR room records a league-low 1,517 receiving yards and 29th-ranked seven TD catches, and you're also trying to appeal to your unsigned franchise quarterback, you have to take a close look at the receivers in the draft class. Teams got that on Saturday in Indianapolis, and Smith-Njigba was a standout. We hadn't seen him on the field since his 2022 season ended in October after three games, thanks to a hamstring injury, but he didn't appear hampered by it during the combine workouts. He showcased his precise route running, soft hands and ability to accelerate upfield. Smith-Njigba might have missed most of 2022, but he did have 1,606 receiving yards in 2021 -- more than all of the Ravens' receivers combined for last season. Now I'm fired up to see JSN run at the Ohio State pro day on March 22.

Whoever's at quarterback this coming season in Baltimore, the Ravens need a wideout who can get open and make challenging catches outside of his frame. Flowers fits the bill.

"We're going to keep swinging." That was the short version of the answer by Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta when asked about drafting wide receivers.

Flowers is a smaller target (5-9, 182), which isn't ideal, but he is a savvy and sudden competitor with the route pacing to create space for his quarterback.

What better way to potentially replace a big, physical corner like Marcus Peters than with a big, physical corner like Ringo ... though he's not the takeaway machine Peters is. Conversely, Peters isn't going to run 4.36, either.

The Ravens ranked 26th in passing yards allowed last season. They look to bolster their secondary by adding Deonte Banks. Banks has the burst you look for in an NFL corner and top-level size (6 feet, 197 pounds) to mix it up in the run game.

Rashod Bateman's social media meltdown on Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta shows how frustrated the entire offense has been in recent years. Clearly, quarterback Lamar Jackson wants a more wide-open approach. The receivers are sick of taking the blame for the scheme's inadequacies. Yet both need more help.

Boston College's Zay Flowers may be another undersized option (5'9", 182 lbs.), but he's instant offense any time he touches the ball.

"Regardless of who is throwing the ball, the Ravens need speed at wide receiver," Klassen said while alluding to the possibility Baltimore and Jackson may not find a common ground on a contract extension. "Flowers is the perfect man for the job.

"The two-time, first-team All-ACC performer clocked a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, and there's plenty of evidence of speed on his film. Moreover, Flowers is exceptionally twitchy in the short area, which enables him to thrive as both a route-runner and ankle-breaking ball-carrier.

"His slight frame and average ability to attack the ball will limit his overall usage, but Flowers has the goods to serve as a speed-centric No. 2 receiver opposite Bateman."

The Ravens need weapons beyond their tight ends. If they don't add more, they're never going to keep Jackson happy or have enough to compete with the AFC's best.

The Ravens are pretty set at safety with Chuck Clark, Marcus Williams, and Kyle Hamilton, but that's not necessarily where we're projecting Branch in Mike Macdonald's offense — he's a true do-it-all guy who played much more outside and slot corner than he did in the box, or split, or in the deep third. Wherever he lined up, the 6-foot-0, 190-pound Branch allowed 36 catches on 57 targets last season for 240 yards, 136 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, two interceptions, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 69.3. As Marcus Peters is an impending free agent, and Baltimore might have to spend the gross national product of France on the continuation of the Lamar Jackson story, maybe it's time to add to the secondary in the first round, as the Ravens wisely did with Hamilton in 2022.

Trading Marquise Brown to Arizona and losing Rashod Bateman to injury left the Ravens perilously thin at receiver.

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