MTD Final Live Mock Draft: Baltimore Ravens.
by Mr MaLoR on Apr 18, 2011 1:10 AM EDT
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Print1. (26th) Derrick Sherrod - OT - 6'5" 321 lbs - Mississippi St.
- With Jared Gaither's status with Baltimore up in the air right now, Sherrod could be an eventual replacement at RT where there seems to be a major hole right now. While Marshall Yanda is a quality starter at RT and can definitely handle his own there, we all know he has pro bowl potential at RG. Sherrod is a big framed Tackle with great pass blocking skills and enough power to be a good run blocker. Many people have Sherrod lower on their draft boards because they feel he plays without a mean streak and isn't aggressive enough. Those were the same things said about Michael Oher and he fell to us and has done a very good job in two years. Sherrod could have a very similar impact.
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Picks 2-7 after the jump
2. (36th) Torrey Smith - WR - 6'1" 205 lbs - Maryland
- TRADE: Baltimore trades picks 58th, 123rd and 181st to Denver for 36th.
- I wanted to use the high number of picks we had to move up in either the 2nd or 3rd round to get better value, and that was accomplished. With all of Baltimore's targeted pass rushers taken already (Wilkerson, Houston, Watt, Kerrigan, Jordan, Ayers, Heyward) there were none available that were worth taking here. So I decided to make a move for Torrey Smith who can be an impact player right away for Baltimore. There is no denying that Torrey Smith is either the 3rd or 4th best WR in this draft. Guys like Titus Young and Greg Little would have been available at 58, but there are reasons why Torrey is seen as a first round pick in many mocks and Young and Little are seen as late 2nd and even 3rd round picks in some mocks. Smith has a very high upside and can turn into a do everything type of player in the future. For now, he gives Joe the much needed deep threat this offense is missing.
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3. (90th) Greg Romeus - DE - 6'5" 280 lbs - Pittsburgh
- Romeus is getting mixed reviews from analysts all over the internet and television. However, watching some of his highlights and you will see a constant motor and very, very strong pass rusher. Some injury issues are the reason Romeus falls into the 3rd, where just a short time ago some experts saw Romeus as a possible first round pick. Romeus is a former Big East Co-Defensive player of the year who finished his career with 20 sacks.
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5. (164th) Demarcus Van Dyke - CB - 6'1" 176 lbs - The U
- This pick sort of goes against everything Ozzie and Eric DeCosta have stated about not taking CB's after the 3rd round, but how can you pass on the fastest player in the draft who is also from The U? Van Dyke has great height, but a thin frame, which is a main reason he is dropping in most mocks. But the speed is there (4.28) and with some time in the weight room, could turn into a very good CB for Baltimore. Thanks to BAL_Hawk for making this pick.
5. (165th) Alex Linnenkohl - OG/C - 6'2" 303 lbs - Oregon St.
- Linnenkohl is one of my favorite late round prospects in this draft. Coming from the fast paced, high powered Beaver offense, Linnenkohl was a durable starter who started 38 straight games over the last 3 seasons for OSU. A Center and Guard combo, Linnenkohl has all the tools to become a future replacement for Matt Birk.
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6. (191st) Mario Fannin - RB - 5'10" 231 lbs - Auburn
- Had over 3,000 all purpose yards in his Auburn career and played for a national championship team last year. Fannin is a hard nosed runner that does literally everything on the football field. He went 22 straight games with a reception while also being an adequate rusher. Some analyst see him as a FB because he is one of the best blocking RB in this draft, but after running a 4.37 forty yard dash at 231 pounds, RB seems to be his spot. For a team like Baltimore that loves the screen game, Fannin could be a good compliment to Rice
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7. (226th) DeAndre Brown - WR - 6'6" 231 lbs - Southern Mississippi
- Brown is one of the more interesting late round prospect because it is very rare you see a WR with that kind of size. Brown is dropping in most mocks because a broken leg after his freshman year seemed to hinder him a bit. Had 130 receptions, 2166 yards and 24 TD's in 3 season at So. Miss. Would bring great competition and a big body to Baltimore.
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This will be the last live mock before the NFL draft. Look forward to seeing how it all plays out in less than two weeks.
The opinions posted here are those of the administrator of this blog and his loyal readers. They are in no way official comments from the team, and should not be misconstued as such, even though he thinks he could do just as well or even a better job!
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I commented on Mocking the draft as well and feel that Torrey Smith isn’t worth moving up for IMO. At that pick I noticed Baldwin and Hankerson were both still on the board and feel they are both better than Smith right now and have just as much upside. Smith is a high character guy with some potential, but I wouldn’t want to move up for him IMO. I feel there is more value with Young or Little plus our additional picks. I do agree we need to move up at some point in the draft, but just don’t think he was the guy to do it for. As far as the rest of the draft goes I think it was very solid. I’m not a huge Sherrod fan, but he did a pretty good job at the senior bowl and based on the board I feel he was definitely the right pick. Overall I think it was a pretty solid draft, I just would have like to substitue Smith for Hankerson or Baldwin.
Well Smith is the 3rd best WR in this draft in my opinion and is a player I really wanted to grab, so I made the move up for him.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
Oh crap--Baldwin freefalls to #56?
Damn. Those are some character concerns right there.
And draft is all about value—down to the smallest margin. I don’t like Torrey Smith at #26, but I love him at #37. Don’t like Baldwin at #26, LOVE him at #56.
Yeah that must be frustrating
The idea that in this draft we could have traded up just 2 spots in the 2nd to get a potential 1st-round talent like Baldwin. Doubt he’ll drop this far but after the way he threw his coaches and team under the bus after leaving Pitt I could see him being way down on a lot of GM’s draft boards. If he’s off Ozzie’s then so beat, but a short hop up the 2nd round to snag him would be awesome
Not a bad job at all, but I’d prefer a pass rusher in round one (if Jimmy Smith isn’t available). But for me, Sherrod is very intriguing because he can play LT right away if we decide to move Oher back to the right side (which I am dead against). Hopefully there will be a stud DE or OLB available at 26 that is too good to pass up.
Great job
I still don’t want to go OL in the first round, although a lot of Mocks have us going there and a decent amount have us getting Sherrod, who wouldn’t be a bad fit and allow Yanda to return to RG, where he would make out o-line a lot better. Love your late-round picks, good reviews and research.
Once again, I am just not a Torrey Smith fan at all and see the comparison between Smith and UNC’s Little similar to the same thing between DHB and UNC’s Hakeem Nicks. DHB has done nothing while icks proved my pre-draft comments that season about straight-line speed being over rated vs. “football” speed.
aka 'Rexx'
Once again, I am just not a Torrey Smith fan at all and see the comparison between Smith and UNC’s Little similar to the same thing between DHB and UNC’s Hakeem Nicks
Then why do people have Torrey going in the first round in some mocks, and people have Little going in the 3rd, sometimes even 4th round in some mocks? Why has nearly every analyst ranked Torrey above Little, and done so very highly. Torrey is a top 5 WR in this draft to most people, while I have seen Little not even ranked in the top 10. Little is no where near the level of Torrey and what he can do play after play.
You are using the comparison of two former 1st round prospects to compare a possible first round prospect with a possible 3rd round prospect. Torrey is NOTHING like DHB and in my opinion with that right QB and right system, could turn into a Reggie Wayne type of WR.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
Little vs Smith
LIttle was suspended for accepting gifts (may have other character concerns as well).
by 60minuteassassin on Apr 18, 2011 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Same w/ DHB and Nicks
DHB was a top ten-15 pick while Nicks was way down the list, but those experts we’ve found out are no better at this than we are, nd to be honest w/ you, I think you and the others here on The Beatdown are actually better at this than them, since they don’t take any reaches while we see it differently.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Apr 18, 2011 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions
What if DHB landed on a team with a decent QB?
The fact DHB was taken so early in his draft, the expectations were high on him. Ted Ginn Jr. was another guy that had similar luck. Speed receivers that land on teams with better quarterbacks break out with more success for a reason.
Would D. Jackson and M. Wallace look as good as they do if they had the same QBs throwing at them as DHB and Ginn?
Always true
but some things just are. What if Mark Clayton has an All Pro year with the Rams, is he still a bust?
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Apr 18, 2011 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Was Mark Clayton really that bad?
There were times with us where he looked like a Mason clone to me.
I like all the selections made
However, I feel that each selection was a bit too high for what it was and we could have traded back and still gotten most of these players.
I would have been looking to trade up for Houston while still getting Sherrod, that would have been an amazing first 2 picks that would have both been immediate starters. Torrey Smith imo is exactly like DHB… fast but absolutely no route running ability and suspect hands.
by Mstevens_Design on Apr 18, 2011 10:36 AM EDT reply actions
I couldn’t disagree more with the DHB/Torrey Smith comparison. I think where Smith excels at is his route running ability, although he will need to perfect it to succeed at the next level. But you’re not the first person I’ve seen liken the two, maybe it’s just because they’re both former Terps, who knows.
by StuckInUtah on Apr 18, 2011 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Exactly. If Torrey Smith did not go to Maryland, no one would even come close to making that comparison. It is such a shit comparison to, they are totally different players.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
I didnt even know that DHB was a former terp
I just see the same things from both of them. Amazingly blazing speed on the track, but a lack of fundamentals in route running, catching and the ability to separate from defenders. He has the skills that make him tempting as everyone immediately thinks of other fast WRs that have done well, but its so hard to turn just that skill into gold especially when starting CBs in the league are nearly as fast if not as fast.
No offense to our coaching staff, but I wouldn’t look to the WR coach to improve any of the knocks on him once drafted. I personally like the pick of Smith, but I just hate having to trade up to get him when I think we could have gotten a more definite out of another position.
by Mstevens_Design on Apr 18, 2011 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions
While I compare them,
I do think Smith is more polished than DHB. However, I am not one to focus on 40 times and look more for YAC potential, as it is a lot more probable a WR will be breaking tackles than running alone down the field, and that puts me behind guy like Little for our offense.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Apr 18, 2011 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Good picks Malor
Originally I was all for using our first on an OT, but over the past couple of months guys on the Beatdown here have done a good job of convincing me that we need to address the pass rush. Therefore I personally would’ve gone DE in the 1st, Sherrod in the 2nd, and then possibly trade up to grab Little or Young. I also don’t know where he ended up going, but I’m not seeing Matthews with you’re 4th pick (I know, I’m getting a little overboard with all the Matthews talk). All in all though, I think this was a great draft, and something I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing if its what Oz thinks is best.
…or how about Smith in the 2nd, and Gilbert in the 3rd. Looks like Matthews ended up going in the mid 3rd, which I will agree is a bit to high for him…
by StuckInUtah on Apr 18, 2011 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree that we need to address the pass rush as well, however this draft had 14 DL/OLB going before the 26th pick. I did not have any options here and no one was looking to trade down from there spot after pick 20. With Gaither’s status up in the air, we can not afford another season of Chris Chestor at RG, it needs to be Yanda.
Sherrod wouldn’t have been available int he 2nd and the only DE available at 26 was Heyward and I am not sold on him yet.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
I've swung opposite from stuckinutah, and I definitely agree with the #26 pick
I used to be all about a stud DE/OLB in the 1st, but our secondary held up pretty well considering the franchise-low sack total, whereas our run game plummeted to near dead-last in the league in yrds per carry and Flacco just had to feel the pocket collapsing in the corner of his eye pretty much the second the ball was snapped on damn near every pass play.
I think Sherrod is much less of a need-based reach than Houston at #16 or Wilkerson at #18, or Taylor at #21 (much less the run on QBs in the 1st, which I think is realistic and a good prediction of who might trade back in and where to grab that coveted QB).
but I’m not seeing Matthews with you’re 4th pick
I didn’t have a 4th round pick, it was traded to Denver to move up and grab Torrey Smith.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
I missed that. But as I also pointed out it looks like San Diego grabbed him 14 spots ahead of us in the 3rd. Which even in my opinion is a bit of a reach.
by StuckInUtah on Apr 18, 2011 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Were you aiming for Da'Rel in the 5th?
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
Not really. While I would love to have Da’Rel, he sort of does the same things Rice does, and I want more of a power back if we draft one rather than a shifty blazer like Scott.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
Gotcha
I’d love for the Steelers to take him if he is available in the 6th. I think he has a better skillset than Dwyer. He’d be like a younger Moore IMO.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on Apr 18, 2011 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions
They already have the Bowie State kid
who scored that winning TD against us here in Baltimore in that gd-awful game where Troy stripped Joe late in the game on a horrbile offensive call.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Apr 18, 2011 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Yea, the Steelers are pretty set at RB with Mendehall and Redman.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
Sort of
We need a pass catcher who can block or a speedster. Moore is there, but he is getting up near 30.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on Apr 18, 2011 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Mendy and Redman both have good hands, can block, and Mendy definitely has speed.
Dwyer supposedly has decent hands but until he figures out how to pick up a blitz he won’t see the field on passing downs. I do see him spelling Mendy in games, leaving Mendy available to pick up some of Moore’s slack on 3rd down. I think we are OK at RB for now, providing all 3 are used wisely.
Mendy should not be playing every down and his speed is not elite, it’s just good.
I’m not advocating for a 1-3rd round pick here. I am talking about a prospect in the 5th or 6th with speed.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on Apr 19, 2011 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions
What about Jaquezz Rodgers? I know that the Steelers love to have big, tough, bruising Runningbacks, but a guy like Rodgers might give your offense another dimension. You guys have the power backs already with Mendy and Redman, and Rodgers might be that pass catching and dynamic scat back that can be used as an option on obvious passing downs.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
I agree Mendy should not be playing every down, Dwyer and Redman can spell him effectively. Keep Mendy at 300 touches or less for the season, and use him more in the passing game on 3rd down.
Mendy ran a 4.41 at the combine, for his size that’s fairly elite. If you are not familiar with the ‘speed score’ metric you should check it out.
http://40-yard-dash-times.com/speed-score-running-backs.html
Chris Johnson posted a 121.9, Mendy falls in at 119. Give Mendy a halfway decent line and he would be a dominant back.
Cedric peerman is also at the top of that list and I don’t see him being up with the top backs even with a good line. AP is below quite a few people and imo is the best back in the league. I don’t think that scale is accurate on predicting how good a back will be.
AP was just 3 points below Mendenhall, and other than Peerman, who still averaged 5.6yds a carry, the majority of the top results are all from elite backs.
“Speed Score is a metric NFL Scouts use to project how much power and speed a running back has and how well that running back will perform in the NFL.
From the tabulated numbers below, it appears that Speed Scores do seem to correlate with higher total rushing yards."
You are entitled to your opinion, but the accuracy of the correlation is trusted by NFL scouts and proven in the way the prospects have panned out on the field.
Most of those guys were also 1st and 2nd rounders. Everybody would have expected those guys to be good RB’s because they all had solid college careers as well.
They would expect them to be good due to their measurables, like speed score. They had solid college careers due to that, they were not given a good score based on their college career, but their production does support the connection.
I can show you plenty of 1st/2nd round RBs that didn’t have even average careers, but one taken in any round with a higher than normal speed score are few and far between.
and I can show you a lot of guys that are fast, strong and turn into below average backs. There’s more to the position then that such as vision, patients and lateral agility that can’t be measured with that. It would be really easy if you said this guy is fast and strong so he’s going to be a great back. You also can’t use it based on combine numbers because those aren’t as relevant on the field. The 40 can be very overrated because a lot of people don’t play as fast as their 40 time and other’s play faster than that. There is also a difference between power as far as lifting and power on the field. On the field you use leverage and other things like that and I don’t think there is some kind of system based on combine numbers that can say whether or not an RB will be good in the NFL.
Then why can’t you show me a correlation between high speed scores and below average production? There is a reason NFL scouts and front offices rely on the metric and will continue to do so whether you understand its impact or agree on it’s validity.
http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/26821/mark-ingrams-speed-should-scare-dolphins
“The average Speed Score for a first-round running back is 112. Ingram’s 4.62 time and 215-pound frame worked out to a 94.4 Speed Score, ranking 20th among the running backs at this year’s combine. Ingram did run the 40-yard dash in about 4.55 seconds at his pro day this week.
Barnwell noted that some star running backs have posted numbers below 100, but they add versatility when it comes to receiving or blocking. Brian Westbrook scored a 91.7. Ray Rice registered a 99.7.
Since 1999 — the earliest year of Football Outsiders data on Speed Scores — no running back drafted in the first round had a lower Speed Score than the 96.9 Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno posted two years ago.
“While Moreno was seen as a supremely versatile back, Ingram is being lauded primarily for his abilities as a runner,” Barnwell wrote. “In fact, the only two backs to emerge as viable pro starters since 1999 with a Speed Score below 95.0 are Westbrook and Ahmad Bradshaw. The odds are certainly against Ingram being the third.”
If that last paragraph doesn’t make you understand it’s importance nothing will.
where do people think sherrod will go?
does anyone think we can trade up in the second and get him?
Sherrod won't fall that far
I would think the Steelers would grab him if he is available at 31.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on Apr 18, 2011 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Think he'd still go in the first
or the first few of round two at the latest.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Apr 18, 2011 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions
I suppose he could
I was shocked last year that Campbell fell far for an OT. Although I think Sherrod is a better prospect.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on Apr 18, 2011 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions
hurr durr
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on Apr 18, 2011 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions
So, let me ask you, how do I become a Ravens fan when the team didn’t exist when I started watching football?
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on Apr 18, 2011 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Stumped.
Back on the Sweed train. Choo Choo!
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
by John Stephens on Apr 18, 2011 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions
we can trade up to 35th or so
with our 2nd and 3rd.
I think we end up finding Tackle/O-line help in free agency whenever that comes around.
Right tackles seem to grow on trees and people are giving up on Oher at left tackle way too soon. Not only that but there’s the Gaither situation and we have Harewood and Cousins in system ready to compete for the job.
Our biggest issue is Chris Chester being in the starting line-up, and there are countless ways to address that through free agency or even find a guy that could be our future replacement for Birk that could man the RG spot for a season or two.
Not even a single player in this years tackle class breaks into the top 10 players in this overall weak draft. Teams will reach for Tackles because there really isn’t much else to pick from. If the Ravens don’t have someone fall, I really hope we reach at another position.
Too bad Free Agency wasn't allowed to happen
as it would give us a much better idea of what we need, draft-wise. Now the opposite will mae some veterans either more money, or less.
aka 'Rexx'
by Bruce Raffel on Apr 18, 2011 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions
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