Mel Kiper Draft Grades: Baltimore Ravens
by Bruce Raffel on May 1, 2011 2:00 PM EDT
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PrintESPN's NFL Draft Guru, Mel Kiper, Jr., reviewed the entire 2011 NFL Draft and gave out grades to each team in the league. The article is in the premium, ESPN Insider, which means you have to pay to play, if you know what I mean. However, one of our SB Nation's compatriots sent it around to the rest of us NFL blogs and I was able to peruse it, specifically to see what he thought of the 2011 draft class of the Baltimore Ravens.
Kiper looked at two things to determine his overall grade, needs and value. He only gave out two "A" grades out of the 32 teams, both "A-" overall grades, to the Detroit Lions and, are you ready for this, the Cincinnati Bengals. Kiper basically said that Cincinnati saw two huge glaring needs at QB and WR and didn't hesitate to go get them in WR A.J. Green (Georgia) and QB Andy Dalton (TCU), plus he thinks LB Dontay Moch will be a good pass-rushing specialist. Finally he said they got good value the rest of the draft to earn that top grade.
(Click on the 'Jump' to see Mel Kiper's grade of the Ravens, as well as the other AFC North team's grades)
At the other end of Kiper's grading spectrum, there was one team he flat out thought missed the boat and received his lowest grade of a "D+" for their three days of drafting. The Seattle Seahawks need a QB and they passed on every one who was a there when they made their picks, which earned Kiper's bottom grade of the 32 teams.
In the AFC North, he liked both the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers draft choices giving both teams "B+" overall grades. The Browns made that huge trades giving them picks in the 2012 NFL Draft, and got great value with their picks, including WR Greg Little (UNC). The Steelers had what Kiper termed "an effective" draft for a team picking so late in each round. He likes that they got younger at defensive end, the much needed offensive line help and a cornerback that they needed as they were exposed by Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers in their Super Bowl loss in February.
As far as the Baltimore Ravens, Mel graded the Ravens three-day group of players with the same "B+" he gave the previous two teams and here is what he said about the newest group of guys we got:
Baltimore Ravens- Top Needs: CB, WR, LB, S
Summary: Last year, the Ravens got a lot good value but didn't get much out of the class in 2010. This year, they again got a lot of good value, but also hit on some players that could fill holes a little earlier. The big name is Jimmy Smith, who has the talent to go higher, but could use the guidance that a player like Ray Lewis can provide. Given that cornerback was the biggest need on my board for Baltimore, a value like Smith should have them thrilled. The Ravens also needed a wideout who can stretch the field, and got one with Torrey Smith of Maryland. He's a burner. I would have liked to see an outside linebacker on the board, but Reid is a decent value, and Doss has great hands and helps receiver depth. McPhee is an intriguing defensive end prospect, as well.
Needs: B
Value: A-
Overall: B+
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B+ is good enough for me. This is one of my favorite drafts of the last 10 years.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
Really?
I absolutely love the 1st, 2nd, 3rd could pan out I guess. 4th I hope ends up being Mason’s replacement, but very well could just end up being another Justin Harper. And the rest of the draft I see being just training camp bodies and practice squaders. I think in 2008 whenwe grabbed Flacco, Rice, and and Zibby was my favorite.
"Really, all Americans want is cold beer, warm p***y, and someplace to take a s**t with a door on it."
Well to me, we filled the needs we needed to most which will only help us get closer to that Superbowl. We added arguably the two most dynamic playmakers in this draft in the first two rounds and got depth where it was needed.
I bet you thought that Jarrett Johnson, Nakamura, LeRon McClain, Landry, Jason Brown, Hartwell, Mulitalo and so on were just “training camp bodies” as well, right?
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
I bet you thought that Jarrett Johnson, Nakamura, LeRon McClain, Landry, Jason Brown, Hartwell, Mulitalo and so on were just "training camp bodies" as well, right?
Not at all. There’s no denying that talent can still come from the later rounds. I’m just saying that this year I’m not crazy about our 3rd day picks.
"Really, all Americans want is cold beer, warm p***y, and someplace to take a s**t with a door on it."
I like Chykie. Good size and can run. In texas he wasnt targeted just like Smith wasnt. I think he has gd potential. He broke hie forearm and had ankle issues.
by Raven_all_day on May 1, 2011 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Other than Joe and Ray in 2008
This might be the best one-two punch since JO and Ray in 1996.
aka 'Rexx'
I loved this draft and Ozzie did great with how the board fell. Unfortunately I actually think our whole division had a pretty good draft. I think every team is happy with what they did and should bring more competition to the division. It’s still out of us and the Steelers, but the Browns are looking to make themselves a contender in a few years and hopefully the Bengals find some way to screw up as usual.
Steelers did miss on getting a CB in the first and second. With Ike Taylor and William Gay being free agents, there could be a lot of pressure on these young guys.
Yes, Bengals and Browns had good drafts but
they have so far to go to contend and need to have two-three good ones before they will challnege us and Pittsburgh.
aka 'Rexx'
I agree with Kiper. This draft could be an A (like 2007/2008) or it could be an F ( like 2005).
If T. Smith ends up being able to run routes and catch he can be the next Mike Wallace. J. Smith has potential, but I’m very skeptical of his attitude, not to mention he has Rosenhaus ) in his ear (See Jared Gaither for another player with him as an agent).
I think Reid will go through some serious growing pains at first so Gaither should be retained on a 1 year salary if healthy. Oher looks out of place at LT anyways.
Other than that I think other than Tyrod Taylor (guy is a straight up winner and can be serious utility) the rest of the draft is a wash and we can’t expect anything out of them, but might be surprised.
the rest of the draft is a wash and we can’t expect anything out of them
….Wow
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
Ok. You go have your heart broken from high expectations of what are basically supplementary players. You should know by now that the 4th-7th rounds are basically throwing darts at the draft board to see what sticks.
You should know by now that the 4th-7th rounds are basically throwing darts at the draft board to see what sticks.
Maybe if you are the Redskins. Not with Ozzie’s track record bud. All these guys were 4-7 round picks
Jermaine Lewis
Jeff Mitchell
Brandon Stokley
Edwin Mulitalo
Adalius Thomas
Ed Hartwell
Dave Zastudil
Chestor Taylor
Jarret Johnson
Aubrayo Franklin (star with the 49ers now)
Tony Pashos
Jason Brown
Dawan Landry
Sam Koch
Le’Ron McClain
Nakamura
Now we have Pitta and Reed.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
Well if you’re going to go back 15 YEARS, then you’ve missed my point. How many picks were actually made during that period? Right. I thought so. My point was there will be surprises like Adalius Thomas and Leron McClain, but its a wash as to if that happens, and certainly won’t with the majority.
Of course not all the late round picks pan out to be solid players, but more do with the Ravens than with other teams, and you are well aware of that. It is pretty safe to say that between Doss, Brown, McPhee, Taylor and Allen, at least one of those guys is going to either be a starter or big time contributor down the road.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
Funny thing is,
he singles out Tyrod Taylor as the good pick, while I have him as our most questionable pick, as he doesn’t have a positon, there aren’t enough balls to go around to get him on the field and god help us if he has to replace Joe.
No, way too negative and typical fo rthe guys who realy don’t know the Ravens nor the draft picks other than what thye read on national sites, w/o any in depth research.
aka 'Rexx'
Doss?
He could turn out to be a great value pick.
by Mysterious on May 1, 2011 8:15 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
This was meant to be a reply to the dude who called the rest of our draft a wash.
by Mysterious on May 1, 2011 8:16 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Right, he could be our next probowler. Or his groins ligaments could explode again. Or he could just be Demetrius Williams 2.0. Like I said its a wash. I can’t make it any simpler than that. Sorry.
Ozzie finds some gems but he isn’t a draft god with these later rounds. Every now and then someone finds the next Tom Brady, but until then its time to get real.
but he isn’t a draft god with these later rounds.
No GM is, but there is no denying that Ozzie is one of, if not the best at getting 4-7 round picks to make a major impact in the future.
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
Wrong abut the groin comment
Even Harbaugh said the team doctors say that when that operation is successfully done (which it was), there is no more risk of it happening again as anyone who never had the injury.
aka 'Rexx'
That’s any round. Obviously there’s a lower success rate because they are lower round picks for a reason, but no pick is a can’t miss. If you go with that mindset they might as well not have rounds 4-7 because according to you there is rarely any picks that make it. We have one of the best in the game making picks and your crazy if you already talking bad about the picks before you have seen them play. Yes Doss was a fourth round pick, but he also had a 2nd round grade. It’s not crazy to think that he can outplay his draft status. It happens all the time.
Doss was Joe's #1 pick
for a WR to bring here. #1, according to harbs. Torrey was up there but Tandon was #1, as Joe loves that way he catches the ball away from his body with his hands and in traffic.
aka 'Rexx'
I really hope we can just work on Torrey’s hands. I definitely see the potential, but we got to get that corrected. He lets nearly every ball into his body and doesn’t do well at getting the ball at it’s highest point. He has an amazing vertical, but that doesn’t mean anything if you can’t go up and get the ball. I think that is an even bigger issue than the route running and will be the #1 key for his progression. However, after watching more of him I am getting more excited at the potential and liking the pick more and more. If he can work on catching the ball away from his body and getting it at it’s highes point then it will be scary how good he can be.
I watched this guy up close and personal since he came to Maryland, and I am still trying to figure out why people think he has a problem catching the ball. That is all the guy did here was catch the ball!
Real G's move in silence like lasagna
It’s not the problem of catching the ball it’s letting it into his body. Even at times when he went up for jump balls he has his arms in close and lets the ball fall into them instead of going up and getting it. That’s more of my problem with him. He doesn’t get the ball at it’s highest point and that’s a waste of his size and athletic ability. That’s more of what I was referring to then actually securing the catch. In the NFL he won’t be able to just wait on the ball or the DB’s will knock it away.
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