The possibility of the Baltimore Ravens trading their 26th pick in this month's NFL Draft is a more likely scenario than the team trading up to pick earlier in the first round. The Ravens have been all about their "Best Player Available" mantra and if the player they think would help the team most is rated lower than their 26th pick in round one, then GM Ozzie Newsome wouldn't hesitate to drop back for more picks.
This possibility is increased by the theory that there will be teams with early second round picks that might want to jump back into the first round and grab one of the remaining highly-ranked quarterbacks. According to NFL.com's Charley Casserly, the Ravens pick might be "for sale" if the right offer is made. In a story on BaltimoreRavens.com, Casserly would not be surprised if the Ravens, who have traded their first round pick the past three years in a row, pulled the trigger again on a draft day trade.
Last year's trade has not provedto be worthy of that first round pick, as they traded with the Denver so the Broncos could grab QB Tim Tebow. In return, the Ravens selected Sergio Kindle in the second round and TE's Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta in the third round. None of those three players made a noticeable contribution in 2010, while Tebow might become the Broncos franchise QB at some point. Of course, the jury is still out on the Ravens picks, with Kindle recovering from injury and the young tight ends learning behind Todd Heap.
However, with a lot of players on the Ravens roster headed to free agency once the Collective Bargaining Agreement issue is settled, garnering more picks for a team that appears to need help in many positions on both sides of the ball may be the best thing to do with that first round draft pick if the opportunity arises on April 28th.