ESPN draft guru and Baltimore native Mel Kiper, Jr. has come out with his latest Mock Draft and although it obviously didn't take into the account of the recent trade of a bounty of picks from the Washington Redskins to the St. Louis Rams for the #2 overall slot and the rights to Baylor QB Robert Griffin III, it shouldn't affect the lower part of the first round where the Baltimore Ravens sit waiting at the #29 spot.
Kiper has the Ravens taking Wisconsin center Peter Konz. Despite a rather average Combine where he could only manage 18 bench press reps of the 225 bar, he is still widely considered the best center in this year's draft class. Even if Baltimore comes to terms with Matt Birk, Konz would still be a great pick as he can either sit and learn behind one of the best in the business or start right off at left guard in the event that the team cannot re-sign guard Ben Grubbs.
Here's what Kiper says about the Ravens drafting Konz:
"Ray Lewis coming back makes me like this pick more, so I'm sticking with it. As I've said before,Matt Birk will need a replacement at center, and Konz is the best one in the draft. He's like a good quarterback out there, able to call the defensive looks, and will be a big help to Joe Flacco. The Ravens were a mess up front for portions of 2011 and will need to add help there."