During the draft season, three questions rolled around in my head.
1) What is Ozzie going to do with the 17th overall pick? 2) How would David Carr have turned out if he didn't have to play behind a turnstile of an offensive line? 3) What would the Ravens do with the No. 1 overall pick if they had the misfortune of obtaining it?
The third question is the one I pondered the most, as Ozzie Newsome could go a variety of ways with this. He could trade it and land himself a bevy of picks or he could spend it on the best player available as he normally would.
The highest pick the Ravens have ever had was No. 4 overall, which happened twice — in 1996 (Jonathan Ogden) and 1997 (Peter Boulware). Both turned out great. In 2000, the Ravens picked fifth and grabbed Jamal Lewis. That was another outstanding pick.
Looking back to the 1996 draft, though, there weren't many other options as the first quarterback off the board was Tony Banks and we can all agree that he wasn't worth going that high. At wide receiver there was Terry Glenn and Marvin Harrison, but the Ravens already had Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander so they didn't need one early. There also was Eddie George, but a running back still needs a left tackle.
But what would Ozzie do if he had to start a franchise in 2012? That year, Andrew Luck was taken first overall and most of us can agree that Luck is a franchise quarterback. Also there was Matt Kalil, who made it to the Pro Bowl in 2012 (granted it was as an alternate) and has started every game since he was drafted.
It's worth thinking about what Ozzie would do if he were to pick that high, but I doubt that he'd ever have to.