Which Ravens Rookies Will Start in 2015

I am going to go out on a limb, and I will probably get blasted for it. I love this draft class as much as anyone. But I am not sure there is even one starter from this group in Week 1 of 2015. Hear me out.

The 4th-6th rounders

Javorius Allen, Za'Darius Smith, Tray Walker, Darren Waller, Robert Myers, and Nick Boyce are nice players, but most of them are not even locks for the roster. So there is nothing to talk about here.

3rd rounder Carl Davis and the Defensive Line

Well this is fairly simple. Davis is a great talent, and has many of us very excited. But for this year, there is little to no chance he starts. Stud NT Brandon Williams is locked in the middle of the line, and the likely starting Ends are Timmy Jernigan and Chris Canty. Both were highly ranked run stoppers in 2014, so there is no reason to change that. Davis and Brent Urban will factor heavily into the mix, but unless one of the starting ends falters, they won't be starting.

2nd rounder Maxx Williams vs. Crockett Gillmore (and possibly Dennis Pitta)

The logic here to me is simple. Maxx needs work on his blocking, and is a rookie. Crockett is a highly rated blocker, and has a year in our system. Even when Pitta was putting up big numbers, he still had Ed Dickson starting over him because we are a run first team, and Pitta wasn't much of a blocker. Same story with Maxx. Crockett will be the starter, although maybe only in name. Of course, there is also a chance Trestman changes how things work around here.

1st round receiver Breshad Perriman vs. the field (Kamar Aiken, Marlon Brown, Michael Campanaro, etc)

Steve Smith has one starting spot locked down. But who starts next to him? I don't think its Breshad, Flashbacks to Torrey Smith's rookie year- we trade for Lee Evans before the season, and start him. Torrey is the #3. Evans gets injured, doesn't produce, and Torrey runs with it. But this year the competition is deeper, and more experienced in our system than Evans was. Marlon Brown and Kamar Aiken caught everything thrown their way in the 2nd half of the 2014 season. And while neither brings the speed and field stretching ability that Perriman does, they are more reliable and will be able to better contribute right away. Perriman will play early and often, but I don't believe he will start.

So there you have it. It says nothing negative about our team- it actually highlights just how deep our roster is. This might be our best and deepest group ever on both sides of the ball. Yup, I am pretty optimistic this year...