Even When Sleeping, Eric DeCosta’s Mind Doesn’t Rest - Clifton Brown
“The only thing that has changed is, I haven’t been able to dedicate all my time to the draft. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at other things, talking to people about other things. I’ve had to be more of a macro manager than a micromanager of the draft. Fortunately we’ve got people like (Director of College Scouting) Joe Hortiz and (Director of Pro Personnel) George Kokinis and our scouts. Whatever I haven’t been able to do, they’ve been able to pick up the slack and then some.”
“This process that we use has built up over time,” DeCosta said. “It’s like the Coke recipe. It didn’t just happen. It evolved and we believed in it. I know we have the best scouts. We have people that speak the same language, we look at things the same way, we appreciate the same things, we understand the culture that Baltimore has.”
DeCosta has remained loyal to the Ravens all these years, largely because the Ravens gave him an opportunity to pursue his dream. One of Newsome’s favorite sayings is “right player, right price.” DeCosta views this as the right job, right place.
DeCosta is well prepared to be the final decision maker this year after running the Ravens draft board since 2004.
2019 NFL Draft: All-Pros, Pro Bowlers and Red Stars to watch - Bucky Brooks
PRO BOWLERS
1) Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
2) Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
3) Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida
4) Noah Fant, TE, Iowa
5) Devin Bush, LB, Michigan
6) Garrett Bradbury, C, N.C. State
7) Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma
8) Montez Sweat, Edge, Mississippi State
9) Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State
10) Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson
11) Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama
12) Johnathan Abram, S, Mississippi State
13) Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
14) Elgton Jenkins, C, Mississippi State
15) Rashan Gary, Edge, Michigan
16) Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
17) Greedy Williams, CB, LSU
18) Drew Lock, QB, Missouri
RED STAR PLAYERS
Jalen Hurd, WR, Baylor: Every offensive coach in the league would love to have at least one player in the lineup with the capacity to align anywhere on the field as a perimeter playmaker. Hurd is not only capable of playing running back or wide receiver (he ran for 1,285 yards at Tennessee in 2015 and racked up 946 receiving yards at Baylor last season), but he is a dynamic weapon with the size (6-foot-5, 226 pounds), athleticism and ball skills to create mismatches in space. As a jumbo-sized Cordarrelle Patterson type with polished receiving skills and a hard-nosed running style, Hurd is an intriguing weapon to feature in a creative offense that exposes and exploits favorable matchups.
Jalen Hurd is expected to be selected in the middle rounds of the draft.
BIG BOARD: IOL RANKINGS - The Draft Network
1. Erik McCoy, Texas A&M
2. Chris Lindstrom, Boston College
3. Garrett Bradbury , NC State
4. Michael Deiter, Wisconsin
5. Dru Samia, Oklahoma
6. Elgton Jenkins, Mississippi State
7. Nate Davis, Charlotte
8. Alex Bars, Notre Dame
9. Ben Powers, Oklahoma
10. Connor McGovern, Penn State
With several impressive interior lineman presumably graded similarly, specific blocking scheme fits will determine how teams stack their final rankings.
PFF 2019 NFL Mock Draft 5: Rounds 1-3 - Steve Palazzolo
22. BALTIMORE RAVENS: EDGE CHASE WINOVICH, MICHIGAN
Talent is needed in the Baltimore front-7 and Winovich is a productive, under-the-radar talent who put up two straight years of 90-plus PFF grades. He can win with burst, bend or his hands off the edge, making him one of the best all-around defensive players in the draft.
85. BALTIMORE RAVENS: WR PARRIS CAMPBELL, OHIO STATE
102. BALTIMORE RAVENS: LB MACK WILSON, ALABAMA
Mack Wilson was once considered a borderline first rounder before inconsistent tape and character concerns reduced his appeal.
2019 NFL Mock Draft: Seahawks take Frank Clark replacement at No. 29 before Packers add Round 1 quarterback - Chris Trapasso
Round 1 - Pick 22
Cody Ford OL
OKLAHOMA - JR - 6’4 / 329 LBS
PROSPECT RNK 16
POSITION RNK 4
The Ravens wants to overwhelm teams with an old-school running attack in a new-school passing area. Ford would add more power to an already solid offensive line.
Ford, who has been compared to Kelechi Osemele, may be the best player available when the Ravens go on the clock.