Ravens News 1/22: Draft Big Board and more

Ravens Plan to Stay Ahead Schematically - Clifton Brown

“I’m going to give you a firm, ‘I don’t know yet,”’ Harbaugh said when asked about Baltimore’s potential run-pass ratio for next season. “Is that OK? Because what we did was pretty darn good, and if we can play that way in games, we’re going to want to. Who carries it, how many times they carry it, how much Lamar carries it – all those kind of things (are up in the air). Sometimes we drop back and throw, and he’s carrying it a lot because that’s how people play him. So, it’s hard to predict that. It’s a great question. We’re going to try to be as unpredictable as we can.”

The Ravens were both unpredictable and explosive in 2019, but things change quickly in the NFL. The Los Angeles Rams had the NFC’s highest scoring offense in 2018 and reached the Super Bowl, but this season they didn’t make the playoffs and their scoring average dropped from 32.9 to 24.6 with basically the same personnel and Head Coach Sean McVay still calling the plays.

Baltimore has a tough act to follow offensively, but Harbaugh is raising the bar. In the NFL, it’s the only way to stay ahead of the competition.

2020 Salary Cap Preview - Brian McFarland

So, using the figure of $200M for the estimated Cap, the Ravens will initially have around $28,615,656 in Cap space, accounting for the 50 players presently under contract.

The only candidate for the Franchise Tag is OLB Matthew Judon. After having lost OLB Za’Darius Smith as a free agent last offseason, the Ravens may be inclined to secure Judon’s return in 2020 by using the Franchise Tag if necessary. It is anticipated that the franchise tag for Linebackers will be in the $16M range.

JEFFERSON: This one seems pretty obvious. Barring a major surprise, the Ravens are going to release Jefferson in early March. With the emergence of Chuck Clark – especially his ability to set the defense – Jefferson is now expendable. Releasing Jefferson will create $7M in Cap space.

CARR: This one will probably end the same, but is less obvious. With Jimmy Smith set to become a UFA and likely to end up signing elsewhere, it’s possible the Ravens will decide to keep Carr as a versatile reserve. It’s also possible the Ravens approach Carr about taking a pay cut in order to stay. On the other hand, if the Ravens re-sign Jimmy Smith, you’d have to assume that Carr is probably a goner.

This year, though, it appears that, for the first time is many years, the Ravens will have a lot more Cap flexibility to address their needs and will likely have ample Cap space when free agency begins in mid-March.

2020 NFL mock draft 1.0: Four QBs in top 15 - Daniel Jeremiah

Pick 28 Ravens

Kenneth Murray - LB

School: Oklahoma | Year: Junior

The Ravens love shopping at Oklahoma. Murray is a dynamic athlete, and Baltimore needs an upgrade at the linebacker position.

2020 NFL Draft: PFF Top 100 Big Board Update - Michael Renner

15. WR LAVISKA SHENAULT, COLORADO

Shenault’s combination of size, explosiveness and after-the-catch ability is unrivaled in the class. He’s not a polished product by any means, but he’s got special tools that you can’t teach.

20. WR HENRY RUGGS, ALABAMA

Elite speed, after-the-catch ability and ball skills — that’s a winning combination. And it’s that combination that helped Ruggs find the end zone on 24 of his 98 career catches.

23. WR TEE HIGGINS, CLEMSON

If you’re in the market for a bigger wide receiver in this draft class, Higgins is your man. He’s been the most consistent receiver in the country at hauling in passes outside his frame over the past couple of seasons.

28. WR JALEN REAGOR, TCU

The stats this past season don’t do Reagor’s explosiveness justice. You don’t go for over 1,000 yards as a 19-year-old with one of the worst QB situations in the country without some serious talent.

39. G JONAH JACKSON, OHIO STATE

41. EDGE DARRELL TAYLOR, TENNESSEE

47. EDGE YETUR GROSS-MATOS, PENN STATE

48. EDGE K’LAVON CHAISSON, LSU

49. C TYLER BIADASZ, WISCONSIN

58. EDGE TERRELL LEWIS, ALABAMA

68. WR JUSTIN JEFFERSON, LSU

70. LB KENNETH MURRAY, OKLAHOMA