Sophomore predictions: Daylon Mack

In this series, I will be analyzing each of the Ravens 2019 draft picks and predicting what fans should reasonably expect from each player during their second season.

After three selections in the fourth round, Baltimore selected DT Daylon Mack out of Texas A&M in the fifth round with pick No. 160. Mack only played in one regular season game for the Ravens as a rookie in 2019. With the departure of defensive tackles Michael Pierce and Domato Peko Sr. in free agency, Mack has an opportunity to carve out a role on the team, although he will certainly face competition.

At 6-foot-1, 340 pounds, Mack fits the bill as a prototypical nose tackle in a 3-4 defensive scheme. Playing only 53.88% of the snaps last season, veteran DT Brandon Williams will need someone else to step up in the rotation to fill the absence of Pierce and Peko. Mack’s competition for this role includes rookie third-round pick and former Aggie teammate Justin Madubuike, fifth-round pick Broderick Washington, and veteran Justin Ellis.

Madubuike was somewhat of a surprise to fall to the third round of the draft and could help provide more interior pass rush as a rotational player. Washington is more of a project at this point, so Mack should have the advantage over him for now. Ellis is the only experienced player among the group, but he only played 6.12% of the defensive snaps and recorded just six tackles, mainly riding the bench after being signed off the street by Baltimore last season.

With so much inexperience behind the three starters along the defensive line (Williams, Calais Campbell, Derek Wolfe), I predict that Mack will earn a role as a rotational player in his second season with a snap percentage of around 20-30%, but will play less than his former teammate Madubuike, who provides more pass-rushing upside from the position.