If the NFL were to completely restart right now and all the current players had to be re-drafted as they stand today, the Baltimore Ravens would look dramatically different. With football on a bit of a holding period before training camp, ESPN ran a four-round re-draft of the NFL with no salary caps to see where current players would land.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson went early in the mock draft, going third to the Detroit Lions, behind Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson. Baltimore grabbed current Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford with the 28th overall pick. The Ravens also drafted Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, Houston Texans defender J.J. Watt, and Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
It’s not terribly shocking to see Jackson come off the board really early. He’s fresh off an MVP-winning season in which he led Baltimore to a franchise-best 14-2 record and No. 1 seed in the AFC while shattering various franchise and league records in the process. But it is a little funny to see the league as a whole turn their opinion of him so quickly. Most pundits heavily criticized Jackson last offseason with some even questioning if he could be a franchise quarterback. Now, he’s pretty universally seen as one of the best quarterbacks in the league and clearly someone a team could build around.
On the flip side is Stafford in Baltimore. While Stafford has had a pretty stellar career personally, throwing for over 41,000 yards in 11 years, he’s never really had much success in the postseason. Stafford is 0-3 in the playoffs, throwing just four touchdowns to three interceptions, combining for a 87.7 passer rating. While that might be due to Detroit’s failings around Stafford, he certainly carries most of the blame there publicly at least.
It’s an intriguing re-draft for the Ravens overall. While Stafford can still sling the ball well enough right now, he, Jones, and Watt are all nearing the end of their primes. This would be a great start towards building a new roster for Baltimore but it would be a boom-or-bust scenario considering the short window they’d have all three at their peaks and the injury histories for both Stafford and Watt.
In total, only 3 Ravens players were selected in ESPN’s re-draft. Jackson, Ronnie Stanley, and Justin Tucker.
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