The Baltimore Ravens selected a quality group of prospects during the 2021 NFL draft, headlined by their two first round picks in wide receiver Rashod Bateman and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh. While their professional careers are just getting started, Baltimore’s 2021 draft class showed some immense potential over the course of their rookie seasons.
When doing a re-draft of the 2021 draft, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report shook up the first round, and gave the Ravens two different players than the ones they originally selected at picks No. 27 and No. 31. First with the 27th overall selection, Baltimore selected New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo, who was originally taken at pick No. 76. Knox explained that with how the Ravens’ secondary could have used a healthy Adebo last season.
“A third-round pick of New Orleans, Stanford’s Paulson Adebo was both effective and durable as a rookie. He started all 17 games for the Saints and played 76 percent of the defensive snaps. He finished with 66 tackles, eight passes defended, three interceptions and a respectable opposing passer rating of 91.7…Adebo’s durability is the big selling point. Had Baltimore fielded a quality starter for the entire season, it might have stood a chance of sneaking into the playoffs.”
At No. 31, Knox had Baltimore take Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, who was originally taken just one pick later at No. 32.
“He played a rotational role for the Buccaneers in 2021, but he was still impactful. He played just 49 percent of the defensive snaps but appeared in all 17 games. He finished with four sacks, 29 tackles, five tackles for loss and 27 quarterback pressures.”
Part of the reason why Tryon-Shoyinka was the selection at No. 31 instead of Oweh was because Oweh was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 18 in this re-draft. Bateman was not selected in the first round of this hypothetical, however.