The Baltimore Ravens completed their 2022 draft, coming away with a great 11-player haul that fills needs as well as represents some of the best talent available on the board when they were selecting. However, they decided to not draft a wide receiver throughout all seven rounds, which caused some concern for many considering the team traded away No. 1 wide receiver Marquise Brown during the draft.
DeCosta was asked why he didn’t pick a receiver over the entirety of 2022 draft weekend, and gave insight into his decision. He talked about how the team tried to take a few guys at different points, but didn’t think the receiver class was great in general.
“It wasn’t for a lack of effort. I think, honestly, the fact that there was a run of receivers in the first round like there was … I wouldn’t say it was a great receiver class in general, compared to some of the years. There were very good players at the top. So, for us, it was a good draft, and there were really good players at other positions. There were some receivers that we liked; we tried to take a couple guys at different points. But, again, one of the phenomenon’s that we’ve seen is that those receivers get picked really, really early now. Similar to corner, they just fly off the board – in some cases, maybe a round to a round and a half earlier than you’d expect. I said this last year, but we like our receivers, we do. We’ve seen growth, we’ve seen our guys mature and develop…”
DeCosta also expressed confidence in the group of receivers that the team has now that includes Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, James Proche II and Tylan Wallace. There will be plenty of opportunities for DeCosta and company to add more weapons around Jackson before next season starts via free agency or even a trade, but they decided not to address the position at all during the 2022 draft.