The Baltimore Ravens have become known as one of the better drafting teams in the NFL over the course of their franchise history. They’ve build a lot of their teams through the draft, but have also put other pieces around those draft picks through free agency and through trade.
Despite Baltimore hitting on many draft picks, like every organization they have also missed on a fair share. When listing out each NFL team’s worst draft pick of the past five years, Maurice Moten of Bleacher Report named tight end Hayden Hurst for the Ravens, who was taken at No. 25 in the 2018 draft. He talked about how Hurst had to compete with fellow 2018 draftee Mark Andrews for snaps throughout his entire tenure in Baltimore.
“Hayden Hurst landed in a tough spot with the Baltimore Ravens. Though the team selected him in the first round, he immediately had to compete for snaps with Mark Andrews at tight end…On top of that, Hurst underwent a procedure for a foot stress fracture that sidelined him through the first month of the 2018 season. From the start, he played catch-up behind Andrews, who came into the league as a more productive pass-catcher out of college.”
During his two years with the Ravens, Hurst caught 43 passes for 512 yards and three touchdowns. He was a solid contributor with the team, but was playing second fiddle behind Andrews at the tight end position, and clearly seemed to want a bigger role. He was also drafted at 24 years old, which is on the older side for draft prospects. Hurst wasn’t a bad player in Baltimore, but as a first round pick he didn’t live up to the billing with the Ravens.