The Baltimore Ravens answer one of their bigger defensive holes in the 2020 NFL draft via Todd McShay’s second mock draft of the offseason.
There are a handful of draft analysts that command attention whenever they do a mock draft and ESPN’s Todd McShay is one of them. With Super Bowl LIV wrapping up the 2019 season, McShay turned in his second mock draft of the offseason and changed things up for the Baltimore Ravens a little bit.
After previously picking Penn State pass rusher Yetur Gross-Matos in his first mock draft, McShay handed the Ravens Oklahoma inside linebacker Kenneth Murray at No. 28 in the first round.
In his explanation, McShay noted Baltimore’s defense struggled quite a lot at inside linebacker this season and could use a definitive starter in the middle of the defense.
“The focus in 2019 was on Lamar Jackson and a dynamic offense, but the defensive unit quietly did more than hold its own, finishing in the top six in both pass and run defense. A trade for Marcus Peters added a jolt to the secondary, and Matthew Judon just missed double-digit sacks. What was missing? A chase-him-down, bring-him-down linebacker in the middle of the defense. Patrick Onwuasor and Josh Bynes led the front seven with just 64 and 46 tackles, respectively, and they’re both free agents. While Murray doesn’t have ideal coverage skills, he has great speed and tackling ability, manifested in his 102 tackles this past season at Oklahoma.”
McShay is right on the money here with his analysis. Murray is well known for being a big-hitting, run-stuffing linebacker that has great sideline-to-sideline speed and would fit perfectly into what the Ravens typically like at the position. Given the lack of depth there currently, Murray would likely become a Week 1 starter.
Where he falls down a little bit is in his coverage skills. Though Murray has the speed to handle a coverage role, it’s something he’s still a little too raw at right now. But with some development there, Murray looks like he could easily become a Pro Bowl linebacker in Baltimore.
With the physical tools and clear upside, some have Murray going significantly earlier than the Ravens’ No. 28 pick, including Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling, who had him going at No. 19. With many expecting Murray to blow the doors off the NFL Scouting Combine, we could see his draft stock rise well out of Baltimore’s range soon. So if the Ravens find him still on the board at No. 28, they’d probably be really happy with writing his name down on the card.
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