Tag: Baltimore Ravens 2020 NFL draft picks

Ravens agree to terms with rookie WR Devin Duvernay, wrapping up 2020 NFL Draft class

The Baltimore Ravens now have all 10 of their 2020 NFL Draft picks either signed or agreed to terms, with Devin Duvernay becoming the last.

The Baltimore Ravens have either signed or agreed to terms with all 10 of the 2020 NFL Draft picks. The Ravens announced they had agreed to terms with first-round pick Patrick Queen earlier in the day only to follow it up with the announcement they have done the same with third-round pick Devin Duvernay.

While both Queen and Duvernay still need to sign on the dotted line, Baltimore has to feel good about getting all their rookies under contract before the full team reports to training camp on July 28. That will allow the Ravens’ rookies the maximum amount of time to get used to the speed of the game, learn the playbook, and get in-person instruction from the coaching staff for the first time since being selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in-person minicamps were cancelled this offseason. Instead, meetings went virtual over Zoom video conference calls and players were encouraged to work out on their own from home. While plenty of players put in serious work this offseason, it’ll be nice to have everyone at the Under Armour Performance Center under the close eye of coach John Harbaugh and his staff as the Ravens prepare for a 2020 regular season that has Super Bowl aspirations and expectations.

Duvernay is expected to play a pivotal role in Baltimore’s offense. While he had his most success in the slot, Duvernay has the physical skills to play both inside and outside for the Ravens. He’s fast, has strong hands, and is physical with the ball in his hands, giving Baltimore yet another weapon for MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and earning rave reviews from backup quarterback Robert Griffin III.

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Robert Griffin III high on rookie WRs Devin Duvernay and James Proche

After working out with them this offseason, Baltimore Ravens QB Robert Griffin spoke highly of rookie WRs Devin Duvernay and James Proche

The Baltimore Ravens are looking to build an undefendable offense under quarterback Lamar Jackson. If backup quarterback Robert Griffin III is to be believed, Baltimore might have found two great steals at wide receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft to help the unit become just that.

Speaking on “The Lounge” podcast, Griffin spoke highly of both Devin Duvernay and James Proche. Griffin has been working out with both this offseason in the leadup to training camp, getting a great look at what both players can do as they make the leap from college to the pros. Griffin broke down what he’s seen from both Duvernay and Proche thus far in detail.

The Ravens selected Duvernay in the third round and Proche in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Though both played primarily inside from the slot, Griffin says he “wouldn’t sleep on their ability to play outside,” something I specifically noted about Duvernay’s game in a closer look at him following the draft.

Griffin noted Duvernay is a track guy, which matches up well with his recent player rating in “Madden 21.” But more importantly, Griffin said Duvernay tracks the ball well, which should allow him to take full advantage of that track speed and turn it into big plays down the field. As far as Proche, Griffin said he thinks he’s even faster than people give him credit for. He specifically called out Proche’s work ethic in their workouts and noted he has a chip on his shoulder to prove he’s better than his draft status, backing what some are considering to be the Ravens’ biggest steal of the draft.

This will be Griffin’s ninth year in the league, with three different teams. He’s played with a lot of different wide receivers, including some really impressive ones like Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, meaning his mini scouting report on both Duvernay and Proche carries a good bit of weight. If either player lives up to the hype Griffin applied to them, Baltimore will be plenty happy with their 2020 NFL Draft class.

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Ravens effectively flipped K Kaare Vedvik into Pro Bowl pass rusher Calais Campbel

Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta is a genius after trading for Jacksonville Jaguars’ Calais Campbell with the Vikings’ pick for Kaare Vedvik

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If there were any lingering concerns about how Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta was going to perform after taking over for Ozzie Newsome, those should be well shut down now. The Ravens are set to trade a fifth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for defensive end Calais Campbell. However, when you look a little closer at what pick that actually was, it’s pretty shocking.

Baltimore only had one fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, which comes thanks to the Minnesota Vikings trading for kicker Kaare Vedvik last season. That means DeCosta effectively turned an extra kicker — who the Vikings didn’t end up keeping anyway — into a Pro Bowl pass rusher they desperately needed. Um, excuse me!?

It’s not the first time DeCosta has turned a late-round pick into something extraordinary. In the middle of last season, Baltimore traded a fifth-round pick and struggling linebacker Kenny Young to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for cornerback Marcus Peters. Peters went on to have an All-Pro season as one of the best cornerbacks in the league, earning a three-year contract extension from the Ravens as a result.

The move helps solidify Baltimore’s biggest hole from last season and should further transform a defense that finished fourth in yards allowed and third in points allowed into an even better unit next season. When teamed up with the Ravens’ league-leading scoring offense led by quarterback Lamar Jackson, it could firmly put Baltimore on the path towards their third Super Bowl win. More importantly, it fills the Ravens’ biggest roster need without dropping an early-round pick. Meaning Baltimore could still look to the first three rounds for an impact pass rusher but now don’t necessarily have to, giving them a little more freedom in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Ravens are going to have to start throwing around the term “In EDC we believe” a little more often now.

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Ravens get weapons for DC Don Martindale in 2-round mock draft post NFL Combine

In the aftermath of the 2020 NFL Combine, prospects have helped or hurt their NFL Draft stocks. Now we see players falling to the Ravens

The 2020 NFL Combine is finished and we have a better idea of where prospects will go come the 2020 NFL Draft. As draft boards for teams and analysts begin to change given the results of the NFL Combine, we can better figure out which players should be available to the Baltimore Ravens when they’re on the clock.

I used mock draft simulators from both FanSpeak and The Draft Network, which actually saw the same players fall right into my lap. So we have our first double-confirmed mock draft of the offseason folks.

You better believe defensive coordinator Don Martindale would love life if things worked out this way. He’d get two weapons he could plug and play just about anywhere on the field, especially in his blitz-heavy scheme. After getting a new deal this offseason, 2020 is looking mighty good for Martindale.

Let’s take a closer look at who I grabbed for the Ravens in the first and second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

AP Photo/Sam Craft

1st round (No. 28): S Xavier McKinney, Alabama

I know that safety is pretty low down on Baltimore’s list of needs this offseason. But when a guy falls to the Ravens, they have a tendency to take him, especially if it’s a defensive back. In this mock draft, the top safety prospect fell right to me and I just couldn’t say no.

McKinney won’t start as a rookie but that hasn’t stopped Baltimore in the past, most notably when they picked cornerback Marlon Humphrey in the 2017 NFL Draft. He’ll get some time on the field in 2020 but as a primary backup to Chuck Clark and Earl Thomas. Where things get exciting though is 2021 when after having him sit and learn under Thomas, the Ravens could part ways with Thomas’ large cap hit ($6 million cap savings, according to OTC) and turn to the younger and cheaper option.

McKinney is a smart player, has good acceleration, is a thumper when he tackles and is a ball hawk (five interceptions over the last two seasons at Alabama). Given the type of guys Baltimore has plugged in at safety over the years (Eric Weddle, Thomas, Clark, Ed Reed), McKinney is clearly their type of player.

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8 potential Ravens 1st-round draft targets that impressed at the 2020 NFL Combine

These eight players did enough at the 2020 NFL Combine to put themselves in the running for the Baltimore Ravens 1st-round pick in the draft

The 2020 NFL Combine has come and gone, leaving only free agency remaining before the 2020 NFL Draft. The Baltimore Ravens, like the rest of the league, will likely begin finetuning their draft boards with all the main measurements figured out. But which players impressed at the 2020 NFL Combine enough to have Baltimore potentially fall in love with them in the first round?

These eight players showed up on the field and could have raised their stock enough to see the Ravens select them with the No. 28 pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

There really wasn’t a consensus top running back in this draft class, meaning the 2020 NFL Combine could be the deciding factor. Taylor apparently understood that and showed up in a big way.

At 5-foot-10 and 226 pounds, Taylor put up the fastest 40-yard dash among the running backs, finishing in just 4.39 seconds. Taylor also posted the fourth-fastest 3-cone drill and sixth-fastest 20-yard shuttle from the running backs. He also put up a respectable 36-inch vertical jump and 123-inch broad jump as well.

Taylor has frequently been mocked to Baltimore in the first round and after his 2020 NFL Combine results, the Ravens could very well be swayed to make him their pick.

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Todd McShay mock draft 2.0: Ravens get a starter at ILB

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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