The Ravens built up their depth in the trenches early in the latest seven-round mock draft by CBS Sports
The Baltimore Ravens have done an extremely solid job of upgrading certain parts of their roster during the 2022 offseason. They added safety Marcus Williams, offensive tackle Morgan Moses and defensive lineman Michael Pierce while also bringing back fullback Patrick Ricard, inside linebacker Josh Bynes and defensive lineman Calais Campbell. However, with the 2022 NFL draft coming up there are other areas that Baltimore can shore up with the 10 projected picks that they have.
In his latest full seven-round 2022 mock draft, Josh Edwards of CBS Sports utilized all of the Ravens’ 10 selections to address some of the holes remaining on their roster, including in the trenches. Edwards goes very offensive line and defensive line heavy on the first two days of the draft, starting off with University of Northern Iowa offensive lineman Trevor Penning at No. 14. Edwards explains that there has been buzz that Penning won’t make it past Baltimore’s selection.
“Baltimore traded away Orlando Brown Jr., and Ronnie Stanley has battled injuries of late. Considering the ground game is the foundation of the Ravens offense, the franchise would be wise to invest in the position and have some options down the road. There is a lot of buzz that the Northern Iowa product is not going to make it beyond this pick.”
Penning is a very powerful player, but many view him as a trade-back candidate for the Ravens due to his lack of refined technique that could be a problem at the next level. He’s still a first-round prospect, but he might not be one that the team considers if they make a selection at No. 14.
On day two of the draft in the second and third rounds, Edwards selects Connecticut defensive lineman Travis Jones at No. 45, Oklahoma edge rusher Nik Bonnito at No. 76, and UCLA offensive lineman Sean Rhyan at No.100.
Day three of Edwards’ draft has Baltimore filling out the rest of their needs, starting in the fourth round where the team selected cornerback Martin Emerson out of Mississippi State at No. 110, Mississippi State wide receiver Makai Polk at No. 117, tight end Charlie Kolar out of Iowa State at No. 128, cornerback Alontae Taylor out of Tennesee at No. 139, and BYU running back Tyler Allgeier at No. 141. Finally, with the 196th overall pick the Ravens round out their draft with inside linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel out of North Carolina.
Positionally, Edwards valued the trenches early while filling out the rest of the draft with other needs. Emerson and Taylor make for a nice mid-round cornerback duo, while Kolar, Allgeier and Gemmel represent smaller needs with good value in the later portion of the draft.
The players selected by Edwards would also give the Ravens some flexibility for other free agent signings after the draft. Edwards only selects on edge rusher for Baltimore, so a potential free agent such as Jadeveon Clowney could be in the cards for this scenario.
