The NFL draft has become a really big deal. With teams utilizing the draft to rebuild their teams and stack already impressive rosters with more young talent, it’s become a beacon for many fans and analysts to envision what will happen. Among the best in the business, ESPN’s draft analyst Todd McShay has already begun to peek at the 2020 NFL draft as well.
With the playoff teams just about set and the draft order beginning to get finalized, McShay put together his first mock draft of the season. And with the very last pick in the first round, McShay has Baltimore grabbing Penn State pass rusher Yetur Gross-Matos.
“I thought about Wisconsin center Tyler Biadasz here, but Baltimore really needs another edge rusher. The Ravens have a middle-of-the-road sack total this season (34), and Matthew Judon will hit free agency. Gross-Matos needs some development, but he is an above-average pass-rusher and closes well.”
There’s good reasoning here for taking an edge rusher here. As McShay noted, outside linebacker Matthew Judon is set to hit free agency. And while the Ravens should have plenty enough cap space to re-sign him, we’ve seen top pass rushers break the bank and push themselves out of the price range Baltimore is willing to spend if they can hit free agency.
Even if Judon is retained, the Ravens desperately need more help at generating a pass rush. Baltimore ranks 17th in sacks-per-pass, getting to the quarterback just 7% of the time. And most of that has been thanks to defensive coordinator Don Martindale, whose aggressive schemes and blitz packages have generated more pass rush than the individual matchups would normally dictate.
Here, Baltimore might end up getting the steal of the draft in the first round. Gross-Matos was already a physical specimen at 6-foot-5 and 264 pounds but he’s really become a consistent defender this season, notching eight sacks for the second consecutive season and adding 13.5 tackles-for-loss. He’s widely considered one of the top pass rushers in the 2020 NFL draft and getting him with the very last pick in the first round would be an amazing get by general manager Eric DeCosta.
Of course, as is the case with every mock draft, things are undoubtedly going to shake out differently come the actual day. Trades, the occasional odd pick and players rising or falling after the combine are all to be expected. But if Baltimore can get lucky in April, they could walk away with a much-needed impact pass rusher.