Touchdown Wire’s pre-combine mock draft: Chase Young, Jerry Jeudy are pivot points

Everybody does mock drafts, most everybody does more than one, and every mock draft is done for different reasons. To get clicks? Well, duh. That would be reason No. 1, dear reader. Let’s not be arch about this. That aside, what we’re trying to do …

28. Baltimore Ravens (14-2): Curtis Weaver, EDGE, Boise State

(Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports)

It’s very tempting to select an off-the-ball linebacker in the first round for the Ravens, and nobody would be surprised if Baltimore went for C.J. Mosley’s longtime replacement early. But the extent to which the Ravens had to generate pressure through blitzing — they ranked first in the NFL last season by far with a 54.9% blitz rate — has to be a concern for a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The secondary is good enough to handle the additional responsibilities generated by blitzing that much, but it still leaves little margin for error. Weaver, who put up 34 sacks in three seasons for Boise State, is a run-and-chase edge disrupter who can slip inside to generate pressure from multiple gaps. As is the case with 90% of collegiate pass-rushers, he’ll be even more effective when he learns to use his hands to generate a variety of moves.

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