The NFL Draft is one of the most hectic and chaotic events in football. Nearly every year we’ve seen shocking picks, reaches for players well before they should go and prospects that fall for some unknown reason. As is the case every year, we’ll likely see trades happen all the way to the final seconds before picks are made. One such trade that could completely alter the landscape of the 2020 NFL Draft is if a team trades up into the No. 1 spot.
Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire took that into account with his latest mock draft, having the Miami Dolphins trade for the Cincinnati Bengals’ first-overall pick and grabbing LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. It led to a bit of a shakeup down the first round.
The Bengals, after getting the Dolphins’ three first-round picks in the hypothetical trade, took a player many have mocked to the Baltimore Ravens in LSU linebacker Patrick Queen at No. 18. At No. 28, Farrar has the Baltimore Ravens sticking with defense, grabbing Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun.
It’s well-known that no NFL team has blitzed more over the last two seasons than the Ravens — they led the league with a 39.6% blitz rate in 2018, and doubled down with a 54.9% blitz rate in 2019. It worked well enough, but it also spoke to the defense’s need for more edge pressure from versatile players. Last season, Baun played 68 snaps of off-ball linebacker for the Badgers, and 664 snaps as an edge-rusher outside the tackles. He totaled 12.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 28 quarterback hurries, adding in just 112 yards allowed on 195 pass defense drops over the last two seasons, per Pro Football Focus. There are few better player/scheme/need fits in this draft, and Baun’s presence might be the difference between a Super Bowl and not for the Ravens if he can do what he did in college.
Baltimore does need to bolster their entire linebacking corps, from inside linebacker to outside linebacker. The Ravens’ only question marks on their defensive starting lineup are who will play inside and who will play opposite outside linebacker Matthew Judon.
Finding a defensive player like Baun, who can do a little of everything, is something Baltimore tends to covet. Defensive coordinator Don Martindale has also seemingly loved versatile players, moving them all over the field and out of normal position in order to create more confusion in opposing offenses.
With a high motor and explosive athleticism, Baun is the type of player the Ravens could easily be drooling over at the end of the first round.
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