![]() Still, DeCosta has said time and time again that a big key to the team’s drafting success is having a lot of picks. That turned out to be a highly productive draft class with first-round pick Chris McAlister becoming arguably the top corner in team history, and fourth-rounders Brandon Stokley and Edwin Mulitalo emerging as key players on a Super Bowl winner. The Ravens haven’t had a draft class of five players or less since they selected just four in 1999. Whether it’s in the draft or via free agency, the Ravens are going to have to add a quarterback in the coming weeks. Huntley still hasn’t signed his low restricted free agent tender. Not only is Jackson not a lock to be with the team in Week 1, but the only other quarterbacks on the Ravens roster are Tyler Huntley and Anthony Brown. It’s quite possible to get a good quarterback at any point in the draft.”ĭeCosta maintained that the Ravens didn’t do any extra work on this year’s quarterback class because of Jackson’s tenuous status. … You saw what the Niners did last year with Brock Purdy. But the fact is that we think that you can get a quarterback in the first round or the third round or the fourth round who have a chance to develop. “There’s probably more than four guys that can be significant quarterbacks in this league in this draft class,” DeCosta said. Bennett played under new Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Stanford’s Tanner McKee, Fresno State’s Jake Haener, Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett all could be options from the mid-to-late rounds. The more likely scenario, though, is the Ravens probably drafting a quarterback on Day 2 or 3. The Ravens drafting a quarterback in the first round likely depends on either Kentucky’s Will Levis falling or Baltimore having a first-round grade on Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker. Because the Ravens stick to their draft board, DeCosta noted, it would be impossible to rule out selecting a quarterback, when the team has quarterbacks with first-round grades. 22 pick on a quarterback, but he certainly hedged his response when asked if selecting a signal caller in the first round is something the team is considering. The Ravens aren’t ruling out drafting a quarterback, because how could they?ĭeCosta wouldn’t rule out using the No. It will continue to dominate all Ravens discussions until there’s a resolution. ![]() The status of Baltimore’s franchise quarterback is far and away the biggest factor impacting the team right now. So is the fact that these questions about Jackson aren’t going away. With that in mind, his stance Wednesday was probably predictable. … And just putting ourselves in position to win draft weekend.”ĭeCosta, who has been dealing directly with Jackson, surely knows that anything and everything he says about the topic will create headlines during a particularly critical time in the negotiations. “Being aware of the players, the free agents that are available now, post-draft - who are the players that we might have a chance to bring in post-draft that could make us a better football team as well? Then, doing the best job we can in recruiting free agents. “I think the things that we can control are really getting the list, the draft board set, evaluating the players as best as possible,” he said. ![]() ![]() His answer barely touched on the question. If Lamar Jackson wants a trade, the Ravens should work to accommodate himĪ few questions later, DeCosta was asked whether he’d like to have a resolution on the Jackson stalemate before the draft. On Wednesday, none of the three Ravens officials seated behind microphones - DeCosta, Harbaugh and director of player personnel Joe Hortiz - even mentioned Jackson by name during the 37-plus-minute news conference. At last week’s owners’ meetings, 36 of the 46 questions that Harbaugh got were related to Jackson. When both spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine, Jackson again was the predominant topic. The Ravens’ reaction to that interest leads the takeaways from Wednesday’s news conference: The Ravens are thoroughly tired of talking about JacksonĪt the end-of-season news conference, DeCosta and Harbaugh spent a significant chunk of time answering questions about Jackson. Predictably, there was more interest Wednesday in Jackson’s status than what the Ravens will do with the No. The annual pre-draft news conference has been given the moniker “The Liars Luncheon,” because DeCosta, in particular, seems to enjoy providing misdirection and vague answers about the team’s well-guarded draft plans. What Ravens officials discussed outside of Lamar Jackson at owners' meetingsĪ team spokesman later interrupted a reporter when asking how Jackson’s status influences whether the Ravens target a quarterback in this month’s draft, suggesting to keep the questions draft-related. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |