The first round of the 2012 draft went exactly as predicted early in the round. Andrew Luck went to the Colts, RG3 went to the Redskins, and Trent Richardson went to the Browns. After that, however, the draft was chock full-o-surprises. Exactly half of the 32 draft picks were traded in some fashion or another over the course of the night, and Roger Goodell dapped up Melvin Ingram with a rather elaborate handshake that suggested that someone in the NFL doesn't ACTUALLY HATE HIM!
For many Ravens fans, however, the first round of the draft may have been frustrating. The Patriots, in a rather uncharacteristic move for their organization, traded up to snag Donta Hightower before the Ravens would have almost certainly picked him in hopes of grooming Ray Lewis' ultimate successor. The Ravens then traded away the 29th pick of the first round for the 3rd pick of the second round and an additional 4th round pick. I understand the feeling of waiting over two hours to see who your team will acquire only to realize that you won't know until the following evening. The initial feeling isn't fun.
I, however, wasn't hoping the Ravens would pick Donta Hightower. He would have been a great pick-up and I'm sure he'll be trouble for the Ravens when they face the Patriots in week three this season. Nevertheless, if you followed my posts regarding the draft, you know exactly what I feel the priorities of this organization should be right now. Still on the board are Peter Konz, Cordy Glenn, Courtney Upshaw, Stephen Hill, and Rueben Randle. I firmly believe that the Ravens should draft Upshaw with their first pick and then trade the additional 4th round pick that they acquired from the Vikings last night and use it to move their second pick higher in order to secure Stephen Hill.
Consider for a moment how the Ravens fared at the end of the season. Dropped passes and an inability to bring pressure late in the season and in the playoffs left the Ravens losing to a team that they came about one inch away from beating. Now picture the Ravens with another high-motor physical pass rusher opposite Suggs bearing down on Tom Brady. Picture Torrey Smith lined up opposite an even faster deep threat wide receiver whose height and vertical leaping ability make him incredibly challenging to defend. In an increasingly pass-driven league, there are few pieces more valuable than talented wide receivers and pass rushers. Also, when Joe Flacco's cannon of an arm, it would seem fitting to have multiple targets that can get behind secondaries and catch his deep bombs. The point is that both Stephen Hill and Courtney Upshaw will likely be upgrades over Lee Evans and Jaret Johnson (I know JJ was a great run-stopper but Upshaw can stop the run and terrorize QBs).
At this point, I'm sure there are plenty of readers who would like to bring up the issue of the Ravens' offensive line. The Ravens just lost Ben Grubbs in free agency and plan to give a second year natural right tackle the chance to earn the left tackle spot. I wouldn't be unhappy if the Ravens took Cordy Glenn or Peter Konz with one of their second round picks, but I don't believe that Konz and Glenn would be an upgrade over the player they're replacing, and I'm fairly certain that the Ravens have a decent amount of faith in Jah Reid. Also, I KNOW the Ravens would regret passing on a wide receiver with a combination of height, speed, and athleticism reminiscent of a young Randy Moss. Yes, I know he's not Randy Moss, but like Moss, Stephen Hill is blindingly fast with great hands and stands 6'4". This could be the missing piece to push Flacco's production well beyond the 4000 yard mark!
Just some food for thought. Tune in to ESPN tonight at 8:00 to see who the Ravens pick in the 2nd and 3rd rounds! As always GO RAVENS!!!
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