Thoughts About The Baltimore Ravens 2014 NFL Draft

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens general manger Ozzie Newsome celebrates after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

“They didn’t draft enough receivers”. “Why did they pick more defensive players”. “Worst draft ever!!!”. “Fire Ozzie.”

You probably have heard those superlatives thrown out there by the social media public while the Baltimore Ravens 2014 NFL Draft was going on and right afterwards.

Then you hear paid NFL pundits on the various networks giving the Ravens strong grades for their draft. So are you confused? We are. But here are some reasons to worry and not to worry:

• Draft grades are useless. True grades cannot be issued for years later based on on the field results, not combine stats. We can revisit these picks in about 2017.
• The Ravens have not drafted any Pro Bowl talent in a few years, but they have won many a postseason game, including a very memorable game in New Orleans. Which does the team care about more?
• The offensive line lacks depth and this draft did little to help that. But the Ravens have players they see performing every day. Do they know more about this unit’s functionality than the average fan?
• Where are all the new wide receivers? The Ravens did not draft a WR until late in the draft and only picked up an unknown tight end player. So there is concern, but they did re-sign players and bring in a world class receiver. Also Aaron Mellette looked equally as good as Marlon Brown in last preseason before his injury. Brown worked out well for the team so maybe Mellette will add good depth.

So the story is that the Ravens go into the summer with question marks. That is true. But is it worth panicking? Of course not.

In Ozzie We Trust. Unless we don’t……………………….