Baltimore Ravens Draft Prospect: Oregon DE Deforest Buckner
By Joe Serpico
The Baltimore Ravens have openly said they need a pass rusher and Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner is the top end in the 2016 NFL Draft.
The Ravens had no replacement when Terrell Suggs went down for the year in the regular season opener. With their top pass rusher out for the year, Dean Pees’ defense struggled to get after the quarterback which left the secondary exposed as well.
Ozzie Newsome and Steve Biscotti have both expressed the need for another pass rusher. DeForest Buckner, the reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, could be available to them with the No. 6 pick.
Buckner is another freak athlete to come out of the Oregon Ducks program. At 6-foot-7 and 300 lbs, he has the size and talent to become a force in the NFL for years to come, and the Ravens need a young pass rusher to come in and take some of the load off Suggs and Elvis Dumervil.
Offensive linemen will struggle with Buckner from day one. He is explosive off the snap and can get past defenders in a hurry, but also has the power to strength to bull rush linemen. He has long arms that will help push tackles out of the way and knock down passes when he fails to get to the quarterback. He will draw double teams on a regular basis and the Ravens already have one monster on the defensive line (Brandon Williams) that demands two players to block him.
Buckner is the prototypical defensive end in a 3-4 defense and the Ravens do not have a player of his caliber on the roster. They let Chris Canty go this offseason which leaves Lawrence Guy as the current starter at defensive end. Buckner would step in right away and be more effective at getting after the passer than Canty and Guy.
He has plenty to learn before becoming a polished product. He has the strength to push defenders into the backfield, but lacks pass rush moves. Even without the arsenal of moves, he still recorded 9.5 sacks this season, and would have the advantage of learning from two of the NFL’s best in the past decade.
A front featuring Buckner, Williams and Timmy Jernigan with Suggs and Dumervil on the edges would be nearly impossible to contain for an entire game. Offenses can only double team so many guys and Buckner alone can create havoc on the end.
Some will judge Buckner based off the up-and-down season that fellow Duck, Arik Armstead, had in his first year with the San Francisco 49ers. Both players have massive body frames that should give offensive linemen fits, and Armstead flashed some potential in his rookie season. Scouts expect Buckner to be a better player in the NFL.
Buckner is not the sexy pick that many fans are hoping for, but he would bring some of the nastiness that the defense has been lacking in recent years. The Ravens are at their best when the defense is dominating games.
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Ozzie Newsome has to be thrilled of the two major trades at the top of the draft that should take two quarterbacks off the board with the first two picks. Whether it’s Buckner, Myles Jack or Jalen Ramsey, Baltimore will be happy to land one of the top defensive stalwarts in this draft.