Baltimore Ravens: College Drafts of the Past – 2013
Oct 20, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Derek Moye (14) is flipped after catching a pass over Baltimore Ravens safety Matt Elam (26) during the first half at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports
This is the first of a series of articles on the Baltimore Ravens college drafts of the past. We’ll work our way backwards, beginning today with the most recent draft from 2013. Along the way we’ll take time, particularly from the more recent draft classes, to individually look at some of the players, their impact (or not), and what their future holds.
There is hopefully a lot more to be written (figuratively and literally) about the Ravens’ draft of 2013. Only first-round pick Matt Elam became a starter and played consistently. Beyond the draftees, the rookie player most on the field was undrafted wide receiver Marlon Brown, who pulled in 49 catches for 524 yards and seven touchdowns.
Here is the list from 2013. All are still with the Ravens except for the final draftee, Marc Anthony, who is now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Year |
Round
Pick
Name
Pos
School
2013
1
32
Matt Elam
FS
Florida
2013
2
56
LB
Kansas St.
2013
3
94
DT
Missouri Southern
2013
4
129
DE
Ohio St.
2013
4
130
FB
Harvard
2013
5
168
OL
Wisconsin
2013
6
200
DE
Notre Dame
2013
6
203
OL
Col.ST – Pueblo
2013
7
238
WR
Elon
2013
7
247
Marc Anthony
DB
California
Un-
draft-
ed
Marlon Brown
WR
Georgia
The Ravens organization continues to have high hopes for the class of 2013, even if there has not been much on-the-field evidence to support it so far. Coach Harbaugh has commented that the greatest growth in a player in the NFL comes between the first and second seasons. Let’s hope so, because probably a number of these guys are going to need to step in for players who will not be retained for one reason or another.
Matt Elam – the final pick of the first round – started the final 15 games of the season. He certainly had a lot of on the job experience that saw him beaten on more than a few plays. His highlight game of the season was against the Detroit Lions where he, after some indiscreet remarks in the press about Megatron, played a great game and even sealed the victory with an interception at the end.
Arthur Brown saw action only in certain passing downs packages. He ended up with 15 tackles for the season, and he looks to be a probable starter at weak-side linebacker for 2014.
Harbaugh said of third-round pick Brandon Williams that “He proved that he can play. We had a lot of depth there this year. He had a little maturing to do, and he should be in the mix.” There is a feeling that he needs to work on getting stronger over the offseason in order to make an impact.
Fourth-round pick John Simon of Ohio State is a coach’s favorite wherever he goes. Coach Urban Meyer liked him and his work ethic so much that he said he was going to name a child after him. Harbaugh said of Simon that there is nobody who works harder, and he believes this quality is going to eventually get him onto the field.
Also in the fourth round was Harvard fullback Kyle Jaszczyk. Here is a guy pretty much destined to play a good bit in 2014, as Vonta Leech is not likely to be kept due to salary cap considerations. Juszczyk needs to step up and fill that role – something that did not come easily at all in the early stages of the recent season. Harbaugh applauded Jaszczyk as one of the better special teams players.
Fifth-round pick Ricky Wagner of Wisconsin, along with sixth-rounder Ryan Jensen, may well be called upon to step into the offensive line this year. Jensen broke a foot early on and was done for the year.
Also in the sixth round out of Notre Dame was defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore. A team captain for the Irish, the 6-4, 298-pounder essentially had a red-shirt year. He tore his ACL in the BCS National Championship … so the Ravens are taking a sort of long-shot on a fellow with some knee injury issues, but who also has some serious upside potential as a pass-rusher.
And finally, Aaron Mellotte will be back to attempt to gain one of the six or so wide receiver positions, after having suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Check back with us here on The Baltimore Wire as we individually write more about each of these players. And beyond that, we are going to step back farther in time and review some of the earlier Ravens drafts as well.