Ravens 2017 Draft recap

The 2017 NFL draft is officially in the books, with the Baltimore Ravens making a total of seven picks. The full class:

ROUND/PICK	NAME	POS	COLLEGE
1/16	Marlon Humphrey	CB	ALABAMA
2/47	Tyus Bowser	OLB	HOUSTON
3/74	Chris Wormley	DT	MICHIGAN
3/78	Tim Williams	OLB	ALABAMA
4/122	Nico Siragusa	G	SAN DIEGO STATE
5/159	Jermaine Eluemunor	OT	TEXAS A&M
6/186	Chuck Clark	S	VIRGINIA TECH

Jamison Hensley now at ESPN.com made the obvious observation:

“The Ravens didn’t use any of the first four picks of the draft on an offensive player for only the second time in their 22-year history. Instead, Baltimore landed a top cornerback (Alabama’s Marlon Humphrey), two explosive pass-rushers (Houston’s Tyrus Bowser and Alabama’s Tim Williams) and a potential starting defensive end (Michigan’s Chris Wormley). This comes in an offseason in which the only additions to the NFL’s 17th-ranked offense was running back Danny Woodhead and backup quarterback Ryan Mallett.”

Ravens officials insist it wasn’t the plan to ignore the offense for the first three rounds.

“If you would have told me [Thursday] at 3 in the afternoon that I was going to pick four defensive players, I probably would have told you that you would not be correct,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “But that is the way that it played itself out. There were some offensive players that we were targeting and trying to get, and they got taken right before us or two or three picks before us.”

“You try to build the strongest team that you possibly can based on what is available,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “I know we say that a lot… we take the best available player.”

“This offseason, Baltimore has put nearly all of its resources into upgrading the league’s No. 7 defense. The Ravens signed three starters — retaining nose tackleBrandon Williams and adding safety Tony Jefferson and cornerback Brandon Carr — for a total of $56.75 million in guaranteed money.

“Then the Ravens used their first four picks on defense while the Cincinnati Bengals drafted wide receiver John Ross and running back Joe Mixon, the Pittsburgh Steelers added another wide receiver in JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Cleveland Browns landed big-play tight end David Njoku.—Jamison Hensley

“We are just trying to get very, very strong on defense with the opportunity that was presented to us in the first three rounds,” Newsome said, “and we took advantage of it.”

Baltimore still can add a couple of veterans after the draft. The Ravens expressed interest in veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin and center Nick Mangold.

“We are not done acquiring players,” Newsome said. “Before we play Cincinnati [in September], this roster is still not complete. For those of you that have been here for years, you know there are going to be players that are going to be released after the draft. There are going to be players that are going to be released in training camp.

“We are not done. The draft is a big part of it, and we are not done with the 53-man squad that we are going to play with when we open up against Cincinnati. We probably will still add some after that.”

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Ravens 2017 Draft recap

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