Official 2007 NFL Draft Thread

[miller31time]

This thread is dedicated to everything NFL Draft.

Discuss who the Ravens should take. Who should go #1 overall? Who is being overrated? Who is being underrated? What spots we need to fill? Etc.

[UrbanLegendMD]

I think we need to get some youth on that O-Line. Ogden is getting old, and we need a boost anyway. Maybe, we should pick whatever best guard or tackle is still on the board in the first round. I was also thinking CB since Rolle got burned so many times last year. Other than that, we still have a pretty complete team (except QB), so we should go best player available route.

[UTMCretin]

The Ravens have been penned as a team in need of someone new on their O-line to help, which is odd considering how well their line fared this year. Still, Pashos is gone, Ogden is considering retirement, and Mulitalo has been released, so I expect Ozzie to tab an offensive lineman somewhere in the first few rounds.

The Ravens biggest weakness on defense is depth (and Samari Rolle, who just doesn't have the speed to be a good cornerback anymore), so I could see them taking a linebacker in the Terrell Suggs mold to make sure AD doesn't just become replaced by the combo of Dan Cody and Jarret Johnson. I've seen some mock drafts penn Charles Johnson out of Georgia as a possibility for the first round, so thats something to watch out for

[miller31time]

Here are some of the mock drafts and who they have us picking...

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http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/2007 ... cfm?page=2

Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan
Jonathan Ogden is close to retirement and Tony Pashos is already gone via free agency. The Ravens should tab Staley, who can run a 4.8 40-yad dash at over 300 pounds, to fill the need

.

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http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/2007 ... cfm?page=2

Justin Blalock, OT, Texas
Blalock is big, strong and versatile player who may play OG in the NFL. Ravens could use some interior line help and Jonathan Ogden's possible retirement is also a concern.

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http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/sub/mockdraft.html

JOE STALEY OT | Central Michigan | Scouting Report
Top to bottom there might not be a deeper, more talented team in the league than the Ravens so they could be one of the few teams that can realistically justify going the best player available route. However no team is flawless and one area where they could use an upgrade is along the offensive line, where Tony Pashos was lost as a free agent and Edwin Mulitalo was released. Joe Staley is a former tight end with terrific feet and athleticism who blew scouts away at his Pro Day by running a low 4.8 at over 300 lbs. In a class that doesn't feature many top offensive tackle prospects, let alone guys who can legitimately play on the left side, Staley should prove to be a very valuable commodity on Draft Day. After losing Adalius Thomas as a free agent a pass rushing 3-4 outside linebacker could be used as well so keep an eye on Anthony Spencer, who'd be an ideal fit for their scheme. With Pashos gone and Ogden getting close to retirement offensive line is their chief concern at this point though so they grab Staley if he's still available.

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http://www.footballsfuture.com/2007/nflmockdraft.html

Baltimore - Anthony Spencer, DE/OLB, Purdue
Steps in and is a cheap replacement for departed Adalius Thomas.

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http://sportsline.com/nfl/story/9961542

Ben Grubbs, OG, Auburn -- With starters Tony Pashos and Edwin Mulitalo moving on and future Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden contemplating retirement, the Ravens will be looking to address the offensive line throughout the draft. In a draft lauded for the talent and depth throughout the offensive line interior, Grubbs is the year's best.

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http://sportsline.com/nfl/story/9999771

Justin Blalock, T/G, Texas -- The Ravens just lost one tackle and could lose another. They also cut a guard. There are vacancies everywhere on the OL, and Blalock can fill more than one of them.

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http://sportsline.com/nfl/story/9999370

Anthony Spencer, LB, Purdue -- He takes over for the departed Adalius Thomas. He has that same kind of speed off the edge. They might also consider the offensive line.

[UTMCretin]

So in other words, no one has any clue. Which fits because things will most likely change a great deal by the draft time

[UrbanLegendMD]

The good thing we are solid everywhere, so we can draft based on best player available.

[kdawg32086]

I'd like to see us take Blalock in the first round and then grab Stanford QB Trent Edwards in the 2nd round. I think Blalock can fill in at right tackle and keep pressure off of our QB's because I see Ogden sticking around for at least one more year. Edwards would give us a nice young QB to groom behind McNair for a year or two cuz lets face it, Boller is not good enough to be a full time starter.

[UTMCretin]

Personally, I feel that our needs in the secondary (namely Samari Rolle) outweight any future concerns at QB. It all depends I guess on whether or not there are any legitimate CB's where we're picking in the second round, but certainly that was one of our biggest weaknesses last year. Maybe we'll get lucky with another Dawan Landry, but I'd rather not take a chance

[orangenomad]

if ozzie could get an early 2nd round pick. we could get a guy like marcus macauley, and still get blalock with our first.


in the third round we could get a LB like Michigan's Lamar Woodley. thoughts?

[Nowak008]

I would like to move down and pick up a couple of picks. I think we need to get younger on the O line. Possibly taking 2 first day o line men.

[UrbanLegendMD]

I picked Grubbs and Crowder for the Ravens in our mock draft addressing both lines.

[UTMCretin]

As far as the O-line, we should probably get some specialized run blockers seeing how horribly we failed in that aspect of the game last year (and conversely succeeded in the pass protection part of the game)

[UTMCretin]

And with the 29th pick in the draft, the Baltimore Ravens select Ben Grubbs (OG) from Auburn

[UrbanLegendMD]

Yeah that's what I thought. Now if Edwards slides, we can pick him up.

[UrbanLegendMD]

We pass on Edwards in the 3rd. I don't understand this.

[UTMCretin]

We pass on Edwards in the 3rd. I don't understand this.

Ironically enough, Buffalo takes Edwards with our third rounder. I guess management must still have some faith in Boller as the long-term solution for this team.

[UrbanLegendMD]

-= original quote snipped =-



management must still have some faith in Boller as the long-term solution for this team.

[UTMCretin]

Or maybe they just weren't too high on Edwards, as the Ravens take Troy Smith in the 5th round

[UrbanLegendMD]

Troy Smith will be out of the league soon, and Edwards will be a starter in Buffalo. Dumbass move by the Ravens. Hopefully, Ozzie knows something about Edwards we don't.

[UTMCretin]

I generally trust Ozzie when it comes to drafting because he has a great track record there and I've never seen someone grab so many star players with late-1st rounders. Troy Smith is nothing special, but if you are weak at the QB position and can grab a heisman winning QB in the 5th round, you should probably do it.

So far we've drafted two O-linemen (Grubbs and Yanda), a 4.30 running return specialist (Figurs), addressed our LB depth (Barnes), and drafted a FB (McClain) in addition to Smith. A decent draft I'd say, but I really wish Ozzie would have picked a CB somewhere along the way considering how shallow our secondary is