During the draft, the Ravens wanted to make a move to take Brady Quinn during his free fall. The asking price was too steep and the Browns took full advantage by trading to get the 22th pick. If that wasn't bad enough, the 49ers traded with the New England Patriots at #28 (the one before the Ravens) to take Joe Staley. But they were able to take Ben Grubbs who was the second best option the Ravens were hoping for. After the first round, the Ravens made two trades, one was to Detriot for a few picks and then used some to get another pick in the third with the Jaguars. Those picks were for Yamon Figur and Marshal Yanda and the first day was over. During the second day, the Ravens were pretty quiet. By taking players who were both needs and possibly of BPA, the Ravens acquired potential starters in the second day as well with all four of the compensatory picks. The most notable was Troy Smith, the heisman trophy winner, in the last pick of the fifth round. 29. Ben Grubbs 74. Yamon Figurs 86. Marshal Yanda 134. Antwan Barnes 137. Le'Ron McClain 174. Troy Smith 207. Prescott Burgess Biggest Steal/Best Pick: Antwan Barnes Worst Pick/Potential Bust: Yamon Figurs Antwan Barnes was a pick I liked the most. As a 6 ft 1 240 lb guy, he runs a 4.45 40, benches 31 reps, and is a good pass rushing linebacker or defensive end. He is more suited as a linebacker and may get in the rotation during passing downs and special teams. Yamon Figurs I thougth was a pretty odd pick. We already have B.J Sams but he is coming off an injury and has some off the field issues. Though it isn't a neccessity, I'm not really high on this guy. I know he is the fastest person to do the 40 this year but is really raw as a reciever. He can only contribute on special teams. The other pick I was pretty disappointed at was the choice of Troy Smith but he has an outside shot at being the QB of the future being behind Steve McNair, who may retire soon and Kyle Boller, who may leave after the season. He will challenge Drew Olsen for the #3 QB job, who is in NFL Europa. Overall, I'd believe this is another solid draft by the Ravens. The only reason experts may rate it lower because taking Grubbs at #29 isn't a "sexy" pick but he is the #1 rated OG and he will help contribute early with a chance to start along with players like Marshal Yanda next season (If Ogden retires), Yamon Figurs (challenging B.J Sams for returner position), Antwan Barnes (situational pass rusher/special teams), Le'Ron McClain (challenging Justin Green for starting FB), Troy Smith (Future QB of the Ravens?), and Prescott Burgess (special teams). Overall Grade: B The Ravens may take some undrafted players to give depth at positions like TE and Safety. But I wouldn't mind seeing Jon Abbate getting signed.
I agree; It'll be interesting to see what happens w/ Troy Smith. Boller IMO will not be in Ravens uniform in '08.
