The Ravens could go a few different directions with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Ravens will have plenty of options to choose from, whether it is a player to improve their pass rush, offensive line or another area.
The Ravens have already been active in free agency, signing safety Marcus Williams to a five-year, $70 million contract and veteran right tackle Morgan Moses to a three-year, $15 million deal. Mock drafts will surely be altered after the initial wave of free agency, but NFL Network draft analyst Charles Davis joined Glenn Clark Radio March 16 to talk about which game-changing prospects the Ravens could target in the first round.
The first player discussed was Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, a freak athlete for his size (6-foot-6 and 341 pounds). He posted 32 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks in 2021. He garnered a ton of attention during the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this month, when he ran a 4.78 second 40-yard dash:
But Charles Davis believes Jordan Davis really made an impression during Georgia’s run through the College Football Playoff.
“I think the national championship playoff games, those two — especially that second one against Alabama — [he was] dominant,” Charles Davis said. “Looked like he was fit and in shape. He lost a little weight. Then he comes to the Combine … and he blows us away with his athleticism.”
Charles Davis said the Georgia lineman struggled a bit against Alabama in the SEC championship game because the Crimson Tide forced him to run laterally. But with his athleticism on full display at the Combine, Jordan Davis showed scouts what he could do.
“The question mark always still comes back, do you believe he is a true pass rushing force [from] down one,” Davis said. “That’s what it’s going to boil down to, that’s where he lost ground in that first game against ‘Bama. Can we play him multiple downs? I think that he proved, by being in shape and moving like that [at the Combine], if you buy into him, then yeah, he’s definitely that guy.”
Davis believes the big lineman from Georgia will be available at No. 14. Additionally, Davis thinks the Ravens could look at edge rushers with this pick. Michigan linebacker David Ojabo was one such option, at least before he down with a serious Achilles injury at Michigan’s pro day March 18.
Still, Ojabo is an intriguing player for the Ravens to look at in the draft for a number of reasons, the first being that new Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald had the same role at Michigan last season. Last season, Ojabo totaled 35 tackles and 11 sacks in Macdonald’s system.
Ojabo has another connection with the Ravens in Odafe Oweh, Baltimore’s first-round pick from last year. Oweh and Ojabo were high school teammates at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J. Davis says Ojabo has a lot of what the Ravens saw in Oweh, which could make for another great selection.
“Baltimore would look at that size and speed ratio and say, ‘You know, we could do something with that,’ and boy did they ever,” Davis said of the 6-foot-5, 251-pound Oweh, who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds at his pro day. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Ojabo ran the 40-yard dash at the Combine in 4.55 seconds.
“And Ojabo had a lot more production in terms of numbers that we can grasp on to, similar athlete and has some connections with Oweh in that way,” Davis added.
Davis also talked about the potential of selecting an offensive lineman to help protect quarterback Lamar Jackson. While the Ravens recently signed right tackle Morgan Moses, the interior line can still be tweaked.
Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum could be a player the Ravens target in the first round. While some believe that taking a center this high in the draft is a bit of a reach, Davis doesn’t necessarily agree with that.
“Linderbaum, if you don’t get him at 14, then I don’t think you get him coming back around [in the second round]. Does that make sense? That’s the first thing,” Davis said. “The second thing is, if you think he’s your true plug-and-play [center] right away, it’s not too high to go get him by any stretch of the imagination. He’s the best center in college football.”
Ultimately, Davis was very clear that when it comes to the draft, the most important part for teams is to take players they believe in. A pick isn’t a reach, according to Davis, if a team takes a player it really wants who can make an impact. So when the draft comes around on April 28, he thinks that the Ravens should take whatever player can immediately help the team.
“If you have conviction on a player and you like him, don’t worry about what us knuckleheads are saying about what round you can go get a guy,” Davis said. “You’re dealing with the reality of who plugs in and plays for my team right now and there’s no way you go too high to get the guy you want.”
For more from Davis, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Tony Walsh