Getty Kenneth Murray of Oklahoma.
The Baltimore Ravens had an earlier than expected departure from the playoffs this season, but the benefit of that is a higher than expected draft pick.
When that pick is made, the Ravens can be expected to add a solid player, and that’s exactly what NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah had them grabbing. In a mock draft, Jeremiah sent the team Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray.
Here’s a look at what he wrote about the potential addition:
“The Ravens love shopping at Oklahoma. Murray is a dynamic athlete, and Baltimore needs an upgrade at the linebacker position.”
This year in the draft, the Ravens can be expected to target some defensive upgrades in the trenches, at linebacker and in the secondary. The team might also need help on the offensive side of the ball on the line and at wide receiver.
Safe to say the Ravens would score with a Murray addition. In his career with the Sooners, he racked up 329 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 6 passes defended as one of the more active linebackers in the Big 12.
Adding him to the Baltimore group would provide some solid amounts of extra depth for the team.
Baltimore’s Roster Trending Upward
Even in spite of some playoff shortcomings, the Ravens are still set up well to perform next season and beyond. A great tweet from Kevin Oestreicher shows that the reason for that has everything to do with age.
The core of Baltimore’s roster remains intact, and will be in their prime for a long time considering everyone’s age.
Age for some key players on the Ravens:
Marquise Brown: 22
Lamar Jackson: 23
Marlon Humphrey: 23
Orlando Brown Jr: 23
Mark Andrews: 24
Chuck Clark: 24
Gus Edwards: 24
Ronnie Stanley: 25
Marcus Peters: 27
The future is bright in Baltimore😈
With this considered, it doesn’t seem wise to think that the Ravens are going to go anywhere as a team that’s a league force. They’ve got a bevy of skill position players and guys at key spots who are young and ready to take the next steps in their career.
In fact, this season’s 14-2 record might only be looked at as the beginning when all is said and done with this in mind.
Ravens Already High in 2021 Super Bowl Odds
Regardless of what happens in the draft, the Ravens can be expected to be favorites next season. A look at some very early odds was revealed by Caesars on Tuesday, and perhaps surprisingly, the Ravens were high on the list in spite of their frustrating finish to 2020. As a whole, the Ravens have the second best odds to take home the Lombardi Trophy at 7-1 a year from now.
Here’s a look at some of the early odds for next season:
Next year’s Super Bowl odds released from @CaesarsEnt today:
Chiefs 6-1
Ravens 7-1
49ers 8-1
Saints 11-1
Patriots 14-1
Steelers 15-1
Cowboys, Packers 18-1
Seahawks 22-1
Browns, Eagles, Rams, Vikings 25-1
At this point, of course, very little of this matters considering the current Super Bowl hasn’t even been decided, the offseason hasn’t taken place and neither has the draft. Little is known about what shape teams will take moving forward and what will play out next year in terms of injuries or other pitfalls that take place.
For now, though, Las Vegas isn’t exactly betting on the stench of failure hanging over the Ravens for very long.
That could be especially true if they have another great draft.
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