Getty Kenneth Murray playing for Oklahoma.
The Baltimore Ravens are pondering what to do in the 2020 NFL Draft, and most folks think the defense will be high on the menu for the team when they get things going late in the week.
Veteran NFL analyst Peter King explained that the Ravens have to love Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray, and hinted the team should like him enough to make a move up in order to make sure they secure his services for the future.
In a recent mock draft, King, an NBC Sports analyst, took a stab at predicting what will happen in the first round on Thursday. As he predicted, the Ravens have a player they have to love in Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray. They might like Murray so much as to trade up, even though King doesn’t have them doing it in his mock.
He wrote:
“My bet is the Ravens might try to move up a few slots to steal Murray; he’s the best pure linebacker in the draft, a sideline to sideline menace, and would be a godsend for defensive coordinator Wink Martindale to use as a chess piece. He’s also a future NFL Man of the Year, a totally too-good-to-be-true guy who helps his parents raise three siblings with special needs. Murray to the Ravens is a football match made in heaven. I’d love to see it happen.”
Safe to say plenty of Ravens fans would agree given the team needs a linebacker. Whether the Ravens decide they need to deal up is anyone’s guess at this point, but Murry along with Patrick Queen figure to be a few names that could be in the mix for the team coming up.
Ravens Interviewed Top Linebacker Talents
Most fans want to see the team go after a linebacker early in the NFL Draft. So far, the team has casted their interview net in that direction in recent days. The team already sat down with Patrick Queen virtually.
Queen has been a very productive player during his time in college with 131 tackles, 4 sacks and 1 interception to go with 17.5 tackles for loss. Obviously, the Ravens need to look for help defensively, and Queen is a player who could be in play late in the first round when the Ravens pick, even as Schrager admits that possibility might be getting slim.
A player who could be in the team’s wheelhouse? Alabama’s Terrell Lewis, another interview target of the team. Potentially, the Ravens could like Lewis in either the late first round or at some point in the second if he slides, although he’s seen plenty of interest leading into the draft.
Ravens Offseason Needs
The Ravens are seemingly in a decent spot in terms of both sides of the ball thanks to the fact that they have a young roster, but there’s little question that the team needs to make a few well placed additions, especially on offense, as DeCosta hints. Baltimore could still use another receiving threat to help Lamar Jackson, and depending on what happens with some of the team’s own free agents, another linebacker could be on the docket as well, though that position could get filled in the NFL Draft.
Baltimore shouldn’t need many more dramatic moves after what they have already done, but should continue to lock up their own talent while looking to make a few well-placed additions to the mix.
Continuing to add defensive backs and keep the right players in house could be a huge benefit to the team moving forward that helps them continue to cultivate a championship roster. So far, that’s been the move for the Ravens this offseason.
Perhaps adding a linebacker would help matters as well. That’s likely to be on the menu for the team in the draft when things get going, and Murray could be a name to remember.
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