Getty The Baltimore Ravens making their pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The Baltimore Ravens have a new hole to fill on their staff with the departure of wideout coach David Culley to join the Houston Texans as their next boss, but the news isn’t all bad for Charm City in the wake of the hiring.
As a result of Culley’s hiring, the Ravens will also cash in with a pair of compensatory picks, two in the third round to be exact according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. The reason for the extra picks? Culley was a minority candidate and ended up becoming head coach, so his franchise got rewarded with the selections. It was a new NFL rule instituted for this season’s hiring cycle.
Culley officially was the choice for the Texans on Wedenesday night, beating out Leslie Frazier and Jim Caldwell for the job. Clearly, the Texans were looking for a steady, veteran hand to lead their team based on the interviews they had and the targets for the position. That’s just what Culley will give them when he takes over on the sideline. He’s a solid communicator and a guy who’s long been looked at as a potential head coach, even though it’s his first opportunity to lead a team.
The Ravens will miss Culley, but will be able to take solace in the fact that they will end up with some decent picks as a result of his departure.
David Culley Career Biography
It’s an exciting time for Culley as he departs for his new venture which has been a long time coming. Culley began his coaching career back in 1978 when he was the running backs coach at Austin Peay. Following bouncing around in the college ranks until 1993, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a wideout coach from 1994-1995. He coached wideouts in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Kansas City from 1996-2018, when he departed to become the Buffalo Bills’ quarterbacks coach from 2017-2018. In 2019, he joined the Ravens as wideout coach, and that’s where he’s been entrenched since.
Culley is clearly a football lifer, and it would be interesting to say the least to see him transition to this big time job at his age. He has gone through and paid the dues as it relates to that, and is now set to cash in with his biggest job ever.
Ravens 2021 NFL Draft Needs
It’s a good thing the Ravens picked up the extra selections for this year, because they could use some help for 2021 on the field. While the team is seemingly set at quarterback, they could use offensive skill position weapons at tight end as well as another big wideout. It’s a deep class there, so that’s good news for the Ravens. The offensive line will surely need reinforcements. On defense, the team has always preached depth, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see them add more pieces at pass rusher and linebacker in addition to the backfield.
Baltimore has done well to fill out their needs in recent years and develop depth, but adding these picks will only help them do a better job of that in a loaded 2021 class.
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