The first day of the 2023 NFL draft couldn’t have gone any better for the Baltimore Ravens. Before the first team was even on the clock, they ended their contract negotiation stalemate with MVP-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson by finally agreeing to terms on a long-term deal that makes the highest-paid player in league history, for now.
By the end night, they were able to add another dynamic weapon for him in the passing game with the selection of former Boston College star wide receiver Zay Flowers at No. 22 overall.
In their post-draft press conference, head coach John Harbaugh shared that he was their “consensus” top-rated prospect at the position, and according to a report from The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, he was also highly rated by the New York Giants so much so that before the run on receivers began in the early 20s, they tried to move up to get him.
“Conversations with league sources indicated the Giants actively pursued opportunities to trade up, having discussions with at least one team picking in the middle of the first round,” he wrote. “A source from another team believes the Giants were trying to move up to land Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers.”
With just five picks coming into this year’s draft, many believed and speculated that the Ravens would try to trade back in the first round and accumulate more picks in later rounds. General Manager Eric DeCosta admitted that they did receive calls when they were on the clock and the fact that they almost took up all 10 minutes is evidence of that.
However, they ultimately decided to stick and pick because they had Flowers “highly rated” and believe that he is such an “excellent fit” for what they want to do on offense under first-year coordinator Todd Monken that they didn’t want to risk moving back and missing out after three straight receivers came off the board in front of them.
“As we look at other positions, we just felt like for us, passing up on Zay to get a couple extra picks was probably not the smartest thing to do.”
The Giants still wound up trading with the Jacksonville Jaguars to move up to No. 24 overall to select University of Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks who along with Flowers, had also been linked to the Ravens throughout the pre-draft process.
Zay Flowers Is No Brainer Favorite Ravens Pick for Pundits
While the former Boston College star may not have been the top wideout in most of their positional rankings, several pundits love his fit in Baltimore in particular. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler believes that there is “no need to overthink this one” when it comes to determining which pick is his favorite from DeCosta’s fifth draft class at the helm of the team’s front office.
“Flowers adds another dynamic option to the Ravens’ offense, which will force defenses to cover every inch of the field,” he wrote. “With Todd Monken at play caller, QB Lamar Jackson locked in for the next five years and a reworked wide receiver depth chart, the narrative about the Ravens’ offense has taken an optimistic turn.”
His colleague that covers the Ravens for The Athletic, Jeff Zrebiec, tabbed Flowers as the team’s best pick. He questioned if there’s anything negative that anyone can say about it considering it adds yet another talented pass catcher to the revamped arsenal. Prior to the draft, the Ravens also added former first-rounders Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor to a wide receiver room they vowed to ‘build up’ at the onset of the offseason.
“The dynamic playmaker out of Boston College became the latest piece to the team’s offseason wide receiver makeover,” he wrote. “They love his route running, his speed to get behind a defense, his ability after the catch and his toughness. They think he’ll be a true home run threat and a strong complement to Beckham, Rashod Bateman and tight end Mark Andrews.”
Giants Ended Up Better Off While Ravens Still Have Glaring Hole
Both teams came into this year’s draft with wide receiver and cornerback being among their top needs and while the Ravens ended up with the top wideout on each of their respective boards reportedly, the Giants arguably ended up the bigger winners in the end.
After losing out on Flowers in the first round, they still got one of the top corners in the draft with Banks. They then addressed their glaring hole at center by getting John Michael Schmitz out of Minnesota who was generating late first-round buzz late in the second round. They also had Tennesse’s Jalin Hyatt who was once thought of as a fringe first-rounder land in their laps in the third.
To be able to fill all three of their top needs in the first three rounds with prospects that were projected to come off the board earlier than they ultimately did was quite the coup for Giants general manager Joe Schoen.
The Hyatt pick was a great value considering that the former SEC standout possesses game-breaking speed and was the 2022 Fred Biletnikoff Award winner given to the nation’s top wide receiver after he recorded career highs in receptions (67), receiving yards (1,267), touchdowns (15), and yards per catch (18.9) per Sports Reference.
All 15 TD’s of Giants WR Jalin Hyatt’s 2022 season. He fast.
The Ravens still ended up having a very solid draft in the end and received high grades from several pundits but they still have a glaring need for a cornerback that can start on the outside opposite of three-time Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey.
DeCosta eventually addressed the position in the fifth round of the draft with the selection of former Stanford standout Kyu Blu Kelly who Ravens director of college scouting David Blackburn believes would’ve been a Day 2 pick had he come out last year. They also reportedly signed an intriguing corner prospect as an undrafted free agent with former University of Texas at San Antonio standout Corey Mayfield.
The most likely route for them to find their next No. 2 corner will be the veteran free agent market and now that adding one no longer will count against the compensatory pick formula, an addition should be expected to happen in the coming weeks if not by the end of this week.
Two established and experienced players at the position that they’ve been linked to are three-time Pro Bowler Marcus Peters who would be a re-signing and former second-round pick Rock Ya-Sin who is the younger option that is still considered an ascending player at just 26 years old.
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NFC Contender Attempted to Trade Up for Ravens WR Zay Flowers: Report