Ravens Receive Mixed Grades for Both First-Round Picks

The Baltimore Ravens did some heavy lifting during the NFL Draft on Thursday night, and with a pair of selections, the team came away having addressed two of their biggest needs with a pair of selections.

With pick 27, the Ravens came away with wideout Rashod Bateman and then turned around a few picks later and nabbed Penn State’s Jayson Oweh. Both players were amongst the best of the best in the Big Ten, but that doesn’t mean the Ravens received elite grades for the moves right off the bat.

Yahoo! Sports columnist Eric Edholm graded the moves in real-time for the Ravens, and handed the selection of Bateman a B-. As he said, the big play potential of this wideout is hard to ignore for the Ravens, who needed an infusion of that in their offense.

He wrote:

“This was a pick widely speculated, as Bateman is an outside receiver who will battle for balls. One thing we noticed on tape (that will work very well with Lamar Jackson): Bateman is really good at coming back to the ball on scramble drills. This pick will work, even with the need on the offensive line.”

As for the selection of Oweh, the Ravens scored a bit lower in the mind of Edholm. As he wrote, Oweh is a great athlete, but he has to find a way to translate potential when he gets into the league.

“The offensive line can wait. Oweh is a true 1% athlete, even by NFL standards. He’s raw as a pass rusher, finding his way into the backfield with his rare traits and very hot motor. The Ravens typically put a lot of stock into sack production in their projections. Oweh had zero in seven games in 2020 and only seven in 24 college games. Will he harness his skill?”

When the second-round comes, the Ravens can be expected to look at fixing their offensive line since they ignored that in the first-round. Still, with the needs they were able to fill, it was mostly good news for the team.

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Oweh’s Stats and Highlights

Oweh has been overshadowed a bit by some bigger names on his Penn State defense the last few seasons, but there’s no question he has been effective as a defender for the team. While in college, Oweh has put up 63 tackles, 7 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in a three-year career with the Nittany Lions.

When looking at the tape, clearly the defender is an intriguing talent given his explosion.

This is just what could make Oweh exceed the initial grade he’s been given.

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Bateman’s Stats and Highlights

It’s true what is being said about Bateman and he is a player who could be a major difference maker for a team that takes a chance on him in the draft. While at Minnesota, Bateman put up solid numbers, with 2,395 yards and 19 touchdowns. As a result of this work in college, Bateman is seen as a potential stud in the making for teams in the draft, and could be a good alternative further down the board in the first round where the Ravens are slated to pick this season.

Bateman has proven himself the biggest weapon in Minnesota the last few seasons with plays like this:

Now, he will be turning those plays in for the Ravens, something that it’s hard not to see being a home run for the team in the end.

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