Ravens Advised to Avoid Draft Prospect at Position of Need

Typically, during NFL draft season fans will cipher through numerous mock drafts to see which prospects their team may be linked to. For the Baltimore Ravens, most mock drafts have focused on the offensive line position.

However, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine wrote an article on, “1 Prospect Each Team Must Avoid in 2024 NFL Draft” and for the Ravens he also focused on the offensive line.

Ballentine wrote, “Baltimore Ravens: OT Patrick Paul, Houston” as the prospect that general manager Eric DeCosta should avoid.

He explained, “The Baltimore Ravens need to come away from the draft with at least one starting-caliber offensive lineman.”

The Ravens will have many new faces come the start of the 2024 season and that particularly rings true on the starting offensive line. Three out of their starting five offensive linemen are no longer part of the team.

Ballentine wrote, “They lost three starters… this offseason in Morgan Moses, John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler, and they didn’t bring in anyone of similar value in free agency.”

Moses and Simpson joined the New York Jets (trade and free agency), while Zeitler joined the Detroit Lions through free agency. They need high caliber players who can compete for positions right away.

“There should be multiple options for them at No. 30 overall. Houston tackle Patrick Paul is likely to be among them, but he might not be the best one,” Ballentine advised.

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Questions on Whether Patrick Paul Is Day One Starter

This offensive line class is one of the deeper classes in recent years, so the Ravens will have options if they choose to use their first-round pick on one.

Ballentine wrote, “Paul has the look of a starting NFL tackle. At 6’8″ and 331 pounds with 36¼” arms, he has ideal length for the position.” At that size, most would think he would be a monster in the trenches.

Yet, Ballentine goes on to write, “B/R scout Brandon Thorn is concerned about his overall technique, which is disconcerting for a four-year collegiate starter.”

Thorn scouted, “Paul still needs significant technique work to play with better leverage, control and sustain skills.”

He further wrote, “Paul gets into trouble against effective stutters and hesitations, drifting and oversetting, but he can at least slow down inside moves with his length. He needs to work on keeping his pads down at the top of the quarterback’s drop to maintain leverage and prevent falling off blocks late in the rush.”

The Ravens need someone who can potentially step in day 1 and take the right tackle position or challenge Patrick Mekari for it.

However, Thorne grades Paul as a, “High-Level Backup/Potential Starter — 3rd Round,” rather than a day 1 starter.

Ballentine finishes, “The Ravens need an immediate starter, and Paul would be better suited going to a team that can afford to sit him for a while.”

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Ravens Potential Offensive Line Options at No. 30

While Paul may not be the player for Baltimore in Ballentine’s view, the need at the position is one of the paramount concerns for DeCosta.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Paul as his 9th best offensive tackle in this year’s draft class. There will be plenty of teams looking to beef up their trenches so who the Ravens pick may just depend on who falls to their spot.

Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News has the Ravens taking Duke’s Graham Barton, while according to Tankathon, Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton would be the pick at 30.

Four out of six CBS Sports mock drafts include the offensive line in some fashion with Guyton, Jordan Morgan and Troy Fautanu joing the Ravens at the No. 30 spot.

The Ravens can also use the deep draft class and their mounting 2024 picks to address the line multiple times throughout the draft.

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