With the rest of the world watching the constantly-evolving Lamar Jackson saga, the Ravens need to turn their attention to the mock draft. Baltimore only has five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, which means they need to make the most of each selection. The team knocked it out of the park last year, but can they do it again this year?
Note that the exercise was performed using the Pro Football Network Mock Draft Simulator. If the player was on the board when the Ravens were on the clock, they were fair game. Also, trades were not included in this Ravens mock draft.
Seven-Round Baltimore Ravens Mock Draft
22nd Overall: Lukas Van Ness, EDGE
The Baltimore Ravens need wide receivers, but you shouldn’t reach for needs in the NFL Draft. With all of the good receivers already off the board, this mock draft kicks off with the Ravens selecting one of the more dangerous pass rushers in the class. Lukas Van Ness isn’t the most versatile player, but he excels at getting after the quarterback, and that’s a skill you need on a defense that shares a division with Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson. In the short term, Van Ness can start as a situational pass rusher, but he has the talent to develop into an above-average three-down starter before long.
I know this is only one play but look what Lukas Van Ness does to Peter Skoronski here
#DaBears #NFLdraft pic.twitter.com/3ShziKqDqw
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) March 22, 2023
86th Overall: Trey Palmer, WR
Trey Palmer is one of the biggest boom-or-bust prospects in this class, but his insane upside makes him worth the wager for the Ravens in this mock draft. The Nebraska product possesses elite athleticism and runs some decent routes, but he’ll need the right coaching if he’s going to reach his ceiling. At the very least, he runs incredibly fast in a straight line and can provide some much-needed verticality for this offense.
124th Overall: Chase Brown, RB
The Ravens love running the ball, but their running backs have battled injury over the past few years. They need a guy capable of handling a high volume of touches, and Chase Brown is the man for the job. Brown is big and strong for the position and proved he can handle a heavy workload in college. While he’s not the most explosive player, he is an effective one-cut runner that should have no trouble earning those hard-to-get yards in short-yardage situations.
157th Overall: SirVocea Dennis, LB
SirVocea Dennis is a home run hitter at linebacker, but for all those baseball fans out there, you also know that this means he strikes out a bit more than you’d like. While he makes plenty of big plays, his aggressive style also means that he’ll miss on a few relatively routine assignments. Dennis will start off as a rotational linebacker, but his flaws are largely fixable. With the right coaching, he could turn into a starting-caliber player, although he lacks the athleticism to every be anything more than a league-average starter.
199th Overall: Ali Gaye EDGE
At this point in the mock draft, all the good players are gone, so the Ravens are going to shoot for upside. Ali Gaye has a lot to learn about actually playing the game of football, but he has the build and athleticism to make it in the league. As a rookie, he’ll compete for one of the final spots on the roster, and perhaps he develops into a reliable situational pass rusher after a season or two of good coaching.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
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