• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Baltimore Sports Today

Baltimore Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Football
    • Ravens
    • Redskins
  • Baseball
    • Nationals
    • Orioles
  • Basketball
    • Mystics
    • Wizzards
  • Capitals
  • Soccer
    • Blast
    • D.C. United
    • Spirit
  • Colleges
    • George Mason
    • George Washington University
    • Georgetown
    • Howard
    • Johns Hopkins
    • Morgan State
    • Towson
    • University of Maryland

Ravens Pick Higher Than Usual After Injury-Filled Season

April 23, 2022 by CBS Baltimore

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Last year’s Baltimore Ravens were proof of how important health is in the NFL.

Availability is crucial — and a player’s injury history can be a significant part of his draft profile.

“I think one of the things that we really do believe in is just looking at: Has the guy missed time in college? Has he been a consistent player?” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said.

“Sometimes, the guy has an injury history, but doesn’t miss practices and doesn’t miss games. Those type of guys, we feel pretty good about. The guys that miss a lot of time in college, we’ve seen a trend that they miss time at our level.”

DeCosta feels the Ravens have generally been pretty conservative in the draft when it comes to injuries. Last season’s nightmare — when a decimated Baltimore team dropped six straight at the end of the season to miss the playoffs — would have been hard for anyone to foresee. The Ravens will certainly hope for better luck in 2022, but given what happened last year, the health history of anyone they draft will be scrutinized.

“There are some things you simply can’t plan for — the catastrophic injuries, or the freaky-type things that happen, the non-contact stuff, we’ve seen that. We’ve had some players that have never missed any time in their careers and then got hurt here with us,” DeCosta said. “So, I’m not really sure how you can predict that or project that.”

Baltimore has the 14th pick in this year’s draft. Only once in the past 15 drafts have the Ravens picked that high — when they took tackle Ronnie Stanley at No. 6 in 2016. Stanley was one of many crucial Baltimore players who weren’t healthy last season. He played in only one game.

One player in this year’s draft who fits a position of need for the Ravens — Michigan defensive end David Ojabo — is coming off an Achilles tendon injury. It’s a little harder to evaluate Ojabo, or anyone else recovering from a major injury.

“In some cases, we have to weigh the talent versus the injury and when we think the guy is going to come back,” DeCosta said. “If a guy is talented enough, we may be willing to have him sit out a year. If we think the return on the investment is going to be substantial, then we’ll do that.”

QUANTITY

Not only do the Ravens have a higher pick than usual, they also have nine selections in the first four rounds — including five in the fourth.

“I think we do have a lot of flexibility, which is something that we covet — having the chance to move up and down,” DeCosta said. ”Sometimes, you get into a situation, we see it with other teams, where they want to do a trade with us and they want to maneuver, but they don’t have the picks to do it.”

UP FRONT

The Ravens brought back defensive lineman Calais Campbell, and they signed defensive tackle Michael Pierce. DeCosta said there could be a run on edge rushers in the top 10, but it’s possible one could fall to Baltimore at 14.

Purdue’s George Karlaftis is an edge rusher who could still be available in the middle of the first round, and Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis may also be a possibility.

UNCERTAINTY

Stanley’s injury and Alejandro Villanueva’s retirement means it may be a little while before the Ravens know exactly what the offensive tackle spot will look like next season. Baltimore did add Morgan Moses via free agency.

“We feel that there’s an opportunity in the draft to address the tackle spot at some point, whether it’s in the first round or in the fourth round,” DeCosta said. “It’s a very, very deep position class. So, there are a lot of different ways for us to skin the cat, and we’ll do that at some point.”

PASS DEFENSE

Baltimore lost cornerback Marcus Peters to a knee injury before last season even started, and Marlon Humphrey was eventually hurt too. That underscored the importance of depth in the secondary.

“We always want to have a strong secondary and have as many corners as possible,” DeCosta said. “We’ve referred to those guys as race cars in the past. This year, we got decimated at that position across the board. We have outstanding players coming back, but again, until they come back, it’s question marks.”

Filed Under: Ravens

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Chantal weakens to a tropical depression but raises concerns of flash flooding in North Carolina
  • Shinnosuke Ogasawara’s MLB debut is a blur as the Nats get swept away
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent throws shade at Elon Musk’s plans for new political party
  • Daily Slop – 6 July 25
  • Capitals Sign Lynden Lakovic to Entry Level Contract

Categories

  • Baseball
    • Nationals
    • Orioles
  • Basketball
    • Mystics
    • Wizzards
  • Capitals
  • Colleges
    • George Mason
    • George Washington University
    • Georgetown
    • Howard
    • Morgan State
    • Navy
    • Towson
    • University of Maryland
  • Football
    • Ravens
    • Redskins
  • Soccer
    • Blast
    • D.C. United
    • Spirit
  • Uncategorized

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • CBS Baltimore
  • Forgotten 5
  • NBC Sports Washington
  • Maryland Sports Blog
  • OurSports Central
  • PressBoxOnline.com
  • The Baltimore Sun
  • The Baltimore Wire
  • The Sports Daily
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today
  • Washington Post
  • Washington Times

Baseball

  • MLB.com - Orioles
  • MLB.com - Nationals
  • Baltimore Baseball
  • Birds Watcher
  • Camden Chat
  • District On Deck
  • Federal Baseball
  • Last Word On Baseball - Nationals
  • Last Word On Baseball - Orioles
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Nationals
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Orioles
  • Nationals Arm Race
  • Orioles Hangout

Basketball

  • NBA.com
  • WNBA.com
  • Amico Hoops
  • Bullets Forever
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Wiz Of Awes

Football

  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Washington Redskins
  • Baltimore Beatdown
  • Baltimore Gridiron Report
  • Ebony Bird
  • Hogs Haven
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Washington Commanders
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Baltimore Ravens
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Ravens
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Redskins
  • Our Turf Football - Ravens
  • Our Turf Football - Redskins
  • Pro Football Rumors - Ravens
  • Pro Football Rumors - Redskins
  • Pro Football Talk - Redskins
  • Pro Football Talk - Ravens
  • Redskins Gab
  • Ravens Wire
  • Redskins Wire
  • Riggos Rag
  • Total Ravens

Hockey

  • Washington Capitals
  • Elite Prospects
  • Japers Rink
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • Stars And Sticks
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Baltimore Blast
  • Black And Red United
  • Last Word on Soccer - DC United
  • Last Word on Soccer - Spirit
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Big East Coast Bias
  • Busting Brackets
  • Casual Hoya
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Fourth Estate
  • GW Hatchet
  • Saturday Blitz
  • The Diamondback
  • The Hilltop
  • The Hoya
  • Testudo Times
  • Zags Blog

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in