It didn’t take long for the Ravens to turn their franchise into a champion, as the team drafted Jonathan Ogden and linebacker Ray Lewis with their first two selections in the 1996 draft.
Odgen and Lewis, who both will almost certainly end their careers enshrined in the Hall of Fame, gave the Ravens the reputation as being one of the league’s best at plucking talent from among the thousands of players available at each draft.
The Ravens have made 15 first-round picks since arriving in Baltimore a dozen years ago — and 10 will take the field at M&T Bank Stadium this afternoon against Cincinnati. But in recent years, the Ravens’ have failed to bolster their team by finding great players in the later rounds. From 1999 to 2002, the Ravens found exceptional talent in the fourth round or later, including: running Chester Taylor (sixth round), linebacker Edgerton Hartwell (fourth round), linebacker Adalius Thomas (sixth round) and receiver Brandon Stokley (fourth round).
But the players the Ravens’ inability to select draft well beyond the first round has been a major reason they have missed the playoffs in three of the past four seasons.
Linebacker Dan Cody, a 2005 second-round pick, and cornerback David Pittman, a 2006 third-round pick both were waived prior to this season. Wide receiver Devard Darling, a 2004 third-round pick, had just 20 catches in four years before signing with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens also have dealt with the failure of 2003 first-round pick quarterback Kyle Boller to live up to expectations.
Former Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer, an NFL analyst for ESPN, said the team’s misses on draft day has detracted from its ability to select Pro Bowlers such as safety Ed Reed, tight end Todd Heap and linebacker Terrell Suggs.
“Without a doubt, the Ravens have done a great job drafting on defense,” Dilfer said. “But their inability to develop an impact wide receiver or offensive tackle [since Ogden] has greatly hurt their offensive development. They have reached for some players in key areas.”
Overall, the Ravens appear to have drafted well since coming to Baltimore 12 years ago. They have drafted 70 players since 1999, and based on rosters from Week 1 last year, they had 48 of those players (68.6 percent) on NFL rosters — the highest percentage in the league.
Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome stands by the team’s draft history.
“I think it’s a challenge every year,” said Ozzie Newsome, Ravens general manager. “I think every draft is different. But, it’s not about me. It’s about the scouts, it’s about the coaches, it’s about all of the work [head athletic trainer] Bill T. [Tessendorf] and what he does, [director of football video] Jon Dube and what they do with all of the video — that’s what it’s all about.”
Still, there’s no debating this: The Ravens have made 43 draft picks since 2003 and Suggs, the 10th overall pick that year, is the only one who has made the Pro Bowl.
In the previous seven drafts, the team’s draft choices have made a combined 36 Pro Bowls.
“The key for us has always been to trust our scouts,” said Eric DeCosta, the Ravens director of college scouting. “You can’t be out there and see every player, so when we have a scout that is outspoken about a player, we try to take their word on it.”
DeCosta said this approach has historically helped the franchise develop a number of lesser-known college players. He points to current Ravens like linebacker Bart Scott (undrafted, 2002) safeties Dawan Landry (fifth round, 2006) and Haruki Nakamura (sixth round, 2008), along with former players like Thomas (sixth round, 2000), now with the New England Patriots, as proof of the Ravens scouting success.
“Guys taken in the second day of the draft come into the NFL with a chip on their shoulder,” DeCosta said. “Many of these players come in mentally motivated to prove you shouldn’t have passed on them.”
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