Meet The Baltimore Ravens 2023 Draft Class

Welcome to my favorite blog of the year (outside of maybe the Masters preview). It is WILD to me that this is the 10th time I've been lucky enough to write this blog at Barstool SPORTS dot com.

What a weekend it was for the Baltimore Ravens. The big gigantic elephant in the room was addressed and we're finally moving forward with our franchise quarterback. That news ultimately dwarfs the additions made during the draft, but gives some clarity as to the direction of the franchise and dictates these guys' roles in it.

It's rare for the Ravens to have as few as 6 draft picks like they did in this draft. It's even rarer to see Eric DeCosta and co hold their positions and only make one trade at the end of the draft. They're typically big time wheelers and dealers. They love to accumulate more picks, which we all liken to throws at the dartboard. The more darts, the more bullseyes you have a chance of hitting. In that sense, this was as quiet a draft as I can remember for the Ravens. But each of these picks appear to be good values and address most of the holes (of which there are few) this roster has.

Before we dive in, feel free t have a gander at any of my previous blogs and roast me for how they've aged.

Previous Editions

2022 Draft Class

2021 Draft Class

2020 Draft Class

2019 Draft Class

2018 Draft Class

2017 Draft Class

2016 Draft Class

2015 Draft Class

2014 Draft Class

Alright. Let's cook.

1st round (22nd overall) - Zay Flowers, WR from Boston College

Wrote about Zay a bit on draft night, but allow me to elaborate more on his game. Many had him graded as the top receiver in this class. Why? Because he's a dog. For the Ravens, he's being viewed as a weapon that replaces what was traded away last year with Marquise Brown… and while there are similarities, they are definitely not the same player. Both may be small and speedy, but Zay is a bit shifter where as Brown had a bit more straight line speed. 

More than anything, Flowers does NOT play like a tamed house cat. Guy plays physical and punches well above his size. Better yet, the highlights above show that he does not let his size keep him from making plays on contested balls. That's something that the Ravens haven't necessarily had in the receivers ranks since… Steve Smith. Which is who Flowers is regularly compared to. He's explosive and Todd Monken will definitely be looking to get him the ball in space. Tons of upside here and should be a great complement to Lamar.

2nd Round - Roquan Smith, best ILB in football

Yeah, this was a worthwhile trade. May be paying out the ass for a middle linebacker, but I do not care. Roquan brings all sorts of attitude and leadership to the D and can help us win a championship right now.

3rd Round (86th overall) – Trenton Simpson, LB from Clemson

With Patrick Queen and Roquan on the roster, inside linebacker was far from one of the teams' biggest needs, which means this pick has "best player available" written all over it. It also says a lot about PQ's long-term future with the team. I don't know that anybody would have been surprised if he was actually traded during this draft, much like Brown was last year. The Ravens are very unlikely to pick up his 5th year option before tomorrow's deadline, meaning this could serve as his final year in Baltimore provided they don't reach a long-term deal. I've heard PQ is none too pleased about that, so I don't envision him being here long-term. Maybe they trade him now, but I think they're more likely to play out 2023 for a title run and then collect a 3rd or 4th round comp pick when he leaves in free agency.

ANYWAYS… Simpson is another versatile player that thrives in the box. He's a little like Kyle Hamilton in that sense, except he's more of a backer first than a safety. But Simpson did play signficant snaps in a cornerback role, as well as inside and outside linebacker. He's a chameleon and he plays hard and fast. The passing game is his strong suit, which will complement nicely with Roquan's skillset for years to come. Most analysts had an early to middle 2nd round grade on Simpson, so this qualifies as one of your classic "how the hell did we let this guy fall to the Ravens" type of pick that has other fans tearing their hair out.

4th Round (124th overall) – Tavius Robinson, DL from Mississippi

The Ravens typically take a swing at a pass-rushing edge every year and the jury is definitely still out on Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo. JPP remains unsigned and it's yet to be seen whether he'll be back. So at the very least, this is a depth move and a project pick.

Robinson burst on the scene last year for Ole Miss and has all the prototypical tools to be a pass-rusher in this league. He's 6'6+, long arms, 260 lbs or so, good bend, etc etc etc. He's a strong tackler and piled up 7 sacks and 5 forced fumbles last year, which was good enough for 2nd in the nation. Run-stopping isn't necessarily a strong suit, but he showed progress there last year and can continue to improve on setting the edge. Maybe he works his way into the rotation as a 3rd down pass-rusher this year, or maybe he's a longer term project than that. He qualifies as another guy who was graded by most ahead of where he ended up being drafted, meaning that this pick was far from a reach.

5th Round (157th overall) – Kyu Blu Kelly, CB from Stanford

With Marcus Peters unsigned, cornerback was probably the Ravens biggest depth need coming into the draft. It's a position they typically invest in every year anyway, so here's their guy from Stanford.

Kelly thrives in press coverage, meaning he could find himself playing meaningful snaps on the inside as soon as this year. They'll very likely sign a veteran corner to start across from Marlo (Rock Ya-Sin anybody?), meaning there will be a fight between other young corners Brandon Stephens, Jalyn Armour-Davis, and Pepe Williams for those extra snaps. In a pass-heavy league, you can never have too many quality corners. Kelly reads as a high floor, low ceiling type of prospect that can carve out a role and make an impact, but probably won't be a household name anytime soon.

6th Round (199th overall) – Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, OL, Oregon

Aumavae-Laulu is definitely a project tackle, much like Daniel Faalele was last year. He started at right tackle for Oregon for 2 years and doesn't have tremendous size at 6'5. He doesn't necessarily grade high at any one particular thing, but he's consistently improved and beaten the odds, going from a no-star recruit to the top JUCO OL recruit a couple years later and starting for 2 years in the PAC. He's a powerful dude, but seems very raw so I wouldn't expect to see him on the field any time soon. This is easily the least exciting pick in the class, but I've been wrong about that bother. I wasn't high on Chuck Clark a few years back and he was everything we could have hoped for out of a 6th rounder and more.

7th Round (229th overall) (from CLE) – Andrew Vorhees, G, USC

This is definitely one of the more intriguing moves the Ravens made. They traded their 2024 6th rounder to jump back into the 7th round and take Vorhees, which isn't the first time they've pulled that move. They did the same in 2014 to jump back in and take Mike Campanaro in the 7th round… which was.. idk, a mild success? He scored a couple tuddies… whatever.

Sadly, Vorhees tore his ACL at the combine, sending his draft stock into a freefall and forcing him out for the 2023 season. So this is very much a 2024 draft pick at heart. The upside is that Vorhees was tracking towards a 3rd round grade before getting hurt, so this could turn out to be the steal of the entire draft. What I like more than anything is that he actually got under the bar with his torn ACL and still proceeded to put up more bench reps than anyone else at the combine. Says a lot about what kind of dude he is.

Better yet, he was a 1st team All American at USC and with Ben Powers departing in free agency, the outlook at the guard position long-term called for us to add an interior O-lineman. You don't really expect your 7th rounders (or 6th rounders, since you can make the case that that's essentially what he is) to contribute in year 1 or really ever at all, so his injury really doesn't provide any downside to us here. It's all upside. And he's a power-heavy guard that should thrive in Baltimore. EDC was as fired up for this pick as any and so am I. Love that for us.

That's what I got. It's fucking awesome to be able to think about Ravens football in a positive light once again. The Lamar saga was so draining and now we can put that behind us and get back to focusing on winning football. Time to go get a vet CB, add some depth on the D-line, and go after a championship. Can't wait to watch this offense cook under Todd Monken. Let's GO.