2025 NFL Draft Gameday Thread

[RavensMania]

Day 3 looks really good, with Peebles being the steal. I feel all of our 6th round picks could contribute early. Watch the tape of Bihal Kone, especially the game against Ohio State. The kid has some really good route recognition and he's a sure tackler. He does a good job and he shows good recovery speed.

 

[Sandtown]

Idk I mean royals is a YAC guy

Yeah thats true but he has little to no punt or kick return experience. I always knew the ravens wide receiver selection in this draft was going to be a wide receiver that was experienced as a punt/ kick returner. Didn't think they was in love with drafting one that didn't have that experience at all especially after how things looked last year.

I think they overall prioritize on a wide receiver that was a return specialist in college. They ended up getting one of the best in Wester so it paid off but I understand if it sucks they wasn't able to draft a receiver with more upside at the position. I legit wanted then to draft Tory Horton whom not only had the size to grow into a potential X receiver in which Eric's Decosta has made known the team has struggled to find but also was.also a return specialist but I guess he just wasnt high on their board.

 

[RaineV1]

I kinda hope Cam Ward has a great rookie season just as a middle finger to Mel Kiper.

 

[QtR Nevermore]

I listened to James Ogden going through the Ravens draft class and it's left me a little gloomy about the prospects of the class this year despite him being quite positive about a lot of the picks.

He was quite low on anyone other than Starks, Green and Buchanan even being able to compete for a role this season. There were exceptions - the special teamers, Loop and Wester, and Peebles as a situational pass rusher only. He also thought Kone could compete as depth. He didn't seem to think any of the offensive linemen or Longerbeam would be able to offer anything this year.

I know it's just one guy's opinion but I generally think he's pretty good on the draft.

I get it. What do you expect from Day 3 picks? They obviously like their roster but where I felt they needed to add depth, it seems the Ravens were chasing developmental players with upside. Also, Emory Jones was a 3rd rounder and you hope they at least provide competition to the starters but Ogden made it sound like all the O Linemen were closer to IR- stash candidates than depth. All of which makes me wonder again why they didn't add more to the D Line.

 

[rossihunter2]

I listened to James Ogden going through the Ravens draft class and it's left me a little gloomy about the prospects of the class this year despite him being quite positive about a lot of the picks.

He was quite low on anyone other than Starks, Green and Buchanan even being able to compete for a role this season. There were exceptions - the special teamers, Loop and Wester, and Peebles as a situational pass rusher only. He also thought Kone could compete as depth. He didn't seem to think any of the offensive linemen or Longerbeam would be able to offer anything this year.

I know it's just one guy's opinion but I generally think he's pretty good on the draft.

I get it. What do you expect from Day 3 picks? They obviously like their roster but where I felt they needed to add depth, it seems the Ravens were chasing developmental players with upside. Also, Emory Jones was a 3rd rounder and you hope they at least provide competition to the starters but Ogden made it sound like all the O Linemen were closer to IR- stash candidates than depth. All of which makes me wonder again why they didn't add more to the D Line.

i guess more what did you expect the rookie class to be?
we had 3 picks in the top 100... that's where most of your year 1 impact starters come from (tbh more like top 70)

we picked 3 OL, and you don't rotate OL so unless one of them wins a starting job, those 3 guys will not play this year

the easiest places to make an impact early in your career are at EDGE, DL, RB and WR where teams use a ton of rotation to keep guys fresh and have guys do role specific things

we only picked 3 guys at those 4 positions, Green, Peebles and Wester

getting 3 starters from a draft class is normally a great outcome after 3 years - we're looking at potentially 2 straight away in year 1 (or at least green should have a chance to play significant snaps even if he's not the "starter")

and then you've got 3 OL, there's a good chance one (or more) are starting games by year 3
you've got a LB who potentially has a chance to compete for a starting job right away
you've got your K
you've got 2 CBs to be potential CB depth with traits that give them a chance to be starters as day 3 picks
you've got a DL who figures to be part of a rotation at least as a pass rusher at some point fairly early in his career

you can't have been expecting 11 starters surely given the picks we had and where we were picking in each round??? especially given we're a very stable team coming off a season where we had probably the best offence in the league (and have only lost 1 starter, the worst performing one to) and just drafted solutions to the 2 biggest defensive issue we had

 

[Tank]

I kinda hope Cam Ward has a great rookie season just as a middle finger to Mel Kiper.

Kiper and Deion must be buddies, or he gave him a bag to talk up his boy. No other viable explanation.

 

[Simba]

I listened to James Ogden going through the Ravens draft class and it's left me a little gloomy about the prospects of the class this year despite him being quite positive about a lot of the picks.

He was quite low on anyone other than Starks, Green and Buchanan even being able to compete for a role this season. There were exceptions - the special teamers, Loop and Wester, and Peebles as a situational pass rusher only. He also thought Kone could compete as depth. He didn't seem to think any of the offensive linemen or Longerbeam would be able to offer anything this year.

I know it's just one guy's opinion but I generally think he's pretty good on the draft.

I get it. What do you expect from Day 3 picks? They obviously like their roster but where I felt they needed to add depth, it seems the Ravens were chasing developmental players with upside. Also, Emory Jones was a 3rd rounder and you hope they at least provide competition to the starters but Ogden made it sound like all the O Linemen were closer to IR- stash candidates than depth. All of which makes me wonder again why they didn't add more to the D Line.

I'd chase dudes with upside 10 times out of 10 with our current roster. With the exception of DL (where I do agree we could have done better), there's not a position on this roster where I see a 6th round pick carving out a role day 1. If a guy is going to sit on the bench or ride the inactives all year, I'd rather it be a guy that can grow vs. a guy with limited upside that may be more ready.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

I listened to James Ogden going through the Ravens draft class and it's left me a little gloomy about the prospects of the class this year despite him being quite positive about a lot of the picks.

He was quite low on anyone other than Starks, Green and Buchanan even being able to compete for a role this season. There were exceptions - the special teamers, Loop and Wester, and Peebles as a situational pass rusher only. He also thought Kone could compete as depth. He didn't seem to think any of the offensive linemen or Longerbeam would be able to offer anything this year.

I know it's just one guy's opinion but I generally think he's pretty good on the draft.

I get it. What do you expect from Day 3 picks? They obviously like their roster but where I felt they needed to add depth, it seems the Ravens were chasing developmental players with upside. Also, Emory Jones was a 3rd rounder and you hope they at least provide competition to the starters but Ogden made it sound like all the O Linemen were closer to IR- stash candidates than depth. All of which makes me wonder again why they didn't add more to the D Line.

Idk what you expect. Best case in this class we get 2 immediate starters/impact guys in starks and green, a future starter in jones, and 2-3 role players out of the next 8 picks. That’s probably the absolute best case and that’s a slam dunk of a draft class. A more realistic projection, jones becomes depth, we get some special teams production from Buchanan and wester, and a bit of rotation from Buchanan and Peebles. And that’s pretty good if the first 2 players work out as they should.

 

[rossihunter2]

I'd chase dudes with upside 10 times out of 10 with our current roster. With the exception of DL (where I do agree we could have done better), there's not a position on this roster where I see a 6th round pick carving out a role day 1. If a guy is going to sit on the bench or ride the inactives all year, I'd rather it be a guy that can grow vs. a guy with limited upside that may be more ready.

also those athletes are more likely to have special teams potential too

 

[Simba]

also those athletes are more likely to have special teams potential too

That too.

And I'll also add... if it ever gets dire and that developmental player becomes one of the top names on the depth chart, there are always veterans available that can come in and play if the rookie isn't ready. I'd much rather take a shot on the upside and miss than draft a guy that can be found on the open market at any time.

 

[Simba]

Got a little insight into the weird trade back. EDC all but confirmed the deal was made because they were still making a decision. I was told that it was surrounding Vinson. They were about to go a different direction when they got a tip that Vinson wasn't going to make it to their next pick. They traded back to have the debate on whether they wanted to go with the original plan or take the guy they liked. They took the guy they liked.

 

[All_black_everything]

Got a little insight into the weird trade back. EDC all but confirmed the deal was made because they were still making a decision. I was told that it was surrounding Vinson. They were about to go a different direction when they got a tip that Vinson wasn't going to make it to their next pick. They traded back to have the debate on whether they wanted to go with the original plan or take the guy they liked. They took the guy they liked.

Honesty… this doesn’t make it make any more sense for me. They traded back because they didn’t think Vinson was going to make it and then he made it to the pick they traded back to? And what was the original plan?

 

[Simba]

Honesty… this doesn’t make it make any more sense for me. They traded back because they didn’t think Vinson was going to make it and then he made it to the pick they traded back to? And what was the original plan?

They knew he wasn't going in those 5 picks and they were up against the timer when the intel dropped, so they took the offer they got so they could recollect themselves and figure out which direction they wanted to go.

Sounds like they were going to go DT Cam Jackson originally, who went 1 pick ahead of them.

 

[rossihunter2]

Honesty… this doesn’t make it make any more sense for me. They traded back because they didn’t think Vinson was going to make it and then he made it to the pick they traded back to? And what was the original plan?

as in he wouldn't have made it to the pick after

 

[All_black_everything]

They knew he wasn't going in those 5 picks and they were up against the timer when the intel dropped, so they took the offer they got so they could recollect themselves and figure out which direction they wanted to go.

Sounds like they were going to go DT Cam Jackson originally, who went 1 pick ahead of them.

as in he wouldn't have made it to the pick after

Thanks for dumbing it down lol it makes sense now but I wonder why they wouldn’t just follow the board and go BPA instead of letting the draft dictate who they’re taking.

 

[rossihunter2]

Thanks for dumbing it down lol it makes sense now but I wonder why they wouldn’t just follow the board and go BPA instead of letting the draft dictate who they’re taking.

grades at that point will have been basically the same
Vinson was a guy that someone in the room (wharton) stood up and advocated for and that might have been enough to make the difference

 

[Simba]

Thanks for dumbing it down lol it makes sense now but I wonder why they wouldn’t just follow the board and go BPA instead of letting the draft dictate who they’re taking.

I don’t get the sense the grades were drastically different. Seems like the prospect of not getting him got the believers to stand up and pound the table for him in those few minutes in between picks.

 

[Baltimorican]

They knew he wasn't going in those 5 picks and they were up against the timer when the intel dropped, so they took the offer they got so they could recollect themselves and figure out which direction they wanted to go.

Sounds like they were going to go DT Cam Jackson originally, who went 1 pick ahead of them.

Gotcha. I guess every hard core Raven fan knows damn well they f'ed up not trading up for the DT they wanted in that spot, now we know who and when. Maybe Vinson pans out and and the guy they wanted didn't and it turns into a nice story.

 

[Simba]

Gotcha. I guess every hard core Raven fan knows damn well they f'ed up not trading up for the DT they wanted in that spot, now we know who and when. Maybe Vinson pans out and and the guy they wanted didn't and it turns into a nice story.

They passed on Jackson (prior to the trade back) because they decided they’d rather have Vinson.

 

[QtR Nevermore]

i guess more what did you expect the rookie class to be?
we had 3 picks in the top 100... that's where most of your year 1 impact starters come from (tbh more like top 70)

we picked 3 OL, and you don't rotate OL so unless one of them wins a starting job, those 3 guys will not play this year

the easiest places to make an impact early in your career are at EDGE, DL, RB and WR where teams use a ton of rotation to keep guys fresh and have guys do role specific things

we only picked 3 guys at those 4 positions, Green, Peebles and Wester

getting 3 starters from a draft class is normally a great outcome after 3 years - we're looking at potentially 2 straight away in year 1 (or at least green should have a chance to play significant snaps even if he's not the "starter")

and then you've got 3 OL, there's a good chance one (or more) are starting games by year 3
you've got a LB who potentially has a chance to compete for a starting job right away
you've got your K
you've got 2 CBs to be potential CB depth with traits that give them a chance to be starters as day 3 picks
you've got a DL who figures to be part of a rotation at least as a pass rusher at some point fairly early in his career

you can't have been expecting 11 starters surely given the picks we had and where we were picking in each round??? especially given we're a very stable team coming off a season where we had probably the best offence in the league (and have only lost 1 starter, the worst performing one to) and just drafted solutions to the 2 biggest defensive issue we had

I thought that post would get a bit of push back.

I wasn't expecting to get starters on day 3. What I was hoping for were a couple more guys who could push the starters a little in camp and be ready to go in case of injury and a few fewer guys who might be inactive on game days because they're further away than that.

I viewed the pre-draft roster as strong but needing to add depth for this season, and in that one person's assessment, they gambled on higher upside for future seasons at the expense of adding depth for this season which feels risky in a Super Bowl window.