Film Room: What Jordan Lasley and Jaleel Scott Bring to Ravens Offense
Even with the addition of a first-round quarterback and two tight ends selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft, little has changed in Baltimore.
Fans still pelt us with questions about wide receivers, wide receivers … and wide receivers.
There's a limited sample size from which to draw impressions as reporters only watched one rookie minicamp practice over the weekend. But in that one session, fifth-round pick Jordan Lasley (UCLA) created some buzz with significant involvement in the offense. He caught several passes throughout the day, and his personality shined as onlookers could frequently saw his passion on the field and even on the sideline cheering on teammates.
Fourth-round receiver Jaleel Scott (New Mexico State) didn't stand out as much as Lasley in terms of catching production, but Scott's 6-foot-5 size is impressive and he didn't have any noticeable negative plays.
Because there is little to be gained from a single rookie practice session, a more helpful activity may be to look at some of the receivers' college film.
Baltimore Beatdown's Logan Levy put together an extensive film room session on each player. I'll highlight a few of Levy's plays and notes below, but click the links for his entire breakdown of Scott and Lasley.
LASLEY: YARDS AFTER CATCH"One of Lasley's greatest strengths is what he does with the ball in his hands," wrote Levy. "UCLA found ways to get him the ball because of his ability to make plays. He is very agile and elusive after the catch. … Lasley is fantastic at making defenders miss."
LASLEY: BIG-PLAY ABILITY"Lasley does not have a complete route tree, but he is certainly a bona fide deep threat," Levy wrote. "Lasley's 18.3 yards per reception in his final season at UCLA tells the story. He almost effortlessly creates separation, plus his ability to track the ball in the air is impressive."
LASLEY: DROPS"The biggest knock on Lasley is his inconsistent hands," wrote Levy. "He had a horrible drop percentage in college and the tape certainly shows that. At times he makes circus catches, yet in the same game, he will drop a relatively easy pass."
SCOTT: CATCH RADIUS AND BODY CONTROL"Similar to SMU's Courtland Sutton, Scott's catch radius is incredible," Levy wrote. "His ability to adjust to the football and track it in the air is among the best in the class. Scott also displayed great body control and positioning throughout his college career. Although he could certainly add more muscle to his frame."
SCOTT: RED-ZONE TARGET"This is the play that Scott is most known for. He is able to not only get great positioning in the red zone, but he was able to make the fantastic one-hand catch against tight coverage," Levy added.
SCOTT: CREATING SEPARATION"Scott struggled to create separation more often than not," Levy wrote. "This is a significant concern for his development in the NFL. At times, he does display solid route-running, but in college, he mostly won 50-50 balls with his tracking ability against subpar competition. In the NFL, he may not be able to win battles like this."
What Will Ravens Buy With Extra Cap Money From Restructured Contract?
The Ravens created a reported $3.3 million in salary-cap space yesterday by restructuring safety Tony Jefferson's contract.
The team now has a total of about $8.6 million, and people want to know what the newly created money will be used for.
Don't get too excited, says Russell Street Report's Brian McFarland. Most of the money is already spoken for:
- $1.1 million to reach 53 players on the roster
- $1.3 million for practice squad players
- $3 to 5 million to carry into season for injury replacements
- TBD amount for players on IR (at least $480K per player)
After you add all those expenses up, it really doesn’t leave room for the Ravens to make a significant free-agent signing, especially because there are now limited options for other contract restructures, says McFarland. Baltimore has already restructured many others the last two years, including Brandon Williams and Jimmy Smith.
The Ravens filled out their roster after drafting 12 players, and it will be difficult for the full dozen to make the final 53. But if the team does want to fill a need with a more experienced player, McFarland says maybe there would be room for a veteran minimum deal.
Ravens Draft Improves Super Bowl Odds; Week-by-Week Favorites
General Manager Ozzie Newsome has generated some buzz with his offense-heavy drat haul two weeks ago.
NFL.com's Chase Goodbread ranked Baltimore as the No. 1 team that helped its offensive unit. Eight of the Ravens' 12 picks were offensive players.
The moves were enough to improve the Ravens' Super Bowl odds from 54-1 before the draft to 45-1 after, according to My Top Sportsbook. It's still not great odds, but it pushes Baltimore from the back of the pack to the middle at No. 16.
"The Ravens have long paired a stingy defense with an anemic offense," the website wrote. "Their 2018 draft class gives hope that the situation will be remedied. Not only did they land two of the top-four tight ends (Hayden Hurst, Mark Andrews), turning a position of extreme weakness into one of the most promising in the league, but they also acquired arguably the most dynamic player in this year's draft (Jackson)."
The Sportsbook gives the Ravens an 8.5 post-draft win total, which is in line with CG Sportsbooks’ week-by-week odds for the first 16 weeks of the season. Baltimore is the favorite in six games, the underdogs in six others and a toss-up pick 'em three others.
Week 1 vs. Bills (-3.5)
Week 2 at Bengals (pick 'em)
Week 3 vs. Broncos (-5.5)
Week 4 at Steelers (+6)
Week 5 at Browns (-2.5)
Week 6 at Titans (+2.5)
Week 7 vs. Saints (pick 'em)
Week 8 at Panthers (+2)
Week 9 vs. Steelers (pick 'em)
Week 10 Bye
Week 11 vs. Bengals (-6)
Week 12 vs. Raiders (-5)
Week 13 at Falcons (+3.5)
Week 14 at Chiefs (+2)
Week 15 vs. Bucs (-6)
Week 16 at LA Chargers (+3.5)
Eagles Bring in Another Former Raven; Appear to Have Passed on Terrance West
Another day, another former Raven that the Philadelphia Eagles will explore signing.
After bringing former Ravens running back Terrance West in for a visit earlier this week, the Eagles followed it up with a visit from Baltimore’s 2012 first overall pick (second round) Courtney Upshaw, according to ESPN's Field Yates.
The Eagles signed former Ravens Torrey Smith and Dannell Ellerbe last season, and Haloti Ngata, Mike Wallace, and Timmy Jernigan are all on the roster this year.
It appears the Eagles will pass on West, as they signed running back Matt Jones yesterday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Quick Hits
- After tackle Austin Howard signed with the Indianapolis Colts yesterday, Jeff Zrebiec reviewed many of the former Ravens still looking for work, including wide receivers Kamar Aiken and Jeremy Maclin, outside linebackers Elvis Dumervil and Upshaw, Ellerbe, tight end/offensive lineman Crockett Gillmore, quarterback Ryan Mallett and safety Lardarius Webb. [The Baltimore Sun]
Inside the Ravens Rookie Minicamp pic.twitter.com/4h4CqItmVy — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 9, 2018
