The NFL Scouting Combine is about to kick off this week, and there's still a lot of evaluation left to do on this year's prospects.
But one of the media's most plugged-in sources for draft information, the NFL Network's Mike Mayock, already has a gut feeling on which direction the Ravens are going with their first-round pick.
Spoiler alert, it's not the secondary.
"You can look anywhere in that front seven and I think they have some needs," Kiper said. "At [pick] No. 16, there's going to be some front-seven talent available. So my gut tells me it will be somewhere in that front seven."
On the defensive line, the Ravens could have a need at defensive tackle if Brandon Williams leaves in free agency. They could also add a playmaking defensive end. They're always looking to add more pass rushers, and could be searching for the eventual replacement to Terrell Suggs and/or Elvis Dumervil. The sudden retirement of Zachary Orr has also left an opening at inside linebacker.
This year's first round offers a bevy of options in the front seven, and Mayock raved about the amount of quality edge rushers in particular.
Here are some of the front-seven players projected, as of now, to be possible first-round picks:
- DE Myles Garrett, Texas A&M (top-five pick)
- DL Jonathan Allen, Alabama (top-five pick)
- DL Solomon Thomas, Stanford
- ILB Reuben Foster, Alabama
- DE Derek Barnett, Tennessee
- DE Taco Charlton, Michigan
- DT Malik McDowell, Michigan State
- OLB/DE Takkarist McKinley, UCLA
- OLB/DE Carl Lawson, Auburn
- OLB Tim Williams, Alabama
- LB Haason Reddick, Temple
- ILB Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt
Of course, the Ravens aren't locked into one position, and they have multiple needs. Many analysts have also projected Baltimore to pick a cornerback or safety, as there are also several good first-round options in the secondary.
But despite the abundance of first-round defensive talent this year, don't rule out the Ravens taking a top-flight offensive player, Mayock said.
If one of the top wide receivers (Clemson's Mike Williams or Western Michigan's Corey Davis) or running backs (LSU's Leonard Fournette or Florida State's Dalvin Cook) were to be there at No. 16, the Ravens could go for the playmaker.
"Shoot, if they have a wideout or running back highly rated and some of that defensive talent got gobbled up early, then yeah, I could see them pulling the trigger," Mayock said.
"If you follow [General Manager] Ozzie [Newsome] and [Assistant General Manager] Eric DeCosta over the years, what they do really well is they typically get good football players because they don't reach for positional needs."
