Based on recent history, the Ravens could be in the market for a draft-day trade.
With the final pick in the first round (No. 32), the Ravens could look to move up the board to snag an elite prospect. The top players at the Ravens' positions of needs will likely be gone by the time they draft, so getting a player like wide receiver Tavon Austin or inside linebacker Manti Te'o would require a move.
With 12 picks in this year's draft, the Ravens have ammunition if they want to put a package together for a move.
The Ravens are no strangers to draft-day trades – they have made at least one move in 11 straight drafts – but General Manger Ozzie Newsome is typically not one to give up a bounty of draft picks. He likes to maneuver around the board by adding picks, and he pointed out last season that moving up more than 10 spots in the first round is a high price if a team isn't going after a franchise quarterback.
"If you go beyond that – I don't have the trade chart in front of me – but you start to deal with a first-round pick the following year, and only once have we given that up," Newsome said before last year's draft. "We'd do it for a quarterback, and we did it for Kyle [Boller]. But, I think that's why there's a cutoff."
The trade chart Newsome referred to is a value table used by general managers to evaluate how much each pick is worth, and what they should get in return when making a trade. Several draft websites have copies of the trade chart, which could provide some indication about what the Ravens would have to give up for a player like Austin.
Here's a look at four prospects at positions of need who have driven significant Ravens fan interest, and what the team would likely need to give up to get them based on the trade chart:
WR Tavon Austin, West VirginiaProjection: Picks 8-16
Possible trade packages:
- First-round pick (No. 32), second-round pick (No. 62), next year's first-round pick.
- First-round pick (No. 32), second-round pick (No. 62), third-round pick (No. 94), next year's second-round pick.
Comparable trade: In 2011, the Atlanta Falcons moved up 21 spots to get wide receiver Julio Jones by trading with the Cleveland Browns. The Falcons got the No. 6 overall pick from the Browns, but had to give up two first-round picks, a second-rounder and two fourth-rounders.
ILB Manti Te'o, Notre Dame
Projection: Picks 20-25
Possible trade packages:
- First-round pick (No. 32), third-round pick (No. 94), fourth-round pick (No. 129)
- First-round pick (No. 32), third-round pick (No. 94), fifth-round pick (No. 165), sixth-round pick (No. 199)
Comparable trade: In 2008, the Ravens moved up in the first round to get quarterback Joe Flacco. They traded with the Texans to move up from pick. No. 26 to No. 18, swapping first-round picks and giving up an additional third rounder and sixth rounder.
S Kenny Vaccaro, Texas
Projection: 16-24
Possible trade packages:
- First-round pick (No. 32), second-round pick (No. 62), fifth-round pick (No. 199)
- First-round pick (No. 32), third-round pick (No. 94), fourth-round pick (129*), *third-round pick next year
Comparable trade: In 2010, the Philadelphia Eagles moved up 11 spots, from pick No. 24 to No. 13, to get pass rusher Brandon Graham. To make the move, the Eagles swapped first-round picks with the Broncos, and also gave up two additional third-round picks (Nos. 70, 87).
LT Lane Johnson, OklahomaProjection: 5-12
Possible trade packages:
- First-round pick (No. 32), second-round pick (No. 62), next year's first-round pick.
- First-round pick (No. 32), second-round pick (No. 62), third-round pick (No. 94), next year's second-round pick
Comparable trade: Falcons' 2011 trade for Jones. * *
