Let’s get physical - an alt-mock draft for the Ravens

I never could understand coaches who told me that if I believed, in my heart, that I could knock that 270 pound linebacker on his ass, that I would do. It made no sense to me as a logical person. What in the world does belief have anything to do with it? He’s huge.

Then I got a coach who finally got me, who knew that he couldn’t just tell me to believe it and it will happen, like some dodgy superhero wisdom. He told me that the reason some coaches preach belief in yourself, is because it drives guys to run as fast as they can, headlong into the immovable object. Then he told me the formula all good coaches who tailor their advice, tell the thinking man’s football player. Force equals mass times acceleration.

It was a true lightbulb moment for me. All of a sudden, me as the bad tweener, too slow to play receiver, not big enough to play O-line, tight-end/full-back/H-back/core special teamer hybrid, all I wanted to do was block and play full-back.

Now I bring that love for the full-back position into my player evaluation, through the evaluation dog days of February, I long for April. Not just for the NFL Draft itself but because it allows me the chance to watch some full-backs – my favourite days of draft season.

Don’t worry – this post is not a post about full-backs, only just a little bit. I’ve put it in the context of a draft dream that came to me recently. It was a Ravens draft scenario that Dave Gettleman and us hogmalis would love, Dan Campbell would be proud of the knee-biting talent we would assemble.

Let’s get this straight first, I don’t believe we would do this and I’m not sure I’d even want us to. It would require a lot of draft capital invested in, essentially, blocking and blocking alone. It would likely neglect either one or both of the infusion of young talent we could do with on defense or an early-drafted weapon for Lamar on the outside.

But this is a Greg Roman led-offense, we have committed to the bit several times recently and I don’t think something like this is out of the question – a triple down on that rushing offense set our Ravens Flock members a-blaze but it is a fun exercise to think about our heavy formations when this draft is done.

So, without further ado, I present to you the “Let’s Get Physical” Baltimore Ravens draft.

Plan A would undoubtedly be to secure Teven Jenkins on day one – I’m not entirely certain about his projection to Guard at the next level, where he would have to play year one, but he’s the most physical finisher in this class and he would work perfectly for player one in this three player scenario. I don’t think it’s realistic so I’m not writing at length about it. Also, there’s been a lot written about Teven and I want to write about somebody else, who’s not that much less heralded, but who I feel is getting far less love this draft season.

You’ll notice that the first step I’m hinting at here, is to acquire an early round OT that I think can take over from Orlando Brown Jr. in a year but who can play at Left Guard in year one, kicking Bradley Bozeman inside. I am not in any way sullying Powers, Phillips or even Bredeson’s chances of being a good player in the league, I’m just examining what fortifying a strength looks like.

The guy I like here and that I want to talk about, I don’t think we need to select at 27. But I also don’t want to risk Kansas City at 31 or Jacksonville at 33 sniping us for him. I also don’t want to lose the fifth year option, which will be doubly important if I plan on starting this guy, year one, at a position he may not play long-term. I’m motivated to trade back here because I think we need to upgrade our third round pick to get the second guy in this three player combo.

So the first move is dependent on a Corner slipping down the draft board, maybe its Caleb Farley due to the medical concerns. In that scenario, we are in prime real estate for Buffalo or Green Bay to jump New Orleans for that talent. All three teams with a clear need for a lockdown number 2 option opposite their already excellent number one guys – Tre’Davious White, Jaire Alexander and Marshon Lattimore (albeit a slightly down year for Lattimore last year) respectively.

Let’s take the Green Bay offer as they’re not a competitor for the Lamar Hunt trophy, here’s the offer I would want to work Green Bay towards.

Green Bay gives Pick 29 and Pick 92 (772 JJ Trade Value Chart Points)

Baltimore gives Pick 27 and Pick 104 (766 JJ Trade Value Chart Points)

Remember I don’t think we need to be adding many more picks as this roster has talented depth and a truck-load of draft picks is not what the doctor ordered. Also, this trade keeps us in front of some OT-needy teams coming up.

With the 29th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens select… Liam Eichenberg OT Notre Dame

I am a huge Eichenberg Stan. And I haven’t seen a lot of love given to the Golden Domer standout. A three year starter at Left Tackle on the Irish line, Eichenberg has great pedigree. I want him for his run blocking, for me, some of the best in the class not getting the kind of credit some of the more flashy finishers like Jenkins are getting. Eichenberg has more than enough nasty to him and he plays well through the echo of the whistle. You can see him pancake guys and then continue to block them into the ground. I mean, he really drives them into the dirt. His run blocking is not just physical and violent, its technically gifted too. He rolls his hips on contact as well as the best linemen I’ve seen at doing this coming out, he will establish a position of dominance at the point of attack and never give it up, walling off the defender from the running back. He continues to drive his feet on contact and he will walk, nay run, the defender back into his secondary, staying latched but also being most effective on double teams and moves to the second level. He’s physical on trap blocks and delivers blows on down blocks. Put simply, he is a people-mover and a perfect scheme fit.

In pass protection, he has patient hands and consistently lands his punch inside, and his consistency in this has developed over time. His hands though, aren’t especially heavy in pass protection and you can see them defeated by fast and violent hands from the End. He is in an excellent lateral mover due to the superior technique developed in his footwork, not necessarily because he is a particularly adept mover. He has an explosive and deliberate first step, likely borne out of him anticipating well at the snap and can neutralise speed off the edge because of this early quickness. He needs it to survive on the outside though, his arms are less than 33 inches and while he deploys what length he has generally well, you can see him over-extend and bend at the waist to reach. This would be the big concern going into an OT spot at the next level. Also, you’d like to see a more consistent anchor which might be the trouble with projecting him to Guard at the next level, along with his height, but I think his quick feet in short areas bode well for this.

I want him, in this scenario for his nasty and dominance in the run game, and we can let him land at Guard in year one while we develop those deficiencies in his pass protection, ready for a move outside in 2022 to see if he can hold up there in the NFL.

Having secured Eichenberg, I would look ahead to the third round for part 2 of this masterplan. That would allow us to secure a defensive talent or a wide receiver in round 2. Let’s say Dyami Brown to placate all the big Brown fans. Although this is a lot of offense when we really do need some draft capital invested in defense this year, given all the money we are about to spend on offense (Lamar and MAndrews $$$)

Waiting this long for him could be a risk, but I also wouldn’t want to go much earlier than this because of the projection you are making to the next level but…

With the 92nd pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens select Tommy Tremble TE Notre Dame

Yes, I know it’s a Tight End and it’s not exactly our number one need but we’ve missed Hurst and we had nobody good enough when Boyle went down. His blocking on the edge is vital to this offense and we missed his physicality. Also, this exercise is about building the most physical front you’ve ever seen. Hear me all the way out, so you can see the potential heavy-set at the end of the post.

I know this is a double dip in South Bend, but trust me, if you haven’t watched Tommy Tremble yet, it’s worth it. Like Eichenberg, I mainly want him for his blocking prowess, which I’m sure will disturb some, with me selecting him in the third round in this scenario. If you want me to show a bit of leg with his evaluation to justify taking him here, I’ll give you that later. But first things first, the primary blocking Tight End at Notre Dame, he was a terror on the edge. Polished and nasty, he epitomises the force equals mass times acceleration formula I was talking about earlier as he deploys his explosion and change of direction skills most effectively as a blocker. You can use him effectively in combination with your OT as he will double-team seal and get out to demolish a Linebacker at the second level. He is so effective as a blocker in space because of the athleticism to locate and the power to destroy. He is excellent at driving his feet on contact and keeps second-level defenders moving backwards while still having some power to help deal with bigger guys at the point of attack. He’s not necessarily best suited to having his hand-in-the-dirt as an in-line guy all the time, but this will help him fit nicely in our Tight End room - we have Boyle for that. Best of all, for a team like the Ravens that use so much pre-snap motion, it looks like he relishes the hit most when he’s moved across the formation, he’s straining at the leash to go smash someone in the mouth, like The Waterboy. Tremble is quite plainly, one of the most competitive and tough Tight Ends I’ve ever evaluated coming out of college.

Usage held him back in the passing game. If you watch enough of him, given the limited routes he ran, you can see some potential. PFF have his yards per route run as 1.25. This isn’t particularly great and wouldn’t signal break-out receiving potential on its own but he was rarely if ever the primary receiving threat on the field. Notre Dame has a fantastic Freshman receiving TE threat in Michael Mayer and they simply don’t target their Tight Ends that often. Cole Kmet only had a yards per route run figure of 1.55 in 2019. Tremble clearly isn’t yet a nuanced route runner but he has some speed and explosion to him which he uses well at the top of his routes to gain separation. He will snap off his routes urgently and I see a guy with a real knack for finding the soft spot in a zone. He looks to have excellent hands but the sample size is small.

I think he fits perfectly as the final complement to Andrews and Boyle.

To set up the final, and most exciting move for me, we will need to trade back again slightly, at one of the fifth round picks to add a seventh. I would not want this guy to slide into undrafted free agency. And for this pick, we will have to suspend our reality somewhat because there is no way he unseats Pat Ricard as our primary lead blocker, but…

With an as yet to be acquired seventh round selection, the Baltimore Ravens select Ben Mason FB Michigan

Having said that he doesn’t supplant Pat Ricard as our full-back, you probably do want to spend your seventh round pick, if you acquire one, on a priority undrafted free agent who might not sign with your team due to lack of opportunity but who you want to keep from prying eyes and stash on your practice squad. Also the Ravens have a deep, talented roster, as already mentioned, its unlikely a seventh round pick makes it, so a full-back isn’t a waste of a pick. Ben Mason is a Michigan captain and a team-mate-professed leader in their locker room. He actually has pretty decent measurable agility and explosion while being a little on the light side for a full-back, but not in a way that impedes him now or will do at the next level.

There are some weaknesses (pass protection when asked, only three receptions) but I’m not going to write about them at length here, this is a unashamed, Ben Mason puff piece.

He’s good in short-yardage and as an unexpected ball carrier due to his toughness and desire. He also has decent vision (helps signal a good blocker at FB), can move the pile and break tackles inside – serving as a pretty effective finisher for Michigan as a runner. He also has potential as a receiver out of the backfield, with some surprising wiggle and hops in open space when he gets the ball and the speed to get out in the flat when needed. But his blocking is what I’m here for. I have to admit, I did not watch him during the season but the Senior Bowl opened my eyes to him. He showed there, that he will quickly understand the blocking scheme and apply the vision required to locate the hole the ball carrier wants to utilise - Michael Carter seemed to love running behind him. He can quickly get through that hole and get up on the second level to a linebacker. Once there, he will accelerate into the block and deploys his hands with great timing and accuracy on impact to maximise his momentum. He will deliver strikes and rock linebackers backwards, often latching and driving, keeping his feet moving to generate significant movement. He’s pretty effective on the kick-out block and his movement skills are more than enough for what will be required in the NFL.

This probably was just an exercise to allow me to write about Ben Mason and full-backing but its an interesting proposition to add such extra run-blocking prowess with our draft picks. We showed we are willing to double down on a strength with the Dobbins pick. Imagine a heavy set with this lineup:

QB – Lamar, RB – Gus, FB – Pat Ricard, WR (X) – Mark Andrews, TE (Wing) – Tommy Tremble (in motion to add a second FB flanking Lamar in the pistol), TE – Nick Boyle (could interchange with Pat to put two TE receiving threats in the backfield, you don’t know whether they’re going to hit you or run past you), LT Ronnie Stanley, LG Liam Eichenberg, C Bradley Bozeman, RG Kevin Zeitler, RT Orlando Brown Jr. (with Ben Mason replacing Pat next year, Eichenberg moving to RT and Powers coming in at LG)

We’ve run this formation before and not just around the goal-line, I think they like the options that come from it. It’s probably not the wisest use of draft resource but it’s a fun exercise. That’s me, wasting 2500 words on a fun exercise.