The Ravens have plenty of options for pick number 30 and beyond.
The Baltimore Ravens fell back to Earth in the 2023-2024 NFL Playoffs after a dominant regular season that had fans thinking Super Bowl. The eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs knocked off Baltimore 17-10 in a game that showed the Ravens are lacking a certain something to get them over the hump vs. championship level teams.
The task for Ravens GM Eric DeCosta and Head Coach Jim Harbaugh will be to identify and select the players to help Lamar Jackson and the rest of the Ravens to exorcise their playoff demons in 2024-2025, as challenging and daunting as that may seem at the moment. Recently, the Ravens’ full seven-round mock draft was released. It was released during a time in which Jackson’s status as a free agent certified superstar QB was doubted by Cam Newton.
The Ravens pick 30th this Thursday in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, with many theories and predictions being shared about what the Ravens’ dynamic duo will do at that position.
Here are three bold last-minute predictions on who the Ravens will go for in the 2024 NFL Draft and how each might affect Baltimore going forward:
1. The Ravens Will Draft Kool-Aid McKinstry-
The versatile Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back’s game tape will prove too good for Coach Harbaugh and company to pass up with pick number 30, even though the Ravens desperately need more playmakers for Jackson.
McKinstry’s situation is reminiscent of Brian Branch’s in last year’s draft. Every GM worth his salt knew Branch was better than a second round caliber player but he still fell that far, perhaps because of the resounding draft fatigue of GMs selecting Alabama players in the first round of the draft.