2012 NFL Draft Primer

The first round of the 2012 NFL draft is just a few hours away. Everyone who has access to a blog and a keyboard has been making mock drafts, and speculation abounds concerning what the Ravens will do with the 29^th pick.

To prepare you for what might transpire this evening, we’re going to list and give you a short description—provided by Baltimoreravens.com writers—of a few of the players linked to the Ravens as possible first-round selections.

Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama
6’4”, 240 lbs

“The middle linebacker has been tabbed as a likely heir to Ray Lewis if he slides to the end of the first round.”

Courtney Upshaw, LB, Alabama
6’2”, 265 lbs

“While he was once considered a top-15 pick, the talented pass rusher appears to be sliding down mock drafts and could be available around near the end of the first round.”

Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin
6’5”, 315 lbs

“This has been the popular pick in a number of mock drafts, and he is widely regarded as the best center of this year’s class.”

Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
6’5”, 206

“He is an athletic specimen that shot up draft boards in the last couple of months, but is still raw as an overall receiver coming out of Georgia Tech’s triple option offense.”

Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame
6’3”, 224 lbs

“He is rising up the boards and is considered by some draft experts to be the best receiver in this year’s class.”

Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State
6’8”, 320 lbs

“He has the size of an NFL offensive lineman, but a poor showing at the combine may push him into the second round.”

Keep in mind, the Ravens have traded either up or down in the first round four out of the past five years.

If we trade up, which I consider to be the less likely of the two scenarios, it will most likely result in selecting one of the above prospects—and in the Ravens taking a massive risk with only 8 total picks in this year’s draft.

If we trade down, we’ll stockpile some picks in the later rounds, but we most likely won’t get any of the top prospects described above.

I would personally like to see the Ravens select Dont’a Hightower. Despite the fact that Ray Lewis would have us believe he can keep playing at a high level until he’s 50, we need to start grooming an ILB for the future. Instead of waiting until Ray actually retires, I’d like to bring in a potential suitor for the throne and allow him to from the master for a year or two.

The Ravens have more pressing needs than at ILB, but as we should all know by now, the Ravens don’t draft for need, they draft best player available—and it’s a strategy that has served us very well in the past.

Instead of drafting Upshaw to replace Jarrett Johnson, we should give Paul Kruger the chance to fill that role. And just because we got lucky and hit on Torrey Smith last year at WR doesn’t automatically make the Ravens masters of scouting WR talent. 1^st round WRs are just too risky.

Nevermore Sports’ other contributing author, Jordan Jankowski, weighs in on his ideal pick:

I like Hightower in the first round as well. He’s a born leader in the mold of Ray and acted as the field general for Alabama’s #1-ranked defense last year. Ozzie has strong ties to the Crimson Tide organization, meaning that he has access to inside information about Hightower and probably knows more about Hightower and Upshaw than any other player.

Physically, he has surprisingly powerful pass-rushing skills for an inside linebacker and all of the natural talent to assume a leadership role for the Ravens’ defense after Ray hangs up the cleats.

Major sports pundits weigh in on Dont’a Hightower:

Mel Kiper, ESPN: “Finding a leader in the middle of the defense to take over for Ray Lewis is something the organization has to keep in mind, and while addressing the interior of the offensive line might be a bigger need in the short term, you can’t really pass on the value of Hightower here. He is a potentially dominant interior linebacker and has been well-schooled.”

Mike Mayock, NFL Network: “Hightower is a great fit. Why? That Sam linebacker position is open in Baltimore and he can fit that need until the great Ray Lewis decides to retire. Once that happens, you’ve got a plug-and-play inside linebacker in the mold of Lewis.”

Greg Cosell, NFL Films: “Hightower was both a fascinating and frustrating watch at Alabama. He was a multi-positional player in Nick Saban’s pro-style defense, aligning at both inside and outside linebacker, and also at DE as a pass rusher in some sub-packages. He was effective in that pass-rush role. At inside linebacker, he was an enigma. He took on lead blocks with physicality, but he did not do it with good balance and often lost all his natural strength in the process. He was a little stiff and tight as a mover, but at times showed deceptive build-up speed. Overall there was enough on tape to see Hightower as a good prospect with some position and scheme versatility.”

Peter King, Sports Illustrated: “For years Baltimore has wanted a top-shelf playmaking linebacker to be trained by Ray Lewis. Here he is. I see the Ravens swapping first-round spots with Detroit (who’ll receive a third-rounder too) to sneak in front of the Steelers, because Hightower is a Dick LeBeau special – heavy and fast. Another positive: He was a two-year captain for Nick Saban.”

A huge warning for all of those reading this post: the Steelers pick much earlier than the Ravens this year, and have shown equally strong interest in bringing in Hightower. Either the Ravens have to get aggressive and trade in front of the Steelers to make sure they get their pick, or we have to hope that Pittsburgh’s serious lack of talent along the offensive line forces them to look past Hightower.

In any case, the draft starts at 8:00 p.m. today. Flip on ESPN, enjoy the insanity, and look for a first-round recap on Nevermore Sports later tonight.