The NFL Combine is already weeks in the rear view mirror and NFL Free Agency Frenzy is already slowing down. It's time to look ahead to the NFL Draft as the next class of prospects are set to join their future NFL teams next month.
As of this writing the Baltimore Ravens have nine selections in the 2024 NFL Draft:
After falling just short of making it to the Super Bowl last season the Ravens just need to add one more good draft class and they should be right back in the mix to win it all again.
In order to form the perfect seven round mock draft for the Ravens I took into account positional/contractual team needs coming off of the first big wave of NFL free agency moves and utilized data from the last 120+ mock drafts over the last four weeks. Let's dive in.
Adonai Mitchell is a touchdown scoring machine. He found the end zone in not one, not two, not three, not four, yes five College Football Playoff games in his three-season career at Georgia and Texas.
He struggled with inconsistency in his first two regular seasons at Georgia, but found sturdy footing as the go-to dominant big-bodied receiver for Texas last fall. After dominating on the field, helping lead the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff for the first time ever, he followed that up by breaking the NFL Combine. Mitchell posted a 99th percentile A to Z Athletic Composite Score after he ran a 4.34-second forty-yard dash at 6'2", 205 pounds.
Top 10 WRs via the @AtoZSportsNFL Athletic Composite Score:
— Travis May (@FF_TravisM) March 3, 2024
Xavier Legette 99th%
Adonai Mitchell 99th%
Brian Thomas 98th%
Bub Means 96th%
Johnny Wilson 95th%
Cornelius Johnson 94th%
Devontez Walker 94th%
Rome Odunze 94th%
Ryan Flournoy 92nd%
Xavier Worthy 92nd%#NFLCombine2024
Mitchell is the perfect X receiver that the Ravens sorely need to take their offense to the Super Bowl. Defending against Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and the red zone prowess of Adonai Mitchell would be nearly unstoppable.
Christian Haynes may not have always played the best competition at UConn, but he absolutely destroyed the opponents he did face. With over 3300 snaps of experience at guard, Haynes is most certainly one of the best offensive line prospects in this draft class. The Ravens could use a young impact starter on the inside of their offensive line.
DJ James is quite a bit undersized, but he doesn't play like it. When he was asked to face off against the biggest wide receivers at the Senior Bowl (even 6'6" Johnny Wilson) he had no problem playing physically and accelerating quickly to make plays on the ball.
The Ravens just let Ronald Darby walk this off-season and could use another speedy outside corner who plays above his weight class.
Many may not know this, but Mohamed Kamara had the third highest pass rush pressure rate among all edge defenders in the 2024 NFL Draft class last fall.
Kamara had his coming out party against Colorado last September with a pair of sacks and six total pressures before he was wrongly ejected for a "targeting" penalty (which likely cost Colorado State the game). From then on out he simply could not be stopped. He racked up double-digit pressures in a couple games down the stretch and ended the season with 14 total sacks on the year.
When you mix the elite proven production with his 95th percentile Athletic Composite Score you get a prospect who should not be selected this late but who could still be readily available in this range according to large sample mock draft data.
Top 10 DL #NFLCombine Performances via the @AtoZSportsNFL Athletic Composite:
— Travis May (@FF_TravisM) March 1, 2024
Chop Robinson 97th%
Cedric Johnson 96th%
Myles Cole 95th%
Mohamed Kamara 95th%
Jalyx Hunt 93rd%
Jared Verse 92nd%
Marshawn Kneeland 92nd%
Braden Fiske 90th%
Trajan Jeffcoat 88th%
Brennan Jackson 86th%
There's been some real debate over the past month about what round Roger Rosengarten will be selected in. For much of the NFL Draft process he has been viewed as a day three prospect, but in recent weeks has been talked about as a potential option as early as round two. Only time will tell, but Rosengarten's consistency on the right side of Washington's offensive line last year was a huge reason why the Huskies went to the national championship game.
I interviewed Marist Liufau at the NFL Combine and last week in preparation for a feature piece we'll be doing here at A to Z Sports. I learned a lot from him on what it takes to be a versatile linebacker in today's game.
Liufau talked me through how he would play a completely different role on Notre Dame's defense every single week. And despite that, he consistently won in every aspect of the game that he was asked to succeed. He racked up a half dozen sacks when asked rush the passer for the majority of games. He limited receivers to just 6.2 yards per reception, an absurdly low number. And he was consistently in the right gap every time in the run game.
Liufau is one of the most versatile linebackers in this class and is still severely underrated.
After posting a 97th percentile A to Z Sports Athletic Composite Score at the NFL Combine and performing well in coverage at the Senior Bowl Trevin Wallace may not make it to pick 182 anymore, but if he does that would be incredible. He possesses elite movement skills and adds value in every facet of the game, including racking up some sacks and pressures from any pre-snap location. The Ravens could use some depth a linebacker for sub-packages and Wallace would be the perfect fit.
The Ravens have a type right now it seems at safety. They love long lanky defenders with range and good instincts who can get downhill and make the tough tackle. Both Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams certainly fit that bill already. Kitan Oladapo would be the best option to target late that fits the Ravens' safety mold. At 6'2", 216 pounds with 81st percentile arm length and a strong resume of consistent tackling, he would be perfect.
The Ravens already have plenty of speed in the backfield with Keaton Mitchell and Justice Hill returning. They just added size and power with Derrick Henry. Jase McClellan would give the Ravens a back that demonstrates the best of both worlds between size, strength, speed, and receiving chops. If an aging Derrick Henry misses any time the Ravens need to have at least one running back on the roster with a balanced skill set behind him.
So there you have it! The perfect seven round mock draft for the Ravens in the 2024 NFL Draft. If you want to tell me personally how wrong I am on every one of these picks you can find me on X (Twitter) @FF_TravisM. Be looking for more "perfect" NFL Draft takes in the coming weeks here at A to Z Sports!
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!