Five Ravens Picks Named Best Ever in Respective Slots

Though they're one of the NFL's youngest franchises, the Baltimore Ravens have generally been among the league's more successful teams throughout their 30-year history, and it all starts with their drafting.

The Ravens have consistently done an excellent job of finding talent in the draft, be it franchise cornerstones in the first round or hidden gems later on. It's been arguably their greatest strength, and has allowed them to win two Super Bowls and achieve several other impressive feats.

ESPN's Ben Solak put together a list of the best draft pick all-time at every slot from No. 1 to No. 262, as just a fun thought experiment to pass time during the dog days of the offseason. The Ravens ended up with five draft picks on the list, starting with safety Ed Reed at No. 24.

"I picked Reed over Aaron Rodgers here, which is likely my most controversial selection," Solak wrote. "Safety is an impossible position to rack up counting stats -- the whole point is that you're away from the ball -- yet Reed accumulated 64 picks in only 174 games. That's second all-time and easily the best of the modern era.

"Listen to guys like Bill Belichick and Peyton Manning talk about Reed, and it becomes easy to call him the best safety of all time; I'm pretty confident he is, even over Ronnie Lott. And I think the best safety ever clears a quarterback who wasn't ever the best of his era, despite his four MVPs."

There's not much to say about Reed that hasn't been said already. He has a very strong case to be the best safety of all time, and with him spending 11 of his 12 seasons in Baltimore, he's practically synonymous with the franchise itself.

Next up at No. 26 overall is legendary linebacker Ray Lewis, the Ravens' second-ever draft pick back in 1996.

"Pretty easy selection here, as Lewis is arguably the best off-ball linebacker in NFL history. Thirteen Pro Bowls in 17 seasons with 10 All-Pro considerations (seven on the first team) and a Super Bowl MVP to boot. What more is there to say?"

Lewis is the greatest player in Ravens history, and very few will disagree with that. With 13 Pro Bowl selections, two Defensive Player of the Year awards and a Super Bowl MVP award throughout his 17-year career, the entirety of which he spent with Baltimore, he is the most iconic player to ever wear purple and black.

The other Ravens draft picks to make the list are offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. at No. 83, defensive tackle Brandon Williams at No. 94 and quarterback Tyrod Taylor at No. 180. Additionally, a few other players who made the list would later go on to play for Baltimore, including running back Derrick Henry at No. 45 and wide receiver Anquan Boldin at No. 54.