The Baltimore Ravens don’t trade up in the NFL Draft very often, only doing so when a player they can’t pass up happens to be available and another team could take them first.
The question is, will such a situation occur in this year’s draft?
NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein seems to think so. In his second mock draft of the year, Zierlein predicted the Ravens to trade up three spots with the Minnesota Vikings and select Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. at No. 24 overall.
“The Ravens make a small move up the board — leapfrogging the Rams — to grab their long-term replacement for Ronnie Stanley at left tackle,” Zierlein wrote.
Conerly has been a somewhat popular pick for the Ravens in these mock drafts, and it’s understandable why. The first-team All-American is one of this class’ top offensive tackles after allowing just two sacks and four quarterback hits over his two seasons as a starter, per Pro Football Focus. Among tackles that should be available in the late first round, he could be the best.
This pairing is obviously dependent on Stanley leaving in free agency, and that looks like it could go either way right now. The 31-year-old can speak to teams starting next week, so the Ravens should have much more clarity in the coming days.
Then there’s the question on whether the Ravens would consider trading up for Conerly. Offensive tackle becomes a major need if Stanley departs, so it’s reasonable to assume that they may get bold in trying to address that need. With the Rams picking one spot ahead of them and also needing offensive line help, jumping ahead of them makes some sense. It also likely wouldn’t cost them too much to move up three spots, likely a mid-round pick in a draft where they have 11 total picks.
Again, it wouldn’t really be a Ravens-like move, but if the cards fall a certain way, general manager Eric DeCosta may have to buck the trend.
