Ravens Laid Groundwork for Future With First Draft

The Baltimore Ravens’ first NFL Draft was nothing short of a grand slam.

Ray Lewis (right), and his former Ravens teammate Jonathan Ogden during Lewis’ speech at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. / Scott Heckel/Canton Repository / USA TODAY NETWORK

Though the Baltimore Ravens didn’t enter the league as a traditional expansion team in 1996, the league still treats them as such historically.

Like many expansion teams, the Ravens took a while to find their footing as a franchise. Unlike their peers, however, they built their foundation from the very beginning.

Then-general manager Ozzie Newsome knocked the Ravens’ first draft out of the park back in 1996, and perhaps the most impressive part is that he only really needed two picks to do it.

With the Ravens’ first-ever draft pick, they selected UCLA offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden at No. 4 overall. Ogden held down the left side of the Ravens’ offensive line for more than a decade, earning 11 Pro Bowl selections and nine All-Pro nods throughout his legendary career. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013, his first year of eligibility, and is a member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team.

Landing one of the best offensive tackles of all time would make this a phenomenal class, but somehow, Newsome managed to out-do himself with his very next pick.

With their second-ever pick, the Ravens selected Miami linebacker Ray Lewis at No. 26 overall. Lewis needs no introduction to any NFL fan, as he’s arguably the best off-ball linebacker to ever play the game. Twelve Pro Bowls, seven All-Pros, two Defensive Player of the Year awards and being the NFL’s all-time leader in tackles (both solo and combined), made him an easy first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2018.

Of course, both players were instrumental in the Ravens’ rise to prominence, as they were key pieces of their Super Bowl-winning team in 2000. Lewis even won a second ring in 2012, his final NFL season.

Ogden and Lewis are obviously the main attractions here, but there is also wide receiver Jermaine Lewis, a fifth-round pick who spent six years in Baltimore and earned two Pro Bowl selections. For where the Ravens picked him, Lewis provided incredible value.

Ever since then, the Ravens have been one of the NFL’s best drafting teams, and they’ll look to keep the tradition going at next week’s draft in Green Bay, Wis.