OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Eric DeCosta said Tuesday it is crazy to think this will be his 20th year running the draft for the Baltimore Ravens. This will be number six for him as general manager and it might be his most important.
When the first round begins on Thursday, April 25, the Ravens are slated to have the 30th overall pick and nine selections over the seven rounds.
After losing over ten quality pieces via free agency or trade from last season, this year’s rookie class will be expected to step right in.
"We will have some opportunities for sure. There is going to be some spots that can be filled. The burden is on me to find those players who can fill it," said DeCosta during Tuesday's pre-draft press conference.
The Ravens’ most glaring needs are at offensive line and cornerback. DeCosta called this year’s prospect pool of offensive lineman "stacked".
"It’s a very deep pool of players. We see a lot of different opportunities in different rounds to get players at tackle, guard and center."
He thinks the wide receiver group is "really deep" and the corner class is "solid".
"We would love to add a talented corner at some point in the draft, whether that’s first round, second round, third round, whatever that might be."
The Ravens also need to fill out their running back depth behind Derrick Henry.
"There is probably a pretty strong chance we will draft a running back at some point," said DeCosta.
It won’t be with their first pick. That selection is designated for an impact performer at a position of need. Picking so late in the first round, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will still be available.
"You really want to get value," said DeCosta. "So, for us, you just hope and pray that one of those top-20 guys might be there for us at 30."
DeCosta said his staff is holding draft meetings all this week and the team’s draft board will be pretty much set by Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.
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