Newsome and the staff gave Bisciotti the reality of the math on the pick value difference between trading up to get Ryan – at a cost of four more draft picks (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and the 2009 No. 1) – or dealing backward and getting three extra picks to take Flacco. “I was cranky before the whole thing started and I’m not qualified to do this,” Bisciotti said. “When I saw the names on our board, it said Matt Ryan, No. 1. I was tired of not being No. 1. I said, ‘Don’t talk to me about pick value. I’m not fucking around with this anymore. Let’s get the No. 1 guy.’ ”
But it was a difference of seven extra players – Matt Ryan vs. Joe Flacco. It was legitimately an entire draft class to move up five spots. Even though Bisciotti had suffered through the pains of Boller, he still trusted in his football people’s evaluation that there wasn’t as much difference between Flacco and Ryan as the rest of the draft world believed.
Now, with the No. 8 gone and sitting on the 26th pick, other NFL teams were making picks and the air in the Ravens War Room got thick with dread. Make no mistake about it: the Ravens really didn’t want Chad Henne to be their franchise quarterback.
The Ravens had spent a year on the trail of Joe Flacco and passed on their right to take him with the eighth pick and now were helplessly hoping someone else didn’t surprisingly pluck him and trump their secret.
Bisciotti asked Newsome how much it would take to get back up the board so they could end the drama. “I said to them, ‘What’s going to happen in this room if someone trades into No. 24 or No. 25 and we lose Flacco? What if he’s not there?’ ” Bisciotti said.
The Ravens will never know for sure if the Philadelphia Eagles were poised to take Flacco with the 19th pick, but there was palpable concern given his local ties and the aging Donovan McNabb. Newsome got on the phone with Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith and started dickering for the 18th pick.
Newsome offered the 89th pick he’d just acquired from Jacksonville and the 26th pick that would only back the Texans up eight spots and Smith agreed.
“We would’ve been crushed, and I mean crushed, if we had lost Joe Flacco,” DeCosta said. “The reality was that no one was probably jumping ahead of us to take Joe Flacco, but until we drafted him he wasn’t ours.”
The irony is that both Henne and Brohm stayed on the board until the late 2nd round at picks No. 56 & 57. The Ravens scouts still believe virtually every team would’ve taken those guys over Flacco. In reality, Flacco might’ve fallen into the third round or even worse.
Here was the prevailing criticism of Flacco on draft day 2008 through the eyes of an NFC scout:
“He doesn’t get rid of the ball fast enough. He’ll get sacked. This is a tough pick as a franchise quarterback. It wasn’t like he wowed you. College scouts were not in agreement that he’d be a decent NFL quarterback. No one considered him a first round talent. And then Ozzie, being the genius he is, actually traded up for him. He traded up for I-AA quarterback who has now made the playoffs five years in a row and was the Super Bowl MVP. And he easily could’ve taken Flacco in the second round. It’s a crazy business!”
Meanwhile, the Ravens scouts loved almost everything about Flacco.
“We were pretty much floored by Joe’s ability,” Douglas said. “We’ve never scouted anyone more or took more time to evaluate a player. We saw the how kid handled himself. The most important work is done talking to coaches and the people around him – the trainer, strength coach and then we watch tape. We got a feel for his character and his mental makeup. What you see is Joe being Joe. Every coach, every staffer told me what Joe was all about. And they all said the same thing: he’s not going to be in the middle of a huddle revving guys up or being the center of attention. He’s humble. But when he talks, people will listen because he’ll earn their respect. He wants to be respected. He wants to win. He’s a heckuva competitor. And he’ll always be even keeled.”
