With the NFL announcing its slate of compensatory picks on Thursday, the official selection order has been set for the 2023 draft with the Ravens scheduled to have their lowest number of picks since 1999.
As expected, Baltimore wasn’t awarded a compensatory pick for the first time since 2010 and is currently set to make just five selections in next month’s draft, which is notable with an unenviable salary cap picture to open the new league year. Of course, general manager Eric DeCosta sent his 2023 second-round pick to Chicago to acquire All-Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith at last year’s trade deadline while the Ravens’ original seventh-round pick in this year’s draft was traded to the New York Giants as part of a deal involving guard Ben Bredeson in 2021.
The Ravens have made no fewer than six picks in every draft since a franchise-low four choices in 1999. That reality has led many to wonder if DeCosta will trade back from the 22nd selection in the first round for additional picks next month. For what it’s worth, the Ravens made a total of 29 selections over the last three drafts.
“Ultimately, we’d love to have more picks. I think most years we do,” DeCosta said in January. “Sometimes, what we find is if you have too many picks over a three- or four-year span, it’s hard for all those guys to make the team and contribute. There was a draft many years ago [in 1999] where I think Ozzie [Newsome] had four picks — one of our best drafts. I think we took [Chris] McAlister, Brandon Stokley, Edwin Mulitalo, and there was one other guy (Anthony Poindexter). It was a hell of a draft. Every single guy contributed right away. My goal, my mentality is to take every one of those picks this year and nail every single one.”
DeCosta was correct about McAlister and Mulitalo as they became starters as rookies and for many years to follow, but injuries limited Stokley to just nine regular-season games over his first two seasons before he eventually went on to have a successful 15-year career. Poindexter, a standout safety at the University of Virginia who fell to the seventh round after a catastrophic knee injury during his season season, appeared in just 10 career regular-season games in the NFL.
Adding a couple starters the caliber of McAlister and Mulitalo would certainly boost Baltimore’s chances for 2023.
Here’s where the Ravens are scheduled to pick in this month’s draft:
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First round: 22nd overall
Third round: 86th overall
Fourth round: 124th overall
Fifth round: 157th overall
Sixth round: 199th overall
And just for a fun — or not so much — trip down memory lane, below is a look at past players selected by Baltimore in each of those scheduled slots:
22nd overall: WR Mark Clayton (2005)
Skinny: The second wide receiver selected in the first round in team history, Clayton had his moments and even eclipsed 900 receiving yards with Steve McNair at quarterback in his second season, but he’s one of the franchise’s many disappointments at the position over the years. Will DeCosta and the Ravens take their latest first-round swing at wide receiver next month?
86th overall: OL Marshal Yanda (2007), S Tom Zbikowski (2008), TE Mark Andrews (2018)
Skinny: It doesn’t get much better than a Hall of Fame-caliber right guard and a three-time Pro Bowl tight end when you’re picking this late in the third round, so the Ravens have no shortage of motivation to knock this choice out of the park, especially with the absence of a second-round selection. Even Zbikowski was a solid depth piece despite never developing into a long-term starter.
124th overall: DT Martin Chase (1998), OL Jason Brown (2005)
Skinny: Though playing in just three games in two seasons with the Ravens, Chase appeared in 55 career contests over a respectable NFL career. Meanwhile, Brown became an above-average guard and center and eventually signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract with the St. Louis Rams that made him the highest-paid center in the NFL.
157th overall: DL Arthur Jones (2010)
Skinny: The 3-technique developed into a key part of the defensive line rotation for the Super Bowl XLVII team and became a full-time starter the following year, turning that success into a $30 million contract with Indianapolis. Unfortunately, injuries derailed the remainder of his career, but Jones was one of many prospects to have developed under late defensive line coach Clarence Brooks.
199th overall: WR Clarence Moore (2004)
Skinny: The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Northern Arizona product actually got off to a decent start in his NFL career with four touchdowns — two in a November win over the New York Jets — and 24 receptions as a rookie, but he caught just five more passes in his career after that and was out of the league by 2007.
