00:00News from the Nest, here on the Swim and Crush Wednesday, Liars Luncheon happening out at One Winning Drive today.
00:07As Eric DaCosta, Ravens GM and Head Coach Jesse Minter meet with the media.
00:11A lot of questions going to be thrown at them, and hopefully we'll get a lot of answers.
00:15Probably not as many as we would like, but you know how the drill goes.
00:19It is called the Liars Luncheon for a reason, and I'm assuming that Lamar's contract status will be brought up,
00:26which will be dismissed easily, and then in regards to what Eric might do in regards to the draft,
00:33he could be cagey in some of those responses.
00:36What we do know, Nolan, is they have the 14th pick in the draft, and then number 45.
00:43Remember, a month or so ago, two months ago, they traded 14, and next year's number one for Max Crosby.
00:50That trade has since been rescinded.
00:52Trey Hendrickson is in, Crosby's back with the Raiders, but number 14 with multiple needs,
00:58then number 45, and then number 80, which is in the third round,
01:04and only one fourth-round draft pick, number 115 overall.
01:08But then you get into four fifth-round draft picks,
01:12and we've seen the Ravens have some level of success over the years later in the draft.
01:20One sixth-round pick, two sevens.
01:23So, you know you need a plug-and-play at 14 and hopefully 45,
01:29and at the very least, number 80 is a guy that challenges for some sort of significant playing time.
01:36But after that, looking for diamonds in the rough, I would assume.
01:40Well, it's not good enough for the amount of swings that he has taken, and that's the key here.
01:47Reading a really nice write-up by Jonas Schaefer on the Baltimore Banner,
01:51and he can go way more in-depth on this on Friday when he joins us.
01:54But basically, the main gist is that since 2019, when Eric DaCosta took over as Ravens GM,
02:02the Ravens rank third in the NFL in total day three draft capital.
02:06So they've taken as many swings as anybody, only the Patriots and Jaguars have used more draft capital
02:13over the past seven years in those later rounds, and they're not hitting on enough of them
02:17compared to, say, a team like the Chiefs, who has taken far less swings on day three,
02:23but has gotten way better return on those investments.
02:26That's the key.
02:27Eric DaCosta likes to always talk about, well, one, best player available.
02:31We'll hear that no less than probably 10 times today.
02:35But he also likes to rant and rave about taking as many swings as possible and stockpiling as many draft
02:42picks.
02:42The comp pick formula, it's why they go so heavy with that in their free agency strategy
02:47to try to accumulate as much capital as possible.
02:51That's fine if you're hitting, but you're not.
02:54So a little interesting then that we get the whole Crosby thing, which is a moot point now,
03:00but let's say that that actually did go through.
03:02You lose your first rounder.
03:03Well, now the heat is turned up on hitting on that second rounder, which will give him...
03:09He's been fine enough with the second rounders, I would say.
03:13Certainly fine enough with the first rounders.
03:15I think the hit rate there.
03:16Fans want it to be 100% for the first round, but it's never going to be that.
03:20I think he's been fine enough there.
03:22It just hasn't been there.
03:24Third round, later, certainly fourth through seventh, it just has not been good enough.
03:30So something has to change.
03:31And if this was a year where you didn't have your first rounder, next year you didn't have
03:35your first rounder, you have to hit on those other picks.
03:39The emphasis is even greater.
03:41And it just hasn't been there.
03:42Go back to 22.
03:44Last time the Ravens had the 14th pick in the draft, they got Kyle Hamilton, who has turned
03:48out to be an all-pro.
03:50They got Tyler Linderbaum.
03:51We're talking first round to your point about, yeah, he did well there.
03:55I mean, they traded Hollywood to get Linderbaum, right?
03:58Isn't that the deal, if I'm not mistaken?
03:59Yes, yep.
04:00A job on the second round, that was a whiff.
04:03Major.
04:04Travis Jones in the third round is a hit.
04:08But they had, let's see, six fourth round draft picks that year.
04:14Daniel Falalele was a Pro Bowl alternate in 24, was a busted 25, now he's gone.
04:22Jalen Armour Davis was cut in training camp two years ago, right?
04:27Mm-hmm.
04:27Charlie Kolar, solid contributor, gonzo.
04:31Jordan Stout, all-pro last year, priced himself out of what the Ravens were looking for.
04:38Isaiah Likely, he's gone.
04:40Pepe Williams, he's gone as well.
04:43That whole draft class, as a matter of fact, which I guess we can dig into a little bit
04:47deeper at another time, I mean, it's like the last man standing.
04:51And that's his best draft.
04:53Oh, boy.
04:54By far.
04:55So, sure, you give him credit, right?
04:57If we're having the conversation that I was just talking about, how many of these are you
05:01hitting on?
05:01Right.
05:02Well, 2022 would be the one that he immediately points to and says, hey, look at the great
05:05job I did.
05:06All these guys were worthy of getting paid.
05:08I'll hear you out on that.
05:10That is an outlier draft for him.
05:12Take you to 2021.
05:14Take a fourth round or later.
05:16Tylan Wallace, okay, special teams guy, not here anymore.
05:19Sean Wade, anybody remember him?
05:22Didn't make it out of training camp.
05:23Dalen Hayes, that name a ring of bell.
05:25Ben Mason, come on now.
05:27Go back farther than that.
05:29Broderick Washington, they thought was something, completely disappeared.
05:32James Prochet, complete bust.
05:34Geno Stone, you give him credit there.
05:36That was maybe one of his best value picks that he's ever had.
05:40And this one that still gets me, going back to 2019, spending a sixth round pick on Trace
05:47McSorley was egregious at the time.
05:51In hindsight, completely unacceptable.
05:54There was no way to frame Trace McSorley, even if you're the biggest Penn State fan in
05:59the world, to frame him as a draftable player that year.
06:02He could have been had as an undrafted free agent, come in, giving you the same exact results
06:07that he did.
06:08To use a sixth round pick was completely stupid.
06:13There's no other way to frame it.
06:14And now out of the league, if not mistaken, is Trace McSorley.
06:18Another interesting draft, you know, day three.
06:22We go back to 2023, and Tavius Robinson, acceptable, right, for a fourth round draft pick.
06:30Not bad, not Lawrence Taylor, but, you know, he helps.
06:33Caillou Blue Kelly, no.
06:36A guy who, remember, we couldn't even pronounce his name, Salah, no.
06:40Amuwe Laulu?
06:41Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:42I learned it just in time for him to leave.
06:44And then Voorhees, who's still on the team, but was supposed to be a steal.
06:50Right, and if he wasn't hurt, right, he goes a couple rounds earlier.
06:55Let's say the Ravens still get him.
06:56I mean, what's the optics of that draft pick if he was a fifth rounder, you know, instead
07:01of a seventh?
07:01I mean, history might let that one off the hook when you just see Andrew Voorhees with
07:06a seven next to his name.
07:07You say, ah, well, he was never supposed to be anything.
07:10No, no, he was supposed to be much better.
07:12And then just two years ago, guys that could be contributors this year probably need to
07:18be.
07:19Tez Walker, TJ Tampa, Rasheed Ali.
07:23Well, Leary's gone.
07:24Samick's gone.
07:25And Sunusi Kane, he got hurt last year.
07:28So there you go.
07:29So to your point, to Jonas's point, you know, a lot of these guys in day three were drafted
07:34in bulk pick scenarios.
07:36And OK, they went and got paid elsewhere in some instances.
07:40Others have just kind of flamed out.
07:42And you forgot they were even on the team in a lot of cases.
07:46And there is like in the last two drafts, there are guys like you mentioned, Tampa and
07:50Walker, who I think could ascend and give you something.
07:54I mean, a couple of years down the road, maybe we're talking about this being a thing
07:57where, all right, 2022 was great, 23 down year.
08:01But the four and five drafts were good as well.
08:03And DaCosta can start to change the narrative around his classes as a whole.
08:07But he's got a lot of work to do here, man.
08:10And there's no time to wait and see.
08:15Like, ah, you know, let's see how he develops as a drafter.
08:18Let's see what the next three years hold.
08:20I mean, we're in a win now mode here.
08:22And with how many holes are on this roster, again, you not only have to hit a guaranteed
08:27starter from day one with your first round pick, really your second round pick this year.
08:31I think you got to get at least one more, I don't want to say starter, but a really serious
08:36contributor on day three for this year's deal, like has to come in right away and be something.
08:40Yeah.
08:40And of course, last year was such a disappointment.
08:43It cost John Harbaugh and most of the coaching staff their jobs.
08:47Now we're into a new regime, but if he gets into this run of mediocrity, you know, all
08:52of a sudden he becomes the guy that gets questioned because Lamar Jackson's window's not closed, but
08:59believe it or not, everybody entering his ninth season in the NFL.
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