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  • 3 days ago
The Ravens' 2026 draft class and crop of undrafted free agents were out in Owings Mills over the weekend. Was there anything that stood out in the 30 minute window open to the media? Vinny Cerrato shared his takeaways.
Transcript
00:00It's rookie minicamp this past weekend out at One Winning Drive,
00:03only open to the media for a half an hour.
00:06Vinny was there, and we'll get his thoughts here in a second.
00:09But here's Jesse Minter talking to the masses,
00:12and the question was the adjustments that he's made
00:16that he's responsible for not coaching just the offense and defense,
00:20but all of the aspects of the team.
00:21I think the best part is, like, no matter what happens on the play,
00:24you can be happy and excited.
00:26So that's probably been the coolest thing through the two days.
00:30Whether it's a good play by the defense or the offense, man,
00:33it's all good for me.
00:35So try to certainly have my hands in the defense,
00:39but at the same time make sure that the offense knows, you know,
00:44what I'm trying to be about, what we're trying to be about.
00:46I think I've got to set an example of that by how I operate out here.
00:50And so just trying to be present with all three phases.
00:54So he's in a can't-lose situation in there right now.
00:57Yeah, because somebody, whether it's offense or defense,
01:00somebody's successful on that play.
01:01He's like, yay.
01:02Yeah.
01:02But it just seemed like, Bob, the time that we were out there,
01:10he was in the middle.
01:11Jesse was in the middle of the field on the defensive side of the ball,
01:15probably about five yards behind the linebackers,
01:18and he was making, you know, adjustments, calls, coaching from back there.
01:23And he was, he was, you could hear him more so than you could hear anybody else,
01:28but he was in total control of the defense.
01:31Now,
01:32what were your impressions of some of these young defensive players that you saw
01:36out there on Saturday?
01:37Defensive players.
01:43Rashawn Benny, Bob, the defensive tackle,
01:46thought he showed some really nice explosiveness and some punch.
01:50So, I mean, that's kind of what I saw him get a chance to do.
01:55But I thought hitting the sled and stuff kind of liked what I saw
01:58because he had some punch, some power, you know,
02:01especially in the lower body.
02:03He, um, defensive players, Chandler Rivers, the corner,
02:09really good athlete, little, little, you know, and he's small bone,
02:15you know, he's just not a big guy.
02:17So, you know, can he cover slot receivers, small slot receivers?
02:22Yes.
02:23The, the big question I have with Chandler is,
02:26and he's wearing Jersey 29 is versus big receivers.
02:32You know, the physicality, how does he handle the physicality?
02:36That's what's going to be in our,
02:37and then like a big back coming through, you know,
02:40how's he going to be in a tackling just because he was smaller than I thought.
02:47Um, Zion young really liked the way he looked.
02:51I thought he, he wears Jersey number nine.
02:54He looks apart.
02:56He, and that number nine looks good on him,
02:59but he's, he's ripped.
03:01He, he's strapped together pretty good.
03:03I thought his movements were good and everything.
03:05Um, you know, no pads on, but Bob, he looks,
03:10he looks like he's supposed to look like.
03:12Yeah.
03:13And, uh, you know, he's a guy that we played after the draft,
03:16uh, seemed to be pretty, uh,
03:19effervescent and comfortable with the media.
03:21I mean, it doesn't look like he spoke with the media over the weekend,
03:24but certainly we're going to be hearing a lot more from him as the weeks progress.
03:29But here's Jesse Minter talking about the question was,
03:32if anything stuck out to him after actually seeing the guys on the field for the first time.
03:37Yeah.
03:37I think the guys that you, um, hope and want to look really good have done that,
03:41you know,
03:42so they've sort of met like those,
03:43just that initial hope and expectation of what you kind of want.
03:46But it's a rookie mini camp, you know, in May and we're not really in full gear.
03:52So we're trying to be smart from a physicality standpoint.
03:55Um, but I really just enjoyed the guys urgency,
03:59like their eagerness to want to learn their eagerness to want to get better.
04:02They learn how we operate going from drill to drill and doing the different things that we try to do.
04:06Um, so overall, man, really pleased with the whole group,
04:09but especially man, just the guys that you want to look really good have looked really good.
04:14And so that's a great start for them.
04:16I would say, Bob, you know, back to what Jesse was saying,
04:20like between drills and stuff, everybody was sprinting and doing all that.
04:24And it seemed like a lot of energy.
04:26And I was telling you off air, Bob, I mean, that's first time in, I mean, what,
04:3212 or 13 years that I've been going out there that it hadn't been Harbs.
04:35Yeah. He's been there since 08.
04:37Yeah. So it was, it was strange being out there with, with not Harbs being out there.
04:43Now, the guys who look good, like they were supposed to look like, I thought Ione,
04:50I thought he looked really good.
04:52You want it?
04:53Iwani, Vegna, Vegma, number 71.
05:00He looked athletic to me.
05:02Was he left or right guard?
05:03Well, when we were there, the 30 minutes we were there, Bob, he was on, he was playing left guard.
05:10But I thought, I thought he looked, I thought he looked apart, looked light on his feet,
05:15thought, you know, they were doing high knee stuff and everything.
05:18He had no problem.
05:20He looked athletic to me.
05:21I was, I was impressed.
05:24Thick.
05:25You know, he's a wide body.
05:27You know, kind of how Eric described, you know, how you want a guard looking.
05:31Yeah, that's how, how he looks.
05:33So I was, I was like, yeah, he, he looks more athletic than I thought watching him on tape.
05:40And then, um, the other guy, you know, like we talked about Zion.
05:47I mean, your first and second round picks, they look like they were supposed to look, you know,
05:51and then I thought Jacoby Lane, I was impressed with Jacoby Lane.
05:54You know, he's skinny, he's tall, um, not very thick, but it really light on his feet and he can
06:01bend his knees and get in and out of cuts.
06:04And then they did some throws, you know, like some high throws behind, you know, like kind of end zone
06:09throws.
06:10The coach was doing it because we don't get to see much other than, than that, you know?
06:15Um, so high behind, he looked really natural doing all the, moved easily.
06:21Lee, I was, I was really impressed with him.
06:25Now, Surratt, I didn't think that he had the suddenness that Jacoby Lane had.
06:32So going in, I liked Surratt better, you know, from watching the film, I liked Surratt better than Lane.
06:39Watching their body movements and stuff, I liked Lane better than I liked Surratt,
06:44which, you know, means nothing after, you know, just watching a drill.
06:49So, um, like the tight ends, Bob, I thought Hibner was really lean, like narrow-waisted guy.
06:58Looked like a big wide receiver.
07:03It's kind of what he looked like, you know, and he, and he didn't have the suddenness.
07:08I was impressed with Quavos, the Alabama kid, the tight end.
07:13He's wearing number 85.
07:14I thought he had good suddenness and explosiveness in and out of cuts, and a much thicker man, too.
07:22Much thicker guy.
07:24So just, just like my first impressions, I, I liked the second tight end better than I liked the first
07:32one.
07:33Um, now let me see.
07:35Uh, Evan Bernstein, you know, he was playing right guard when I saw, he was playing right guard, and I
07:44really couldn't, his body was okay.
07:47You know, I, I just think that he's gonna end up being on the practice squad, is what I think.
07:53Uh, Ryan Eckley, the punter, I did not see punt.
07:56Adam Randall, the big running back, he's, um, 230 pounds, 6'3".
08:05I mean, he's, did he look, did he look 6'2", 6'3", 6'3", 2'30"?
08:11Oh, no, he looked like, because he'd be in the backfield, Bob, and they'd hand off, and he'd run, you
08:16would think it was like Derrick Henry running through there.
08:18But, he's not thick, you know, because what, what's he played his whole life other than this past year?
08:24Wide receiver.
08:25So, he's not as thick yet, and doesn't have, you know, like the thighs and stuff, but he looked good
08:33running through there.
08:34He's got good feet, you know, I, you know, those things, I thought he looked pretty good running through there.
08:41So, I mean, that was kind of what we got to see, and we're gonna, OTAs are gonna be able
08:47to help.
08:48And, you know, we'll just kind of see what improvement, it's gonna be hard to evaluate the O-line, though,
08:53and, you know, and stuff.
08:55So, but the receivers, those guys, we'll be able to get some kind of feel for them.
09:00And, I guess, too, Vinny, it's way too early to go, hey, what undrafted guy?
09:06You know, we're not even at that stage yet.
09:08To be totally honest with you, when you only get, when Chad Steele only gives you 30 minutes, you know,
09:14you don't have enough time.
09:15And, you know, Diago Pavia, you know, he looked small, is what he looked.
09:21And, and, but...
09:23Fagnoni.
09:24Fagnoni.
09:25I thought he looked all right.
09:26I thought Fagnoni, I was, but, you know, Fagnoni looked all right.
09:32I mean, he's got some size to him, you know.
09:33So, I thought he was, he wasn't bad, but I, I didn't pay really.
09:38I mean, you had to look fast and, you know, I mean, I was standing down on the field and
09:43Chad was mad at me because I needed to back up two steps.
09:47So.
09:48So.
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