Playing Draft Chief of the Baltimore Ravens

Sun Tzu makes mention repeatedly in "Art of War" the value of knowing one's enemy. If the Steelers are going to continue to do battle with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North, it seems wise to act as them in practice scenarios.

In that, we're going to conduct an exercise. We're using FanSpeak's On The Clock mock draft simulator, and running a three-round mock draft as the Ravens.

One thing we learned immediately is the massive shift in good Karma. South Carolina defensive end JaDeveon Clowney lasted until the 15th pick where the Steelers scooped him up, and the Bears ended the possibility of Pittsburgh being tempted to take Louis Nix by grabbing him at 14.

Baltimore drafted 17th in this particular version, so, as the Ravens, here's how the picks went down.

1
QB TEDDY BRIDGEWATER
HOUSTON TEXANS
2
OT JAKE MATTHEWS
ST. LOUIS RAMS
3
QB BLAKE BORTLES
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
4
WR SAMMY WATKINS
CLEVELAND BROWNS
5
QB DEREK CARR
OAKLAND RAIDERS
6
DT TIMMY JERNIGAN
ATLANTA FALCONS
7
G DAVID YANKEY
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
8
QB JOHNNY MANZIEL
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
9
OT GREG ROBINSON
BUFFALO BILLS
10
OLB ANTHONY BARR
DETROIT LIONS
11
OLB KHALIL MACK
TENNESSEE TITANS
12
CB JUSTIN GILBERT
NEW YORK GIANTS
13
OLB RYAN SHAZIER
ST. LOUIS RAMS
14
DT LOUIS NIX III
CHICAGO BEARS
15
DE JADEVEON CLOWNEY
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
16
DT AARON DONALD
DALLAS COWBOYS
17
K VINCENZO D'AMATO
BALTIMORE RAVENS

Haven't heard of him? That's fine. You obviously don't know anything about Cal football. So what if I'm drafting a player in the first round to compete with probably my team's player, competition breeds success. The fact his name makes him seem more like a lower-level henchman in a Breaking Bad spinoff evokes a feeling of toughness.

18
WR MIKE EVANS
NEW YORK JETS
19
OT ZACK MARTIN
MIAMI DOLPHINS
20
OT TAYLOR LEWAN
ARIZONA CARDINALS
21
TE JACE AMARO
GREEN BAY PACKERS
22
ILB C.J. MOSLEY
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
23
TE ERIC EBRON
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
24
C TRAVIS SWANSON
CINCINNATI BENGALS
25
DE KONY EALY
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
26
RB KA'DEEM CAREY
CLEVELAND BROWNS
27
CB DARQUEZE DENNARD
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
28
WR MARQISE LEE
CAROLINA PANTHERS
29
DT RA'SHEDE HAGEMAN
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
30
WR KELVIN BENJAMIN
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
31
CB JASON VERRETT
DENVER BRONCOS
32
WR ALLEN ROBINSON
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Regrouping for the second round is important. We've crossed off one position of need, and we have a few others we want to address before it's all said and done, so let's load up the second round.

33
OLB DEE FORD
HOUSTON TEXANS
34
OT CYRUS KOUANDJIO
WASHINGTON REDSKINS
35
CB BRADLEY ROBY
CLEVELAND BROWNS
36
OLB KYLE VAN NOY
OAKLAND RAIDERS
37
DE TRENT MURPHY
ATLANTA FALCONS
38
DE STEPHON TUITT
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
39
RB TRE MASON
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
40
WR DAVANTE ADAMS
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
41
S HA'SEAN CLINTON-DIX
BUFFALO BILLS
42
S CALVIN PRYOR
TENNESSEE TITANS
43
ILB CHRIS BORLAND
NEW YORK GIANTS
44
S DEONE BUCANNON
ST. LOUIS RAMS
45
WR ODELL BECKHAM JR.
DETROIT LIONS
46
OT ANTONIO RICHARDSON
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
47
DE SCOTT CRICHTON
DALLAS COWBOYS
48
P KIRBY VAN DER KAMP
BALTIMORE RAVENS

Easily the best name in this draft, he also could be the draft's best punter - I love the idea of drafting a punter the same year they finally put a punter in the Hall of Fame. With two picks, Baltimore has bolstered their special teams for the next, what, decade or so? Can't go wrong with that. I've now knocked two critical positions of long-term stability off my future needs list. What are the Steelers doing? Drafting yet another tackle in the second round. What are they gonna do on 4th and 8? Find another random Australian? Baltimore's goin' Dutch, baby!

49
TE AUSTIN SEFERIAN-JENKINS
NEW YORK JETS
50
G XAVIER SU'A-FILO
MIAMI DOLPHINS
51
S LAMARCUS JOYNER
CHICAGO BEARS
52
OLB JEREMIAH ATTAOCHU
ARIZONA CARDINALS
53
OT MORGAN MOSES
GREEN BAY PACKERS
54
CB MARCUS ROBERSON
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
55
ILB SHAYNE SKOV
CINCINNATI BENGALS
56
CB LOUCHEIZ PURIFOY
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
57
OLB CARL BRADFORD
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
58
WR JORDAN MATTHEWS
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
59
G BRANDON THOMAS
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
60
OT JA'WUAN JAMES
CAROLINA PANTHERS
61
G GABE JACKSON
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
62
TE TROY NIKLAS
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
63
WR PAUL RICHARDSON
DENVER BRONCOS
64
OT CAMERON FLEMING
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

The Steelers are without a third-round pick, but Baltimore still has a few needs on the board, so we're going purely into Best Player Available mode here, while leaning toward a few positions we feel are needs.

65
G CYRIL RICHARDSON
HOUSTON TEXANS
66
S ED REYNOLDS
WASHINGTON REDSKINS
67
DE CHRIS SMITH
OAKLAND RAIDERS
68
G ANTHONY STEEN
ATLANTA FALCONS
69
RB BISHOP SANKEY
NEW YORK JETS
70
DE MICHAEL SAM
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
71
QB ZACH METTENBERGER
CLEVELAND BROWNS
72
DT WILL SUTTON
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
73
OLB MORGAN BRESLIN
BUFFALO BILLS
74
OT JOEL BITONIO
NEW YORK GIANTS
75
DT DOMINIQUE EASLEY
ST. LOUIS RAMS
76
WR BRANDIN COOKS
DETROIT LIONS
77
WR JARED ABBREDERIS
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
78
DT KELCY QUARLES
DALLAS COWBOYS
79
QB AARON MURRAY
BALTIMORE RAVENS

The two immediate thoughts from Ravens fans will be "why Murray over A.J. McCarron" and "what are you going to do with Tyrod Taylor?"

Our thought process is simple; we want to find a quarterback who will throw more touchdown passes than interceptions. We don't have one on the roster currently who can do that, so our hope is to bring in a new offensive coordinator who can teach our offensive linemen to get on the move (greatly reducing the amount of times we'll see them get whipped on the line of scrimmage), re-establish this as a running team, all in an effort to give Murray time to fill the hole the team has at quarterback.

That's sound logic.

80
WR JARVIS LANDRY
NEW YORK JETS
81
CB E.J. GAINES
MIAMI DOLPHINS
82
OLB TELVIN SMITH
CHICAGO BEARS
83
G DAKOTA DOZIER
CLEVELAND BROWNS
84
RB LACHE SEASTRUNK
ARIZONA CARDINALS
85
CB KYLE FULLER
GREEN BAY PACKERS
86
OLB CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
87
WR ROBERT HERRON
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
88
S AHMAD DIXON
CINCINNATI BENGALS
89
CB STANLEY JEAN- BAPTISTE
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
90
DE TREVOR REILLY
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
91
ILB CHRISTIAN JONES
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
92
S TERRENCE BROOKS
CAROLINA PANTHERS
93
S JIMMIE WARD
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
94
DE JACKSON JEFFCOAT
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
95
OT JACK MEWHORT
DENVER BRONCOS
96
DE MARCUS SMITH
MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Steelers fans are lucky I'm not in charge of the Ravens' draft. We'd hit elite status in no time if we just followed my vision. I knocked out three positions of both future and immediate need, created a Dream Special Teams group and bolstered my sagging quarterback position all with just three simple picks.

Look out, Seattle. Your run will be short-lived.

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