With the 2022 NFL Draft in the books following three days of player selections in Las Vegas last week, pundits and fans alike are combing over the 262 picks to get a hot take on “who won the Draft?”.
As sports fans we crave immediate analysis but trying to suggest who “won” a draft so soon after it has taken place is a pretty pointless exercise. We have no idea which players will go one to meet or exceed potential and who will fall drastically short and be labelled a “bust”. In truth, a draft can only be properly analysed 10 years or longer after it has taken place.
One team many are suggesting did do well in this year’s draft though is the Baltimore Ravens. Such analysis is predicated on the fact that the Ravens managed to take numerous players in slots later than they were projected to go. Essentially, they are said to have made some of the best value player selections. However, I believe the Ravens actually lost this year’s draft and I don’t need to wait 10 years to explain why.
During the coveted first round on Thursday evening, one of the biggest headlines of the night emerged as the Ravens, live on TV and completely out of the blue, traded their best Wide Receiver, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for the 23rd pick of the draft. Whether you believe Brown was worth a first-round pick or not is by the by for me, because once the trade was announced, Lamar Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens Quarterback, immediately took to Twitter to tweet out his anger at the breaking news.
He posted “WTF” and retweeted a post which read “WHAT THE F*****G F**K BRO! WE TRADED AWAY HOLLYWOOD”. The next day he doubled down on his displeasure by quote tweeting the Arizona Cardinals announcement post-trading for Brown and adding two shocked emojis and a red-faced swearing emoji.
Jackson’s reaction, accidentally or otherwise, has created a toxic situation for the Ravens, in which the team, the new recruits and the fans are seeing their franchise’s leader openly undermining the decisions of the owners and coaches.
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The synergy between a Quarterback and his coaches is a key to success in American Football and Jackson has sown the seeds of disharmony for the 2023 season, five months before it has even begun. And on Saturday, to make Jackson’s actions look even more foolish, it emerged that Brown had actually sought the trade himself!
The Ravens are too astute of a franchise to send their young, former MVP signal-caller packing for overstepping the mark, but they should address the situation quickly. Jackson should also publicly apologise once he has had time to reflect on his actions and consider their far-reaching consequences.
The Baltimore Ravens are a respected franchise, with a history of stability and a successful head coach entering his 15th year with the team; they shouldn’t allow themselves to become a franchise where off-field disharmony, fuelled by a diva Quarterback hinders a talented rosters success – just look at the Green Bay Packers to see how that can turn out!
