BALTIMORE — The Ravens’ 2018 draft class was special, and even as rookies, they seemed to know it. Their first year in Baltimore, the Ravens claimed their first AFC North title since 2012. A year later, the team won a franchise-record 14 games. Offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., one of the many standouts of the 12-player group, once recalled classmates sharing their Super Bowl ambitions, their future seeming so bright.
“I think as a group, we set goals when we got in here that we wanted to be as dominant as possible and all do what we needed to do to make an impact,” Brown said after his rookie year. “For the most part, we all kind of held up to our own words. I’m pretty proud and happy for everybody.”
With NFL free agency approaching, and the four-year contracts of 2018 rookies expiring — some in Baltimore, others elsewhere — there is maybe no better time to appreciate what was gained and lost from Ozzie Newsome’s final draft as Ravens general manager. Highly decorated and impressively deep, it is one of the best collections of talent acquired in the 2010s. It also stands as a sobering reminder of the realities of team building.
