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.
The class’ individual accomplishments are remarkable: one NFL Most Valuable Player, two first-team All-Pro honorees, three Pro Bowl players (totaling seven Pro Bowl invitations), 43 wins in Baltimore, 279 starts around the NFL. There were busts and misfires in the group, of course, but those misses are far surpassed by the contributions of the stars and starters the Ravens developed, or at least unearthed.
“When people think about Ozzie Newsome, they think about the drafting and the young players and the undrafted guys,” then-first-year general manager Eric DeCosta said in 2019. “I think from a football standpoint, to see the last draft class emerge and really help us, it epitomizes all of that.” Just look at the dozen players who comprised the group.
— TE Hayden Hurst: The Ravens’ top overall pick looked like a rookie-year star in offseason workouts before a stress fracture in his foot knocked his career off course. Hurst was a key cog in the Ravens’ tight-end-heavy 2019 offense, but was traded to Atlanta the following offseason as part of a deal that helped the Ravens draft running back J.K. Dobbins. Hurst caught 82 passes for 792 yards and nine touchdowns over two years with the Falcons, who declined his fifth-year option last season.
QB Lamar Jackson
Jackson has been the NFL’s best bargain since he arrived in Baltimore as a surprising first-round pick: the youngest MVP in league history after a record-breaking 2019, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, the fastest quarterback to reach 5,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards, the first quarterback to win 35 games before age 25. Playoff success and a long-term contract have so far eluded Jackson, but the 25-year-old is one of the NFL’s most dynamic and popular players.
OT Orlando Brown Jr.
The third-round pick and son of the longtime Ravens lineman is the only offensive tackle to make the Pro Bowl each of the past three seasons. Only two were in Baltimore, though. With Brown demanding to play left tackle, the Ravens traded him and a second-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in April for a first-rounder (outside linebacker Odafe Oweh) and third-rounder (guard Ben Cleveland). The Chiefs hope to sign Brown to a long-term deal, while the Ravens’ tackle situation remains in flux while Ronnie Stanley recovers from another ankle operation.
TE Mark Andrews
The third-round pick earned first-team All-Pro honors and his second Pro Bowl selection last season after setting franchise records in both receptions (107) and receiving yards (1,361), both NFL highs for a tight end in 2021. Only three tight ends have more receiving yards in their first four seasons than Andrews (3,466): George Kittle, Jimmy Graham and Mike Ditka. Andrews, who signed a four-year, $56 million extension in September, is the only draft pick from the 2018 class under contract beyond next season.
CB Anthony Averett
Injuries, inconsistency and a deep cornerback room limited the fourth-round pick to just 30 appearances and seven starts over his first three seasons in Baltimore. But amid a disappointing 2021 for the Ravens’ secondary, Averett emerged as the team’s best cornerback. He allowed a passer rating of just 77.5 in coverage, according to Pro Football Reference, and started all but three games.
ILB Kenny Young
After an up-and-down rookie season, the fourth-round pick was traded in October 2019 to the Los Angeles Rams along with a fifth-round pick for cornerback Marcus Peters. Young started 13 games over three seasons with the Rams before he was traded to the Broncos for a sixth-round pick last year. He had 29 tackles in six starts for Denver.
WR Jaleel Scott
The fourth-round pick appeared in three games and had one catch over his two seasons in Baltimore. The Ravens released Scott after their 2020 training camp, and he had one reception for the New York Jets before being waived last year.
WR Jordan Lasley
The fifth-round pick didn’t play during his rookie season, then was cut early in the Ravens’ 2019 training camp after scuffling with teammates and celebrating a touchdown catch by throwing the ball into a nearby pond. He’s since bounced around from the NFL to the XFL to the Canadian Football League to the United States Football League.
S DeShon Elliott
The sixth-round pick has played only one full season in an injury-plagued career. Elliott broke his forearm in the 2018 preseason, suffered a season-ending knee injury in October 2019 and tore his biceps and a pectoral muscle in November. He graded out as a solid starter in 2020 and 2021, according to PFF, and has 103 tackles, 3 ½ sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception over the past two seasons.
OL Greg Senat
The sixth-round pick missed his rookie season after undergoing foot surgery and was waived one game into the 2019 season. Senat, a converted basketball player, has since spent time with five organizations but has played for only one team, appearing in 10 games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, primarily on special teams. The Jets claimed him off waivers in January.
C Bradley Bozeman
The sixth-round pick developed into one of the Ravens’ most consistent linemen, starting 32 straight games at left guard before starting every game at center in 2021. According to ESPN, Bozeman ranked second among NFL centers in pass-block win rate and seventh in run-block win rate last season. Bozeman was also twice named the Ravens’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, recognizing his philanthropic work and community contributions.
DL Zach Sieler
The seventh-round pick appeared in two games as a rookie and four in 2019 before he was released to make room for center Hroniss Grasu. Claimed off waivers by the Dolphins, Sieler quickly found a home in Miami. He had 48 tackles (11 for loss) in 2020 and 62 tackles (six for loss) last season, when he graded out as PFF’s third-best interior defender. In November 2020, he signed a two-year, $7.6 million contract extension through the 2023 season.
Few classes over the past decade can compare.
— In 2012, the Seattle Seahawks drafted outside linebacker Bruce Irvin, inside linebacker Bobby Wagner and quarterback Russell Wilson.
— In 2015, the Minnesota Vikings drafted cornerback Trae Waynes, inside linebacker Eric Kendrick, defensive end Danielle Hunter and wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
— In 2016, the Dallas Cowboys drafted running back Ezekiel Elliott, inside linebacker Jaylon Smith and quarterback Dak Prescott.
— In 2017, the New Orleans Saints drafted cornerback Marshon Lattimore, offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk, safety Marcus Williams and running back Alvin Kamara.
— In 2018, the Indianapolis Colts drafted guard Quenton Nelson, inside linebacker Darius Leonard and offensive tackle Braden Smith.
In some ways, those banner years only serve to highlight the limitations of foundational classes. They’re reminders of the vagaries of the sport. Of those five teams, only Seattle reached the Super Bowl, helped in large part by Wilson’s bargain of a rookie contract.
The Ravens, handed a similar opportunity with Jackson, won just one playoff game over the past four years, never even reaching the AFC championship game. There were injuries and infections, bad game plans and poor execution. There was Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City and Josh Allen in Buffalo.
There was also a drop-off in drafting. Only five picks in the 2019 and 2020 classes — wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, inside linebacker Patrick Queen, running back J.K. Dobbins, wide receiver-returner Devin Duvernay, and defensive lineman Justin Madubuike — have established themselves in Baltimore, and for some the flashes of talent have been too sporadic to cover up the holes the 2018 group could not address.
With a handful of starters from that class now headed to free agency, and the Ravens perhaps resigned to losing them all, DeCosta and his front office will have to replenish the roster with another bumper crop of rookies. The Ravens will enter next month’s draft with 10 picks, including nine in the first four rounds.
Four years ago, at another inflection point in the franchise, the team had asked a lot of its rookies. “They’re a huge part of where we’re at and where we’re going,” coach John Harbaugh said near the end of the 2018 season. In some ways, they still are. But the NFL’s perpetual roster churn will leave the Ravens starting over, searching for more.
