With no real football scheduled for the next few months, it’s time for Ravens fans to get ready for mock draft season. Baltimore had the best record in the league last year, finishing with the first seed in the conference and making it to the AFC Championship Game. However, the team fell short against the Kansas City Chiefs, losing 17-10 in what’s becoming an uncomfortably familiar trend.
If the team wants to finally make it back to the Super Bowl, they’ll need to nail their draft. Justin Madubuike, Odell Beckham, Jadeveon Clowney, Patrick Queen, and Geno Stone are all set to hit free agency, and Baltimore doesn’t have the resources to bring them all back. While it’s impossible to fill all those holes with one pick, Mike Kashuba’s latest mock draft has the Ravens addressing the offense with Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
Ravens Select Shifty Wide Receiver In Latest Mock Draft
Ladd McConkey the Player
Before we discuss McConkey’s fit with the Ravens in this mock draft, we must first discuss his abilities as a player. Ladd McConkey is a shifty route runner with the ability to get open at all three levels of the field. While he has struggled to stay healthy throughout his college career, he showed just how dominant he can be at the Senior Bowl. Looking like a man amongst boys, the Georgia product dominated the competition and looked downright unguardable during practices.
Ladd McConkey's Red Zone 1-on-1's were comedy
Uncoverable pic.twitter.com/xY6OZyZVyE
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) February 1, 2024
The biggest weakness of McConkey’s game is his size. While he has the speed and agility to get to the open field, he is a bit of a liability in contested situations. Unofficially listed at 5′-11″ and 187 pounds, the Georgia product has a skinnier build than a typical wide receiver, which could be an issue when he has to face press coverage. Additionally, from an analytics standpoint, wide receivers who declare early for the NFL Draft tend to do better than players who stick around for their Senior years. Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule, but it’s something to note.
Despite those concerns, McConkey deserves to be a first-round pick. He has the talent to be a difference-maker at the position, and there is no such thing as too many good weapons in today’s pass-happy NFL. The only question is if Ladd McConkey is the right fit for the Ravens mock draft.
Does This Ravens Mock Draft Make Sense?
If Ladd McConkey’s description sounds familiar to you, it’s because his play style mirrors current Ravens wideout Zay Flowers. As with every player in the NFL, some nuances separate these two. However, from an overall standpoint, McConkey and Flowers both have similar games, so is this mock draft wise to combine these two?
In short, yes. While teams normally don’t double down on the same kind of receiver, Baltimore has been the exception to the rule in recent years. Back when the Ravens first selected Flowers in the 2023 NFL Draft, several analysts wondered if his style of play was too similar to Odell Beckham and Rashod Bateman. As it turns out, this wasn’t a concern, as Beckham and Flowers both thrived in Baltimore’s offense. Bateman admittedly fell into the background, but it’s unclear if this was due to a lack of skill or too much redundancy at the position.
Even if the Ravens re-sign Beckham, this mock draft could still be accurate. The former New York Giant is anything but a long-term fix at the position, and they could use another young player to develop. If McConkey works out, then Baltimore will have a cost-controlled group of starting wide receivers for years to come.
Main Photo: Sam Navarro – USA Today Sports
