Baltimore Ravens: 5 best draft picks of all-time

#5: Joe Flacco, 18th overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft 

The argument could be had that Haloti Ngata was a better draft pick than Joe Flaco. However, one must consider that in order to have any success in the NFL, you need to have a franchise quarterback (or a historic defense like the 2000 Ravens). Before they drafted Flacco, Baltimore had a revolving door at quarterback and had no consistency. Flacco gave Baltimore what they had searched for since 1996: a franchise quarterback.

Had Baltimore not drafted Flacco, it is quite likely that they never would have won Super Bowl 47. Their defense was not up to par and forced Joe Flacco to have to win games with his arm. Along the way, Flacco defeated in order Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Colin Kaepernick (while Kaepernick was extremely good). There might have been some divine intervention, but Flacco proved that he’s a franchise quarterback during that playoff run.

While he hasn’t copied the success of that run since then, it’s worth noting that Flacco didn’t miss a single game in his career until an ACL and MCL injury ended his 2015 season short. That’s quite remarkable. Even when the Ravens were very bad in 2015, Flacco consistently put Baltimore in a position to win, though they rarely deserved to be in that position.

Next: #4: Terrell Suggs