2020 NFL Draft: Baltimore Ravens 7-round mock

Fourth Round

Marshal Yanda isn’t getting any younger. No, we understand that the Ravens may not have another interior offensive lineman as good as Yanda for a very long time, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t look for their next great guard at any level of the draft. One player who could be available for the Ravens at No. 126 is Ezra Cleveland of the Boise State Broncos.

Bryan Harsin has done a marvelous job taking over this Group of 5 powerhouse after Chris Petersen left Boise for a bigger stage with the Washington Huskies. We’ve seen many Broncos find success at the NFL level in recent years. It’ll be hard for Cleveland to make an impact right away, but we know Boise State does turn out well-polished products for the NFL to work with.

Drafting a defensive player out of Texas Tech is always a tricky proposition. In recent years, Texas Tech has epitomized the defensive inefficiencies commonplace in the Big 12. For better or worse, it is their reputation. However, there is one player who will be a solid day-three pick out of Lubbock and that player is linebacker Jordyn Brooks.

As a senior in 2019 playing for new Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells, Brooks was First-Team All-Big 12 and earned a spot on the All-American Second Team. He had 108 total tackles (66 solo, 42 assists), 20 being for a loss of yardage and three sacks on the year. At 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, Brooks clearly plays with the speed necessary to be a quality NFL linebacker.

You can never have enough good offensive football players from the Memphis Tigers. Under Mike Norvell, we have seen plenty of excellent offensive players end up getting draft out of Memphis. One guy who has the ability to make plays in a multitude of ways for the ravens is wide receiver Antonio Gibson.

Gibson’s 2019 season saw him haul in 38 catches for 735 yards and eight touchdowns. That’s really solid, but it is his ability to move the sticks as a runner that should have the Ravens intrigued about him. He had 33 carries for 369 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Expect Greg Roman to find ways to get this guy the ball. Doing so could yield explosive plays for Baltimore.

Drafting an offensive lineman is a much trickier proposition these days than in years past. Many college offenses run the up-tempo spread, where pass-blocking concepts aren’t evolved and run blocking can be a bit chaotic. One program that seems to have bucked that trend is the Oregon Ducks. Look for the Ravens to draft Jake Hanson at pick No. 145 in the fourth round here.

We know that Hanson was well-coached up in Eugene under Mario Cristobal, who cut his teeth as an offensive line coach under Nick Saban at Alabama. Oregon’s offense became increasingly pro-style once Cristobal took over for Willie Taggart. If Hanson can play a few positions along the offensive interior for Baltimore, then this is a solid selection for the Ravens late in Round No. 4.