Nobody balances need vs. value better than the Ravens

 Caption: Marc Anthony
The Ravens drafted Cal cornerback March Anthony with their final pick of the draft in the seventh round. (USA Today Sports)

The fashionable thing to say for men who run drafts is they'll set their boards and honor them and take the best player available. I believe general managers approach drafts that way, but when it comes time to pull the trigger, they're going to pay more attention to positions of need than they'll admit. They should. If you're set with two good young tackles, why pick a tackle, just because the top guy on your board is a tackle?
Consistently over the years, the Baltimore Ravens have drafted for need while not bastardizing the integrity of their draft board. In 2008, GM Ozzie Newsome knew the strength of the draft wasn't at quarterback (except for Matt Ryan) or running back, but he knew he needed help at both positions. He maneuvered through two trades, picked Joe Flacco at 18, waited for the running backs to fall to him at 55, and got Ray Rice there. Without those two picks, there's little chance the Ravens would have won the Super Bowl in February.
And this year, I think the Ravens showed how you can honor your board while making sure you address huge needs on your team. Here's how:
• Safety. Baltimore let both starting safeties, Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard, walk, figuring one of the safeties it liked -- Matt Elam or Johnathan Cyprien -- would be there when it picked late in the first round at 32. If not, the Ravens would address their major need at linebacker after losing Ray Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe. They got Elam at 32; lucky for them, because Cyprien went 33rd to Jacksonville.
• Linebacker. A great leader, Lewis, was lost. A potential leader, Arthur Brown, was found, at 56 overall in the second round. The Ravens, as I wrote last week, heard reliably that Houston (drafting 57th) and Denver (58th) were interested in Brown, so they traded ahead of them to get Brown. This is a leader: Brown played for two years at Kansas State -- and was elected captain both years. The other linebacker they picked was a two-year captain, at Ohio State, and coach Urban Meyer called John Simon (fourth round, 129th) the second-favorite player he has coached (behind Tim Tebow). Ohio State defensive aide Mike Vrabel sold the Ravens -- and any other team that would listen -- on Simon's pro capabilities as a strongside NFL linebacker who could also play inside.
• Fullback. The Baltimore fullback will play about 45 percent of the offensive snaps, more than on most teams, and Vonta Leach turns 32 this year. Time for an heir. But from Harvard? Kyle Juszczyk (fourth round, 130th overall) stood up the best pass rushers with some stonewall blocks at Senior Bowl practices and in the game, proving to Baltimore he can be the personal protector for Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce when the time comes.
• Defensive tackle. A must in Baltimore's 3-4 hybrid, obviously, and any time a big man like Haloti Ngata is getting up there (28 now), it's smart to address the position. They picked a small-school, lean 345-pounder (if that's possible) at 94th overall, Brandon Williams of Missouri Southern. Baltimore interior linemen have to be athletes, and Williams looked like one at the Senior Bowl. Said John Harbaugh: "Tremendous athlete. There's a YouTube video of him out there walking on his hands for 10 seconds.''
"We really went to the hardware store this year in the draft,'' said Harbaugh.
That leaves one major position of need. Baltimore didn't take a wide receiver until the seventh round (Aaron Mellette, Elon), so the Ravens, obviously, still will be mining for one before training camp starts. The only mistake I can see that the Ravens made this offseason was letting a $2 million financial disagreement with a vital player, wideout Anquan Boldin, lead to him being traded to San Francisco. I'll never agree with that one. Smart teams find a way to make up for losses like that, but that's a big one to overcome. Look for Baltimore to be more tight-end oriented if a prospect like Tandon Doss doesn't step up to the pressure spot in training camp.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130507/baltimore-ravens-nfl-draft/#ixzz2ShtiS4OP
Source: "Monday Morning QB" on CNNSI: SportsIllustrated.CNN.com
Author: Peter King

Photo via BaltimoreSun.com from USA Today Sports
(Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baltimore-sports-blog/bal-sports-blitz-ravens-competition-sam-koch-20130506,0,6698738.story#ixzz2ShvmrsTZ)