The Ravens Likely Came Much Closer To Drafting a QB Than You Think

One of the more interesting things I’ve heard about the Ravens draft pursuits, in continued discussions with execs around the league, was how much work they did on quarterbacks.

It should be a general philosophy for teams to hone in on the position even when not a huge immediate need. And it remains to be seen if the Ravens inability to get Lamar Jackson signed to an extension yet again leads to him perhaps issuing another trade demand, or even playing elsewhere in 2027. It’s not seen as farfetched at all in NFL circles, and some of the things the Ravens have done makes other front offices wonder about what is to come.

In executing a mass restructure with Jackson, they made that contract incredibly east to trade in realtime at any point in the offseason or in-season. That’s just a fact. And, in doing some probing around on mid-round quarterbacks last year, and even more this year, it’s fair to consider whether the Ravens were sniffing around simply to eventually upgrade on backup Snoop Huntley, who they extended this year, or looking for some insurance for a far more significant change at quarterback.

“I’ll tell you this, they did a lot of work on quarterbacks, a lot of work,” said one NFL general manager. “The two teams that quietly did the most work on quarterbacks who already have franchise quarterbacks– and I’m not talking about day three kids - this is (Drew) Allar and (Carson) Beck and (Taylen) Green – I’m telling you it was Baltimore and Philly. They were both in on all these kids.

“Everybody knows how (Eagles general manger) Howie (Roseman) is, and you hear all the stuff about Hurts and this is the last year of his guarantees. He’s always seeing if he can get better, and he took one (drafted a QB). But Baltimore was doing a lot of the same stuff. I thought that was pretty interesting.”

Did Todd Monken Get Their Guy?

General manager Eric DeCosta ended up utilizing all 11 of his draft selections, which surprised many, and he did so without selecting a quarterback. They did however bring in veteran Skylar Thompson and two un-drafted rookie free agents to fortify the position and also add insurance should Jackson end up not taking part in many of the upcoming Organized Team Activity sessions as in years past.

Had the right mid-round quarterback still have been sitting there I can’t help but wonder if the Ravens might not have doubled down at the receiver and tight end position the way they did. Jalen Milroe was a quarterback who may have made a lot of sense for them a year ago, and their old buddy Mike Macdonald grabbed him instead.

Both the general manager, and a personnel executive from a team that selected a quarterback this spring mentioned they heard that Taylen Green was a prospect the Ravens were high on. Green, a strapping 6-foot-5 quarterback from Arkansas with blazing speed and unique athleticism, ended up selected in the sixth round by old friend Todd Monken, the Browns head coach, despite him have an already crowded quarterback room.

When I was chatting with Phil Simms before he joined me on “The Daily Flock” on Monday he was noting the buzz he heard about Green and some teams without an obvious QB need and the early returns from mini camp in Cleveland were quite high.

It’s difficult to imagine either of Baltimore’s un-drafted quarterback signings doing more than cracking the practice squad. Thompson has flashed at the NFL level and acquitted himself well under the circumstances in a road playoff game, and he provides useful depth.

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