It’s time to make a few upgrades, and one downgrade, of prior player analyses for the Ravens 2023 draft.<\/p>\n

Upgrade: Deonte Banks (cornerback)<\/h2>\n

More tape study of Banks<\/a> convinced me that he has all of the ability to become a dominant press cover corner.\u00a0 He brings a great punch at the line, with one or both hands.\u00a0 His transitions are very smooth out of press coverage.\u00a0 This man can turn his hips and mirror all the way down the field. \u00a0Banks offers great body balance and body control at the catch point.\u00a0 He is a very good tackler.\u00a0 Where he\u2019s lacking to date is in ball productivity.\u00a0 For all of his skills, it was surprisingly absent.\u00a0 But make no mistake, he has elite man cover skills.<\/p>\n

Upgrade: Tank Dell (wide receiver)<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not so much that I have new things to say about Dell<\/a>.\u00a0 Rather, it\u2019s just every tape I look at shows Dell getting separation.\u00a0 It\u2019s quite extraordinary.\u00a0 I\u2019d be very satisfied if he somehow wound up on the Ravens.<\/p>\n

Upgrade: Adetomiwa Adebawore (defensive line)<\/h2>\n

The Ravens are thinking about Adebawore<\/a> a little differently than probably others.\u00a0 They asked him to do linebacker drills for them at the Combine.\u00a0 This 282 pound man ran a 4.49 forty.\u00a0 Could he wind up as an edge linebacker selection in, say, round three?\u00a0 I think he has the agility to make a full transition.\u00a0 He could be your Pernell McPhee, Zadarius Smith, or Courtney Upshaw type player who sets a hard edge but can rush from the inside\/outside (well, maybe not Upshaw).\u00a0 With that in mind, I have to elevate Adebawore.<\/p>\n

Two Running Backs<\/h2>\n

Israel Abanikanda<\/a> \u2013 The Ravens had a formal interview with Abanikanda, which puzzled me a bit.\u00a0 What are they seeing that I don\u2019t.\u00a0 To review, he has home run speed, no doubt.\u00a0 But if he has to create holes at the line of scrimmage, or if he has to power for yardage at all, forget about it so far.\u00a0 He\u2019s very young so one hopes there is room for upside here.\u00a0 But he\u2019s an upright runner without leg drive who is simply a one cut and go.\u00a0 He averaged a terrible 2.7 yards per carry after contact, and had only the 64^{th<\/sup> best missed tackle rate and only 46 forced missed tackles.\u00a0 On the flip side, most of his yards came before contact.\u00a0 Now he\u2019s best suited for an inside zone scheme, but at this point there is no way that he\u2019s the next Gus Edwards.\u00a0 He plays much smaller than his size.<\/p>\n}

Deneric Prince<\/a> \u2013 I think Prince is flying a bit under the radar.\u00a0 His initial full report is worth reviewing.\u00a0 Tape review of Prince showed a man who runs with good balance at 216 pounds and is really tough between the tackles.\u00a0 He is the type of player who runs like Gus Edwards, although much faster (ran a 4.41 forty).\u00a0 Prince struggles a bit getting to the edge.\u00a0 Like Gus he is one cut and go.\u00a0 And he could stand to run with a lower pad level.\u00a0 But he brings power and juice on the inside.\u00a0 Towards the bottom of the draft board he\u2019s a player I like.<\/p>\n

Downgrade: Joey Porter, Jr. (cornerback)<\/h2>\n

This is not so much a function of something negative I found regarding Porter<\/a>.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that the more I consider his skillset, the more I believe he\u2019s overrated as a first round \u2013 and by many a higher first round \u2013 prospect.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a><\/span>\n<\/i><\/a><\/span>\n<\/i><\/a><\/span>\n<\/i><\/a><\/span>\n<\/i><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s time to make a few upgrades, and one downgrade, of prior player analyses for the Ravens 2023 draft. Upgrade: Deonte Banks (cornerback) More tape study of Banks convinced me that he has all of the ability to become a dominant press cover corner.\u00a0 He brings a great punch at the line, with one or … Continue reading “Last Minute Upgrades and Downgrades \u2013 2023 Ravens Draft”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[97],"class_list":["post-3654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinions-thoughts","tag-2023-ravens-draft"],"yoast_head":"\n