2012 NFL Mock Draft: Vontaze Burfict to Baltimore Ravens Is an Ideal Match

While many considered this player the best inside linebacker prospect in the draft class, his name remained available as the Baltimore Ravens prepared to make the their pick at No. 26 overall. 

Scouts praised his sideline-to-sideline speed, professional tackling ability and overall aggression on the football field, but size was an issue. Partly because of those worries, he dropped to the end of the first round—and, as fate would have it, right into the hands of the Ravens.

Baltimore took this player with the 26th overall pick, and, as the story goes, the rest was history.

Of course, I just briefly described the process in which the Ravens drafted Hall of Fame-bound linebacker Ray Lewis in the first round of the 1996 draft.

Now, 16 years later, the Ravens have the chance to fall into a similar situation with a linebacker that some argue resembles the former University of Miami star.

That player is Vontaze Burfict of Arizona State.

Burfict came into the 2011 college season as the nation's top inside linebacker, a ferocious mixture of speed, hitting power and instincts at the position. There are still some who have held onto that opinion, but after a year that featured several mental lapses and a frightening lack of maturity on the football field, Burfict's stock has undoubtedly dropped. There are some now that do not even consider him a first-round pick.

But if the Ravens have the opportunity to take him at No. 29 overall this April, they should pounce on that chance just like they did with Lewis back in '96. 

Remember, Lewis isn't going to play in Baltimore forever, and he's already beaten Father Time by staying as consistently productive this late into his career. No definitive plan at inside linebacker currently exists for when Lewis hangs up the cleats, but there's no better time than now to discover that plan in Burfict.

Taking Burfict at No. 29 is a win-win for both parties. 

For the Arizona State linebacker, no locker room could be better to fall into than Baltimore's. Getting paired with Lewis—arguably the premier defensive leader of this generation—in the locker room, positional meeting room and practice field could be a career-altering opportunity.

If the youngster embraced that opportunity, we could see all those immaturity issues evaporate right before our eyes. If he soaked up everything he could from Lewis, we could see a physical talent at the inside linebacker position that few can match.  

Then, in the ideal scenario, Burfict would complete his masters program in the Ray Lewis School of NFL Linebacking, slide into his mentor's position and keep the Ravens' defense from dropping too far off once Lewis is preparing his speech for Canton.

Does it all make too much sense to happen?

Just like the Indianapolis Colts are getting their Peyton Manning 2.0 in Andrew Luck, the Ravens might have the opportunity to get Ray Lewis 2.0 in Burfict. 

2012 NFL Mock Draft 

1.  Indianapolis Colts—Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

2.  St. Louis Rams—Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

3.  Minnesota Vikings—Matt Kalil, OT, USC  

4.  Cleveland Browns—Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

5.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers—Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU 

6.  Washington Redskins—Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford

7.  Jacksonville Jaguars—Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina  

8.  Carolina Panthers—Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina

9.  Miami Dolphins—Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa

10.  Buffalo Bills—Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

11.  Kansas City Chiefs—Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama 

12.  Seattle Seahawks—Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

13.  Arizona Cardinals—Melvin Ingram, DE/OLB, South Carolina

14.  Dallas Cowboys—Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

15.  Philadelphia Eagles—Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

16.  New York Jets—Nick Perry, LB, USC 

17.  Cincinnati Bengals—Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

18.  San Diego Chargers—David DeCastro, OG, Stanford 

19.  Chicago Bears—Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame

20.  Tennessee Titans—Zach Brown, OLB, UNC

21.  Cincinnati Bengals—Lamar Miller, RB, Miami

22.  Cleveland Browns—Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor  

23.  Detroit Lions—Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska

24.  Pittsburgh Steelers—Cordy Glenn, OL, Georgia 

25.  Denver Broncos—Devon Still, DL, Penn State

26.  Houston Texans—Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis

27.  New England Patriots—Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin 

28.  Green Bay Packers—Whitney Mercilus, DE/OLB, Illinois   

29.  Baltimore Ravens—Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State

30.  San Francisco 49ers—Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers

31.  New York Giants—Dont'a Hightower, LB, Alabama    

32.  New England Patriots—Mark Barron, S, Alabama