Baltimore Ravens Mock Draft: Who Are the Experts Projecting to the Ravens?

The NFL draft is ever-nearer with each passing day, so the frequency with which new expert-mock drafts appear is increasing in turn. Let's take a look at five different experts' projections of who the Baltimore Ravens will take with their 29th overall pick.

NFL.com's Chad Reuter believes the Ravens will select Wisconsin center Peter Konz. Konz could fill the hole left by departed free-agent guard Ben Grubbs this year, and ultimately become current starting center Matt Birk's replacement.

Reuter compares Konz favorably to the Ravens' current starting right guard Marshal Yanda and believes he will have similar success with the team.

Bleacher Report draft expert Sigmund Bloom also has the Ravens selecting Konz. He's clearly the best-fitting first-round target they have, they just need to hope no other team picks him before they have the chance to do so.

Sports Illustrated's Don Banks sings a different tune—he doesn't even have Konz going in the first round of his latest mock draft. Instead, he projects the Ravens to take linebacker Dont'a Hightower, who he calls the "heir apparent" to Ray Lewis.

Banks does concede that should Hightower (and safety Mark Barron, who Banks dubs the ideal replacement for Ed Reed) be off the board, then Konz would be the next-best choice.

While the Ravens would be well-served to bring on a linebacker in this year's draft, I don't see them doing so in the first round unless Konz is already taken—a possibility, yes, but one I believe is getting more and more remote as the draft approaches.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., also believes that Konz will be the Ravens' first-round pick, citing that their need to eventually replace Birk trumps their need to get younger on defense.

However, his colleague Todd McShay believes getting younger on defense is just what the Ravens should prioritize. He has them selecting safety Harrison Smith, the second-best player at his position in the draft.

McShay thinks that there will be no quality offensive linemen worth the Ravens' pick (including Konz, who he has going in the middle of the second round) and believes that Smith is the best-available player who meets one of the Ravens' biggest needs.

So it looks as though Konz is the experts' favorite when it comes to Baltimore's first-round selection, though defense is an option if they aren't sold on Konz or if he's already spoken for once they pick.

Follow @FBALL_Andrea