Baltimore Ravens: Complete 2015 NFL Draft Wrap-Up and Analysis

The Baltimore Ravens have wrapped up their 2015 NFL draft class, and it was once again a successful haul for one of the NFL's best drafting teams.  

It's become an annual expectation that the Ravens will have one of the best draft classes every year. They stayed true to form this year by addressing all of their major needs while routinely getting one of the best players on the board when they were picking.

The team addressed glaring holes at wide receiver and tight end in the first two rounds. Baltimore then added depth to several positions that were lacking it while getting several future starters on both sides of the ball.

Here is a full recap of Baltimore's 2015 draft class. 

The Selections

Baltimore got the draft started by getting the best deep-ball receiver available in UCF's Breshad Perriman. 

This was the biggest position of need heading into the draft, and the Ravens wasted no time in addressing it. Perriman is good enough to start every game as a rookie and make a positive impact on the offense.

This past season, he grabbed 50 passes for 1,044 yards (20.9 average) and nine scores. With the Ravens being so thin at receiver, expect Perriman to get the most playing time of any rookie they draft this year. 

For their next pick, the Ravens made made a deal with the Arizona Cardinals to move up from pick No. 58 to 53 to draft Minnesota's Maxx Williams. 

It only took a fifth-round pick to move up to that spot, where Baltimore selected the best tight end in the 2015 draft. Like Perriman, Williams is good enough to come in and start from Day 1 as a rookie. 

In the third round, Baltimore grabbed Iowa defensive tackle Carl Davis. He was one of the best interior defensive linemen in this draft, and this was a great value pick. He will join one of the NFL's strongest defensive lines and make it even better. He'll likely stick to defensive tackle and back up Timmy Jernigan.

In Round 4, Baltimore snagged Kentucky defensive end Za'Darius Smith to keep solidifying that stout line. Baltimore was clearly looking to offset the loss of Haloti Ngata this offseason by taking two defensive linemen in the first four rounds.

Smith is best suited at end in Baltimore's 3-4 defense, where Chris Canty is currently starting. Canty contemplated retirement this offseason though, so Smith could earn a starting spot there if the veteran does end up calling it quits next year. 

With the second fourth-round pick, Baltimore took USC running back Buck Allen. A versatile and dual-threat runner, he will bring an added dimension to the Ravens backfield. 

Where Justin Forsett is more of a north-south runner, Allen can get sideline to sideline while also being a good pass-catcher out of the backfield. That's something Baltimore didn't have last year, and the team will hope Allen brings it in 2015. 

The Ravens' used their third fourth-round pick on Texas Southern cornerback Tray Walker. A ball-hawking defensive back, Walker finished his college career with 10 interceptions. The Ravens are thin at cornerback, so he has a good chance of making the final 53-man roster.

The fifth round began for the Ravens with the selection of Delaware tight end Nick Boyle. Even though Baltimore drafted Williams in the second round, it needed another tight end with so much uncertainty surrounding that position.

Boyle caught 101 passes for 984 yards and 12 scores in his four years with the Blue Hens. Expect him to be a third- or fourth-stringer as a rookie. 

The Ravens used their next fifth-round pick on Tennessee State guard Robert Myers. He started 35 games and was a second-team All-Ohio Valley selection as a junior and senior. 

For the final pick, they took Georgia Tech receiver Darren Waller with their sixth-round selection. He is an athletic freak who's raw and needs a lot of development but could transform into a No. 1 or 2 NFL receiver. 

Best Pick: Maxx Williams

The Ravens' getting Maxx Williams in the second round was easily their best pick in the draft. 

He was the best tight end in this draft, and that position was one of Baltimore's weakest coming into the draft. He was also regarded as a first-round prospect by some, and to get him in the middle of the second round was a nice steal. 

This past season, he was the featured pass-catcher for Minnesota, leading the team in receptions (36), yards (569) and receiving touchdowns (eight).

For his efforts, Williams was a finalist for the 2014 John Mackey Award, which honors the nation's top tight end annually.

Of all the Ravens' picks this year, none may have a greater impact on the 2015 Ravens than Williams. 

Worst Pick: Robert Myers

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

I really didn't understand Baltimore's pick of Tennessee State guard Robert Myers at this spot. 

At this point, the team could have use another pick to address several other positions. The Ravens didn't even draft a safety this year after it was one of their weakest positions in 2014.

On the other hand, guard was arguably the Ravens' biggest strength in 2014. Marshall Yanda and Kelechi Osemele were a devastating combo, while John Urschel and Jah Reid were decent backups.

It's hard to see how Myers even earns a roster spot on Baltimore's line. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein even rated Myers as an undrafted prospect. 

He has little chance of contributing to the Ravens this year...or possibly ever. 

What the Experts Are Saying

The Ravens killed it during the first two days of the NFL draft, so it shouldn't be a surprise Dan Kadar of Mocking the Draft loved what Baltimore accomplished. 

Kadar graded all of the drafts following the first two rounds, and he was high on the Ravens' first three picks:

"

Go figure. The Ravens find great value in the second and third rounds and add two potential starting players in Williams and Davis. The Ravens needed to add pass catchers, and they did that. They could still use a running back, but there are some good ones left over.

Overall grade: A-

"

Breshad Perriman and Maxx Williams will likely start and make a big impact on the Ravens offense in 2015. Carl Davis might not play much as a rookie, but he has starting-caliber potential. 

NFL.com's Bryan Fischer was not however a big fan of the Perriman pick, and he gave Baltimore a C-minus grade for it: 

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The selection of Perriman is interesting, given his lack of college production and issues with drops. He's a great replacement for Torrey Smith, giving the team some ability to stretch the field, and he lands with the perfect team to learn the game behind some veterans on offense. His game film at UCF gives some cause for concern, but not much apparently for the Baltimore front office.

"

That's a fair assessment. I too was not a fan of the Perriman pick because better receivers were on the board. I still thought Perriman was worthy of a first-round pick, especially late in Round 1.  

As for the rest of the draft, Fischer loved what Baltimore did by trading up to get Maxx Williams, the draft's best tight end. Baltimore also got big steals in Carl Davis in the third round:

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The Ravens did a good job moving up a few spots to land Williams, who could be Todd Heap 2.0 and gives the team a much-needed boost at tight end. Davis fell a bit in the draft but was a good case of the rich getting richer by going to the Ravens. 

"

Overall, it's hard to give the Ravens anything less than a B-plus for this draft. Fisher gave them an A overall. 

What's Left to Address?

Rob Carr/Getty Images

Even though Baltimore had one of the best drafts this year, it still has a couple of holes to patch up.

The Ravens may be able to do so through free agency or by nabbing a key undrafted free agent. The following positions are where the biggest needs are after the draft did not address them.

Return Man

After cutting Jacoby Jones this offseason, the Ravens don't have a clear-cut returner going into next year.

In 44 games with the Ravens, he averaged 30.1 yards per kickoff return, which ranked No. 1 in franchise history. He also averaged 9.9 yards per punt return and had a 63-yard score in 2012.

Jones averaged 30.6 yards per kickoff return and returned one for a score last year, but the team cut him this offseason to save cap space, even though no clear replacement is on the roster.

After the draft, that's still the case, and it's something Baltimore needs to figure out going forward. 

Safety

The Ravens were repeatedly burned with the deep ball in 2014, and the safeties were one of the weakest positions on the roster.

Still, Baltimore opted not to spend a pick on one during the draft. It's going to be one of the key positions to watch the rest of the offseason.

Final Grade

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

The Ravens addressed their biggest needs, and while they didn't hit every single need, this was a tremendous draft. 

Wide receiver and tight end were easily the two biggest holes. Not only did Baltimore plug them, but the team did so with players at or among the best at their respective positions. 

This is exactly the kind of draft Baltimore needed to have to become a championship contender in 2015 after making it to the divisional round of the playoffs last season.

In the end, Baltimore got two instant-impact players (Maxx Williams, Breshad Perriman) and three more starting-caliber players who will contribute as rookies (Za'Darius Smith, Carl Davis, Buck Allen). 

This was easily one of the best drafts any team had this year. 

Overall Grade: A-