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Draft Preview: Ravens pick 10th
Posted: Wednesday April 07, 1999 01:48 PM
For the next 10 days, CNN/SI will offer a daily look at one pick from the 1999 draft, finishing with Cleveland. Check back for a new preview each day. How many capable quarterbacks is enough for an NFL team these days? Is there such a thing as too many anymore? The league showed last year that depth at quarterback is nothing to be taken lightly, and that seems to be the prevailing logic in Baltimore. New coach Brian Billick will likely enter the '99 season with three new quarterbacks from last year. He traded a third-round pick to the Detroit Lions for Scott Mitchell, he's courting Warren Moon as a backup and still, there's a good chance he'll take a quarterback in the first round of this month's draft. Last year in Minnesota, Billick had the best 1-2 punch in the league in Brad Johnson and Randall Cunningham, but that nearly wasn't enough as both battled injuries during the season. After losing to the Redskins in a bid to bring Johnson with him to Baltimore, Billick is working to build the same depth with the Ravens. Jim Harbaugh was shipped to San Diego once Mitchell was acquired, and backup Eric Zeier will likely be playing elsewhere next year as well. If Billick loses out on Moon, his next target looks to be former St. Louis starter Tony Banks, who reportedly could be acquired for as little as a sixth-round pick. After all that, he'll still be looking for a quarterback in the draft next week. Best bet for No. 10 It's not that the Ravens don't have other pressing needs. Free agency has robbed them of eight players, and at least four -- center Wally Williams, tackle Orlando Brown, tight end Eric Green and defensive tackle James Jones are tough losses. Baltimore has signed tackle Harry Swayne to offset Brown's departure, but they've added more holes than they've filled in the off-season. Billick has brought in three players to take the place of Green and tight end Brian Kinchen, signing Minnesota's Keith DeLong and Miami's Frank Wainright and trading a sixth-round pick to New England for Lovett Purnell. Fullback Roosevelt Potts was a key to the Baltimore running game, but Billick convinced Minnesota's Charles Evans to follow him to the Ravens, so that position is fine.
The most glaring need is in the middle of the offensive line -- there's little or no depth at center or guard. This is something Baltimore can address with their second-round pick -- aside from Wisconsin's Aaron Gibson, who could play guard or tackle, there isn't a guard in this class worthy of a first-round pick. One other area Baltimore could cover with its top pick is at receiver, where the team won't be re-signing the slumping Michael Jackson. That leaves promising Jermaine Lewis and Floyd Turner as the only two experienced receivers. The Ravens are hoping that last year's second-round pick Patrick Johnson and fourth-year pro James Roe can step up this season -- they combined for just 20 catches in 1998, but could easily triple that total in '99 in Billick's system. The Ravens could be in position to take the top receiver on the board, N.C. State's Torry Holt, if they're not happy with the quarterbacks available. If the Ravens choose to find their future quarterback in the first round, it will likely be either Central Florida's Daunte Culpepper or UCLA's Cade McNown. Culpepper will only be around if the Bears don't take him with the 7th pick, which is certainly possible. Billick is used to taller quarterbacks -- Cunningham and Johnson are 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5, respectively, and Mitchell is 6-foot-6 -- so the 6-foot-4 Culpepper would fall into that category. His arm strength and accuracy -- he completed 73 percent of his passes last year -- would help him compete with Mitchell for playing time right away. Look for the Ravens to take Culpepper, leaving the only quarterback question in town as how long it will take him to earn the starting job. Click here if you have a question or comment about the upcoming NFL Draft. We'll answer a few questions and publish selected comments once a week between now and April 17.
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