The Ravens have the No. 26 pick in the NFL draft April 25, which isn't enviable, but Eric DeCosta, the team's director of player personnel, wouldn't mind being in that spot every year.
A low position in the first round is an indication of success the previous season. The Ravens also like to point out that the last time they were in this position, they selected a middle linebacker out of the University of Miami named Ray Lewis in 1996.
The rest is Hall of Fame history.
"I don't know if there has ever been a No. 26 pick in the history of the league as good as Ray Lewis," DeCosta said Wednesday.
The Ravens have had success with picks late in the first round. Not only did they get Lewis at No. 26, but they selected another potential Hall of Famer in safety Ed Reed at No. 24 in 2002 and two-time Pro Bowl tight end Todd Heap at No. 31 in 2001.
Third-year guard Ben Grubbs has Pro Bowl potential, and the Ravens selected him at No. 29 in the 2007 draft.
"There is a reason why they are there," DeCosta said of late first-round picks. "They lack size or a little speed or a little college production. They might play a position like safety, tight end or guard that some teams don't value more than others. Our philosophy has been to take the best player available regardless of that position, and if you do, you're on to something."
The Ravens won't change that philosophy in 2009. The team's No. 1 priority is finding a big-time wide receiver, and DeCosta says there should be several good ones available when the Ravens pick. The top two, Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree and Missouri's Jeremy Maclin, are expected to be gone, but there still should be other interesting prospects such as Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey, Florida's Percy Harvin and Rutgers' Kenny Britt.
It appears the Ravens want a receiver, which DeCosta believes is one of the two deepest positions in the draft along with running back. In the past, the Ravens have missed as badly on receivers as they have on quarterbacks. Remember Travis Taylor, Ron Johnson, Patrick Johnson, James Roe, Devard Darling and Clarence Moore?
"Besides quarterback, more teams miss on receivers than any other position," DeCosta said. "We have spent a lot of time looking at that position, and we think there is a receiver in each round who can help us. If you look at the good receivers that have played in this league, they all had one common denominator, and that's a good quarterback.
