The NFL draft is full of suspense for the Ravens on Saturday because of their position in each round. Because they are drafting so late, much of what they do will be decided by who picks in front of them.
But the Ravens are right in planning to choose the best player available. If you listen to many fans, you would think the Ravens are only one player away from the Super Bowl because they reached the AFC championship game last season.
That's so far from the truth.
Because of parity and how quickly things change in the NFL, you're never one player away from the Super Bowl. The best way to enter any season is to put together the best 53-man roster possible. Consistently good teams, such as the New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, have basically the same game plan as the Ravens.
It will be a bonus if the Ravens can fill their two biggest needs - wide receiver and offensive tackle - during the next two days, and they'll be even more successful if they can trade down and add to their current total of six draft picks.
But they should always take the best player available, especially because they have needs but not glaring weaknesses.
"We lost some good players in the offseason," said Eric DeCosta, the Ravens' director of player personnel. "We're always trying to build, always trying to improve from the bottom up. Quite honestly, we're not really where we want to be.
"We want to improve the offense and continue to make big plays. Defensively, we want to prevent the big plays that have hurt us and be better down the stretch. Late in games we had some breakdowns over the course of the season. I think you'll see us with a better pass rush this season, and with bigger plays on offense."
It sounds as if DeCosta is evasive about whom the Ravens will draft, but he's not. No one can predict how the draft board will fall, especially when the Ravens pick at No. 26. The Ravens want to find a speedy, deep-threat wide receiver to complement their possession-type receivers, Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton.
It might come down to choosing among Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland, Florida's Percy Harvin and North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks. Of the three, I would take Heyward-Bey because of his speed and lack of off-the-field baggage.
