B
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens worked the phones like thieves and earned a B.
by Jacksrb2 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 1 steals
· 3 reaches
Nobody had Kaelon Black this high, and it is not close. The Ravens reached 43 spots to get him at pick No. 174.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up.
However the rest shakes out, Demmings at that price is a win they earned. On the needs board they went 7 of 8, with cornerback the one that mattered most.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 18 they get a red-zone target to build around. A clean fit for the roster.
By-the-book stuff, D'Angelo Ponds at the Round 2 slot squarely in line with his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No drama and no debate, Jake Slaughter went about where he belonged in the 49th pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Domonique Orange in slot 80 lands just on the right side of the ledger. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached into another round for Max Llewellyn, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Kage Casey at pick No. 154 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They let Charles Demmings come to them and pounced at the Round 5 slot. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr in slot 173 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A real head-scratcher, Kaelon Black in pick No. 174 is miles ahead of his ranking. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board had cheaper options than Zavion Thomas at pick 211, and it noticed. It fills a real need, too.