Don't expect General Manager Eric DeCosta to trade into Friday night's second round, although he loves to make deals.
The Ravens are without a second-round pick and they are not scheduled to make a Day 2 selection until their two choices in the third round, No. 94 and No. 104 overall. Moving into the second round would require a 30-spot leap.
"Well, that costs a lot of money, and I'm not really willing to spend that money most likely," DeCosta said after Thursday's first round. "I mean, never say never, but to move up from where we are in the third round is probably prohibitive. We do think that we're going to get two really good players in the third round at 94 and 104. We've had a lot of success in the third round over the years. I think we feel really good as a team right now and what our choices will be tomorrow (Friday). So, we'll probably wait."
The Ravens start Friday with seven draft picks remaining, and they could make more moves up or down the board in Round 3 or later. Or they could stand pat and pick like they did Thursday night.
In 2018, the Ravens also made two first-round picks, then waited out the second round before drafting a pair of eventual Pro Bowlers in offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (83rd) and tight end Mark Andrews (86).
Last year, Baltimore had four third-round picks and took defensive tackle Justin Madubuike (71), wide receiver Devin Duvernay (92), inside linebacker Malik Harrison (98) and offensive lineman Tyre Phillips (106). Phillips opened the season as the starting right guard, Madubuike (19 tackles) and Harrison (44 tackles) were regulars in the defensive rotation, while Duvernay showed promise as a receiver (20 catches, 201 yards) and did well as a kickoff returner, including a 93-yard touchdown.
DeCosta said the Ravens considered trading back into the second round Thursday night, but they saw greater value in drafting both wide receiver Rashod Bateman and edge rusher Odafe Oweh in Round 1.
"The phone did ring, and it was hectic for a brief period of time," DeCosta said. "We assessed the trades. We're fortunate that we've got four or five experts upstairs who look at the numbers, crunch the numbers and help us make the decisions when it comes to trades. We made the decision that we felt was best for the Ravens.
"It's a challenging thing, sometimes, to assess the value of a trade back and the value of additional picks versus a player that you think could come in right away, contribute and help you win football games. I think all of you guys know we do love to make trades. I love to make trades. I love additional picks, but this was one instance where I think being conservative and saying, 'These two guys are going to help us win football games,' was probably the smart thing to do."
