Speaker 1: Welcome to the Ravens Press Pass podcast. The twenty twenty
Speaker 1: four NFL Draft is complete. The Ravens made nine picks
Speaker 1: over the course of the weekend, and on Saturday, they
Speaker 1: kicked things off with wide receiver Davantes Walker in the
Speaker 1: fourth round. Before we get to that conversation with Davantes
Speaker 1: that he had with the local media, let's go to
Speaker 1: GM Eric Tacosta, head coach John Harbaugh and Director of
Speaker 1: player Personnel David Blackburn as they recapped drafts weekend.
Speaker 2: You know, I'll just briefly run down all these guys.
Speaker 2: We talked about Nate, and we talked about Roger and Adisa.
Speaker 2: Today with tz, we had six or seven names of
Speaker 2: guys that we were hoping to have a chance to
Speaker 2: select with our first fourth round pick, and we got them.
Speaker 2: Tes was one of those guys, and then fortunately TJ.
Speaker 2: Tampa was another one of those guys that when we
Speaker 2: started the day we thought if those guys were there,
Speaker 2: didn't necessarily expect they would be there, but very excited
Speaker 2: with both those guys. But as you get really a
Speaker 2: vertical receiver size and speed, you know, in some ways
Speaker 2: reminds me of a Tory Smith type of player. An outside,
Speaker 2: take the top off vertical threat with good size and
Speaker 2: phenomenal kid excellent jumping ability. TJ is a guy that,
Speaker 2: quite honestly, we would have taken on the second day
Speaker 2: of the draft as a press corner. Long just a
Speaker 2: guy that you know, we think really fits what we
Speaker 2: do very very well. Rashen is a running back that
Speaker 2: we've really liked since really the fall. Excited about him.
Speaker 2: Had a chance to see him at the Senior Bowl
Speaker 2: before he got hurt, and was very very impressive to
Speaker 2: us as a guy that can run the ball, pass protect,
Speaker 2: and also catch the ball. Devins a quarterback that we
Speaker 2: see as a viable backup over time. T Martin, we
Speaker 2: gave him a project to basically come back to us
Speaker 2: and tell us who we thought, you know, his favorite
Speaker 2: backup type quarterbacks in this year's draft class, and he
Speaker 2: came back with Devin as one of his very top guys.
Speaker 2: So that was exciting for us to take a quarterback.
Speaker 2: It's been a few years since we've done that. Nick
Speaker 2: Samak just a gritty, big ten offensive lineman, a very
Speaker 2: good center, a very athletic guy, stays on his blocks,
Speaker 2: good sustainability, very very very intelligent, and we think, you
Speaker 2: know a guy that can back up Tyler and also
Speaker 2: hopefully work in as a guard and develop and be
Speaker 2: a swing guy for us. And then finally Sanusi non
Speaker 2: combine guy. Typically we don't draft a lot of non
Speaker 2: combine players, but with Sanousie it kind of harkens back
Speaker 2: to Haruki Nakamura who we drafted, who was a non
Speaker 2: combined guy back in the day. Sanusi is a guy
Speaker 2: that does a lot of things well, a tough player.
Speaker 2: I think he's got good ball skills, should play on
Speaker 2: special teams. He's a guy that you know, David can
Speaker 2: talk more about. Some of the scouts really liked him,
Speaker 2: and Doug Mallory really liked him as well and had
Speaker 2: a chance to come here to Baltimore and visit with us.
Speaker 2: So overall, I think it was a great day, great weekend.
Speaker 2: And we'll take questions.
Speaker 3: Eric, when you're looking at the center in the Cuth
Speaker 3: round and we had an injury. If you go out,
Speaker 3: do you think he'll be limited it at all? In
Speaker 3: you know the spring soft or even had into other workout.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he'll be limited in a short term.
Speaker 2: I think as we get into May I think he'll
Speaker 2: be full strength. I mean I asked him on the phone,
Speaker 2: how is he doing, and he said, I'm fine, I'm healthy.
Speaker 2: We'll probably break him in slowly, but you know, offensive lineman,
Speaker 2: tough guy mentality, we expect him out to pretty quickly.
Speaker 3: Eric were you were you disappointed at all that the
Speaker 3: board kind of maybe didn't.
Speaker 4: Break your way to get a guy to come in
Speaker 4: and compete for one of the open doors at guard.
Speaker 2: You know, I mean we kind of assessed the board
Speaker 2: and you know, in the fourth round there was probably
Speaker 2: a couple opportunities to maybe get somebody. Quite honestly, you know,
Speaker 2: looking at Tez and looking at TJ. You know, we
Speaker 2: kind of knew when we had a chance to select
Speaker 2: those guys that we might miss out on a you know,
Speaker 2: maybe one of the better guards available on the third
Speaker 2: day that'd being the case. You know, we drafted a
Speaker 2: couple of guards last year that we feel really good about.
Speaker 2: And we saw Ben Cleveland, we saw his his growth
Speaker 2: last year as a player. We were excited about Andrew
Speaker 2: who's coming off the injury. So you know, I think
Speaker 2: we have some viable guys to compete, and like I said,
Speaker 2: I think Nick Samak has a chance to work in
Speaker 2: there as well, and we've got some other veteran guys
Speaker 2: that we think have a chance as well. So I'm
Speaker 2: excited about the group overall. And you know, I don't
Speaker 2: have any Honestly, I don't feel too bad about it,
Speaker 2: just because of the type of guys we got in
Speaker 2: the fourth and fifth round.
Speaker 5: Eric with TJ.
Speaker 6: I mean, a lot of people haven't projected second round,
Speaker 6: and I was kind of go to things like, why
Speaker 6: would you why do you think he you know, fell
Speaker 6: so suddenly, because it seemed like maybe worth thinking he
Speaker 6: was could be.
Speaker 3: Drafting much er.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I can't speak to other teams. We really
Speaker 2: liked him, and you know, honestly, you know, we we
Speaker 2: we've doubled up on positions before probably four or five times,
Speaker 2: and it's worked out well for us. And you know, honestly,
Speaker 2: we would have taken him a lot higher. Have we
Speaker 2: not taken Nate, I would have to say. So, you know,
Speaker 2: he didn't necessarily have a great forty time. He had
Speaker 2: the big big twelve pro dae. Yeah, he did not
Speaker 2: run at the combine, so you know that might have
Speaker 2: hurt him a little bit. But you know, for us
Speaker 2: like you're looking at him. You know, we see the length,
Speaker 2: we see the size, we see the leaping ability, his
Speaker 2: ability to play the football. He's a tough guy. He
Speaker 2: tackles well. We're excited. We think he's gonna have a
Speaker 2: chip on his shoulder and play well.
Speaker 7: Eric, do you kind of view Rashen and Olie a
Speaker 7: little bit as like this year to keep Mitchell less
Speaker 7: since they you know, he can maybe come in contributed way.
Speaker 7: Guy who operates in space has you know, a lot speed,
Speaker 7: kind of out of the gate.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's right. You know, he's an explosive guy.
Speaker 2: I think he runs hard, he finishes his runs, he
Speaker 2: catches the ball well, he can run routes. He's a
Speaker 2: good pass protector. And like I said, at the senior
Speaker 2: ball he was a guy that I noticed very quickly
Speaker 2: and he got hurt. But during the week in practice
Speaker 2: he was very, very explosive, and I think we all
Speaker 2: took note and we had him visit, you know, a
Speaker 2: few weeks ago. He's an interesting kid. He's got a
Speaker 2: great background other than the fact that he's from Cleveland,
Speaker 2: of course, but he is a great background, and I
Speaker 2: think he's gonna be a good player for US. John
Speaker 2: I know at one of his meetings you've said that
Speaker 2: Josh Johnson would be the backup quarterback drafting Devin Larry,
Speaker 2: does that change anything?
Speaker 8: Will you be computing for that spot?
Speaker 9: Josh will be the backup quarterback, and I think Devon
Speaker 9: will develop. You know, he'll probably be the third quarterback
Speaker 9: this year somewhere in fashion growing to the job as
Speaker 9: we go.
Speaker 8: Question for David or Ara, I mean Ali.
Speaker 10: And Leary, guys who have talents within Ali's fall.
Speaker 7: Because of the fumbles eleven fumbles and.
Speaker 10: There's college career the last two years, and then Clary
Speaker 10: with I think twelve interceptions last year. What are the
Speaker 10: skills that stand out to you? They you know, you
Speaker 10: guys think that you can make these players less.
Speaker 4: Turnoff or from and kind of harness the pure abilities.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I talked about the skills with Rashine.
Speaker 2: You know, he's an explosive player. I think one of
Speaker 2: the reasons that Rashine, if you say he fell, I
Speaker 2: mean he fell, was he heard his bicep. You know,
Speaker 2: so that's probably one of the reasons. But when we
Speaker 2: evaluate running backs, you know, we're looking for specific things
Speaker 2: and you know, certainly, ball security is one of those things.
Speaker 2: But this is an explosive guy, very shifty, good vision,
Speaker 2: he runs hard, all those different things as far as
Speaker 2: Devin goes, you know, I think T Martin does an
Speaker 2: excellent job of evaluating. And he thinks he's a natural thrower.
Speaker 2: He thinks he's an accurate passer. He loves the kid,
Speaker 2: he thinks he's got the right mentality to come in
Speaker 2: and compete and improve. And so you know, for me,
Speaker 2: it's it's similar to how I feel about kickers. You
Speaker 2: know who better to evaluate quarterbacks than a quarterback a
Speaker 2: quarterback coach who played in the league. You know who
Speaker 2: better to evaluate kickers than a kicking coach. And so
Speaker 2: I think he did a phenomenal job. And he's very
Speaker 2: very excited about Devon and so wait.
Speaker 1: He didd When you look at Devontes, just kind of
Speaker 1: what stands up to you about his game outageans.
Speaker 11: This is a vertical explosiveness, ability to get behind coverage,
Speaker 11: take the top off the defense, make big plays.
Speaker 8: He is a threat.
Speaker 11: And he also does it at at his size. I mean,
Speaker 11: he's not a small guy and he doesn't play small downfield.
Speaker 11: He can put pressure on the defense and he's able
Speaker 11: to make some contested catches downfield, and I think that
Speaker 11: bodes well.
Speaker 8: For our offense and our quarter Beck.
Speaker 11: He didn't really have the the week that he wanted
Speaker 11: at Mobile during the Singer Bowl, but Pro Day was great.
Speaker 12: Combine was great.
Speaker 11: The thing I really like most about him is just
Speaker 11: he's encountered some athletic adversity in his life and he's overcome.
Speaker 11: And he's a really mentally tough kid as well as
Speaker 11: physically tough, and he works at his craft and he's
Speaker 11: a great teammate. So outside of those physical traits that
Speaker 11: he has, he's got a lot of intangibles as well.
Speaker 13: Eric.
Speaker 3: I know there's some drafts where you will be like,
Speaker 3: you know, certain picks that you're hoping and they're not
Speaker 3: not there. You feel like this year with it seems
Speaker 3: like value, you know where you're getting.
Speaker 5: Do you feel overall with.
Speaker 6: This draft class that you got pretty exceptionable value overall?
Speaker 2: I do. I think this was one year that the board,
Speaker 2: you know, you'll often hear me say, oh man, we
Speaker 2: had a chance, we missed out on some guys, but
Speaker 2: you know, this year we were patient, and the board
Speaker 2: more often than not not in every single case, but
Speaker 2: the best player was at a position of need, and
Speaker 2: so we basically started just checking off boxes, working our
Speaker 2: way down through each pick, and we were able to
Speaker 2: just kind of like just cross them off, cross them off,
Speaker 2: cross them off with a really good player. So from
Speaker 2: that standpoint, I think it was it was good. It
Speaker 2: was really good. And I think the coaches and the
Speaker 2: scouts we did a good job communicating. And so one
Speaker 2: of the things we have is a dialogue throughout the
Speaker 2: draft this guy or that guy, and what do we think,
Speaker 2: how does this guy fit? How does that guy fit?
Speaker 2: You know, you might have two players at different positions
Speaker 2: and they're great of the same, and you know, you're
Speaker 2: trying to figure out, like how do you split hairs
Speaker 2: between these two players? And you do it with talking
Speaker 2: to your coaches. You do it looking at the analytics,
Speaker 2: but you also do it looking at the players that
Speaker 2: you might get in the next round or the or
Speaker 2: you know, moving back, and what does that pool of
Speaker 2: players look like at those positions. So this year I
Speaker 2: think it worked out extremely well.
Speaker 3: That's going off of that. Do you think that we're able.
Speaker 6: To answer or check off your off season to be
Speaker 6: in the way you expected to all.
Speaker 14: The things that you thought could be answers here.
Speaker 8: I like you were able to answer that well.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think you can always do better in
Speaker 2: different ways. I mean, so you know, we're not finished
Speaker 2: for sure. I'm not gonna sit up here today and say, oh,
Speaker 2: the team is set. We've got this great team. We
Speaker 2: have a lot of work to do and there's a
Speaker 2: lot of different ways.
Speaker 8: To do that.
Speaker 2: We'll have a lot of opportunities between now in September
Speaker 2: to build the team. I do think that. Again, I'll
Speaker 2: credit the scouts and the coaches and John and Steve
Speaker 2: and everybody for the work they put in putting us
Speaker 2: in position to have a good draft, to get players
Speaker 2: that we like. And I know some of these guys
Speaker 2: won't be as good as we think they're gonna be.
Speaker 2: But I know some of these guys will be better
Speaker 2: than we think they're gonna be. And that's exciting and
Speaker 2: that's just the nature of the draft.
Speaker 4: That's okay, John, how do you see number three safety
Speaker 4: role as far as what do you kind of consider
Speaker 4: internal options?
Speaker 5: I know or Darius Washington's.
Speaker 12: Played a lot of nickel, and I know you drafted
Speaker 12: came but do you see that as a potential area
Speaker 12: where you may need a few.
Speaker 9: More bodies possibly. I know Eric's not going to rest.
Speaker 9: I mean, I think Eric is pretty much proven that
Speaker 9: he's going to be looking for guys, you know, twenty
Speaker 9: four to seven all three and sixty five days a year.
Speaker 9: So but those those two guys are good options. I thought,
Speaker 9: you know, our Darius is really a good player, and
Speaker 9: just a matter of him staying healthy and getting some
Speaker 9: time on task and he can play safety or Nickel
Speaker 9: can go outside and get you out. Very diverse player.
Speaker 9: I'm a big Ardarius fan. I think he's going to
Speaker 9: have a great year. And then so new Seat is
Speaker 9: a guy we were talking about right at the end.
Speaker 9: It's so much love between the scouts and the coaches.
Speaker 9: In some ways, you know, he's kind of similar to
Speaker 9: that guy from Iowa whose name will not be mentioned
Speaker 9: since he's playing in the division here, but we appreciate
Speaker 9: Geno and all he did for us, but kind of
Speaker 9: a similar kind of a pick a real heavy player,
Speaker 9: really productive player. So he's going to have every opportunity
Speaker 9: there than whoever else you know, Eric finds for us.
Speaker 9: We'll coach him up.
Speaker 5: So we'll see what.
Speaker 12: Happens, and we may have an opportunity.
Speaker 2: Just to add to that, we may have an opportunity
Speaker 2: in the next couple of hours to get some pretty
Speaker 2: good free agents at that position because players, talented players
Speaker 2: will see that we're not as deep at that position
Speaker 2: as we are at some other positions.
Speaker 3: Eric, since we're not gonna be able to talk next
Speaker 3: week unless we are adopt the way, are you what's
Speaker 3: your thoughts on picking up Rock?
Speaker 2: Yeah, if we talk next week, I'll let you know.
Speaker 2: We'll have all We'll have an announcement probably in the
Speaker 2: next few days.
Speaker 8: I would think, have you made it determination yet or uh?
Speaker 2: You know what I learned from Ozzie never to make
Speaker 2: a decision until you have to, and that has served
Speaker 2: me well. And uh, I think it's smart usually to
Speaker 2: act that way.
Speaker 4: John Receiver And obviously it's gonna look very similar to
Speaker 4: last year without hoping h though from the guys running
Speaker 4: it back with zay Rashad Nelson, what are you kind
Speaker 4: of looking for in terms of internal improved meant for
Speaker 4: those guys to make that position and work anyway.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I'm excited about the wide receiver position. I'm looking
Speaker 9: forward to seeing this offense come together and we've been working.
Speaker 9: We've been working the personnel side of it, we've been
Speaker 9: working the scheme side of it. We've been working with
Speaker 9: the individual players developmentally. You put all those things together
Speaker 9: and you and you and you get out there and
Speaker 9: you start practicing and you get ready to play games.
Speaker 9: This is a very talented group, you know, and anybody
Speaker 9: that wants to challenge that bringing on, you know, you
Speaker 9: gotta you gotta line up and play against us, and
Speaker 9: we'll see if we don't have playmakers out there running
Speaker 9: around making plays. I'm personally very excited about this group.
Speaker 10: Uh.
Speaker 9: You know, obviously Tess is a great addition, and the
Speaker 9: guys that are already there are going to really have
Speaker 9: good seasons.
Speaker 12: So ready to go, people.
Speaker 8: What do you like about TJ.
Speaker 12: Tampus? It was sad and what sort of stands out
Speaker 12: about there?
Speaker 11: His athleticism at his size, he's long, he can flip
Speaker 11: his hips, he can change direction as well form a
Speaker 11: wide out. So I think there is some some built in,
Speaker 11: uh upside to him as a player. He just kind
Speaker 11: of plays a game smoothly. He doesn't look too stressed,
Speaker 11: He tackles well. Uh, he's a guy who's gonna compete.
Speaker 11: He'll run down on kicks and and and be a
Speaker 11: special teams guy for us. Good make up, good mentality. Uh,
Speaker 11: smart football player.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 11: They speak well, they speak highly of him at the school.
Speaker 11: So again, anytime you have a a size corner, you're
Speaker 11: always intrigued. But I think he's got the necessary movement
Speaker 11: skills at that size along with his length, uh, to
Speaker 11: give us something as a as a coverage player and
Speaker 11: then also be able to support the run.
Speaker 8: You had.
Speaker 10: Uh.
Speaker 3: There's many times were at the trades this year he
Speaker 3: didn't make a trade. Do you think uh he was
Speaker 3: if bother him at all? Do you think he was
Speaker 3: closed to.
Speaker 8: Make some trades?
Speaker 3: What do you think?
Speaker 2: Nah?
Speaker 11: I don't think it really bothered him that much, as
Speaker 11: long as we got the player he wanted.
Speaker 15: Uh.
Speaker 11: I think he might have bothered Steve more than it
Speaker 11: bothered him. But uh, I think I think we were
Speaker 11: pretty content. You know that w the phone was ringing
Speaker 11: uh pretty regularly some parts of the uh of the draft,
Speaker 11: particularly on Day two. So uh, I.
Speaker 5: Think he's all right.
Speaker 8: I think I think he's happy.
Speaker 9: I mean, I mean, just follow up on that. There
Speaker 9: were lots of opportunities to make trades and uh, and
Speaker 9: probably because of the quality of the players that were there.
Speaker 9: But the players were more valuable than the trade and
Speaker 9: that's why we're so happy with the draft more.
Speaker 8: Eric, Obviously, you guys made nine picks this year's draft.
Speaker 8: Keep the projector that having eleven the next year's draft.
Speaker 5: Is that a comfortable number that you're comfortable with? Him?
Speaker 7: Is there you know, kind of a long term plan
Speaker 7: for just the.
Speaker 2: Cheering for ball with guys that free in Well, you know,
Speaker 2: we we uh, as I said before, we we lost
Speaker 2: some players. We lost some good players this year and
Speaker 2: it's now time to build back up again. And so
Speaker 2: you know, I like having math isn't great, but I
Speaker 2: guess it's twenty picks right in the next couple of
Speaker 2: years this year and next year. If it's a good
Speaker 2: draft next year, we'll probably have more than eleven picks,
Speaker 2: you know. And I won't know that until we start
Speaker 2: really getting into the meeting of the draft and looking
Speaker 2: at players. But you know, we need good young talent
Speaker 2: and we got to develop these guys and they got
Speaker 2: to play for us. And that's the reality that we
Speaker 2: find ourselves in. And so the draft is. You know,
Speaker 2: we say it, but it's critically important for a team
Speaker 2: that wants to stay relevant and have good players and
Speaker 2: have a good team and win games. You gotta have
Speaker 2: good young talent. So that's the mission. We'll get started
Speaker 2: up in a few weeks looking at spring scouting. Our
Speaker 2: scouts will be in and they'll start looking at players
Speaker 2: and we'll start the whole process over again.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Johnny said that, we're you were willing to share
Speaker 4: which position or your assignment this season before the draft.
Speaker 12: You're willing to share what you were assignments. I was.
Speaker 9: I was given the corners. Yeah, I had the I
Speaker 9: had the edge of guys on defense. I had the
Speaker 9: offensive line. I had the offensive line all the offensive
Speaker 9: line positions. I had the wide receivers, and I had
Speaker 9: the running backs.
Speaker 12: So those are my jobs.
Speaker 5: Did I do?
Speaker 2: Okay?
Speaker 14: He did well.
Speaker 2: I mean I wanted him to do more, but he
Speaker 2: was always taking trips and things, leaving at four o'clock.
Speaker 2: I mean, he just he just you know, the season ending,
Speaker 2: he's like, I'm out of here, you know, And so
Speaker 2: it was a little frustrating on my on my end,
Speaker 2: but you know, we found a way to make it work.
Speaker 8: You were cleaning up day.
Speaker 12: I had a good yea.
Speaker 9: He had a good draft, had a good work speaks
Speaker 9: for itself.
Speaker 5: Thanks.
Speaker 1: Now let's go to wide receiver Davontes Walker out of UNC,
Speaker 1: who the Ravens picked at number picked thirteen. It congratulations
Speaker 1: just for you, you know, kind of in this moment.
Speaker 1: What's what are your thoughts about joining the Ravens. Is
Speaker 1: this the team that you felt like was connected to
Speaker 1: you through about this process and how you feel like
Speaker 1: you fit on this team in this offense.
Speaker 16: Yes, sir, When I when I was at the combine
Speaker 16: members Shiver coach, it was an instant connection, Like I
Speaker 16: felt that I felt it there.
Speaker 5: You know, I'm very excited to be a raven got
Speaker 5: a good, good.
Speaker 16: Organization, good history behind them, got a great quarterback in Lamar,
Speaker 16: and got a great offense and Derrick Henry and I'm
Speaker 16: just glad to be.
Speaker 5: A part of that.
Speaker 1: And just following up on that, what do you think
Speaker 1: about catching passes from Lamar Jackson?
Speaker 5: Yes, sir, it's definitely an honor.
Speaker 16: I've been watching Lamar since he came out of high school,
Speaker 16: watching him at Louisville.
Speaker 5: I think he's a great football player.
Speaker 16: You know, he's somebody I wish I was on his team,
Speaker 16: and now that you know, that wish is coming true.
Speaker 5: So he's a great player.
Speaker 16: I love watching him, so looking forward to being on
Speaker 16: side of him.
Speaker 12: Let's go with Gianna and then Ryan Mink.
Speaker 5: Congratulations.
Speaker 16: I know you would have played against the Ravens first
Speaker 16: hund Nick Wigan.
Speaker 5: So what do you remember about that? What is it
Speaker 5: like to now be teammates with him? Yeah? He was.
Speaker 5: He was a very good player.
Speaker 16: Honestly, he probably the best player I've ever win against.
Speaker 16: He was like he was very you know, fluent, his technique,
Speaker 16: very fast. He was one of the few guys that
Speaker 16: was hit for hip with me. And I'm you know,
Speaker 16: I'm glad to be able to compete against against him
Speaker 16: every day. Going against him, it was a fun game.
Speaker 16: He's a great player, and you know, I'm looking forward
Speaker 16: to going against the Mari Dame practice.
Speaker 12: As welcome to Baltimore.
Speaker 14: Just wondering how how happy are you to have the
Speaker 14: n C double A behind you and not have to
Speaker 14: worry about that, and just how much of a distraction
Speaker 14: was that for you last year? I mean, he came
Speaker 14: back and put up big time numbers, displayed all that
Speaker 14: going on kind of in the background.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm very happy it's in the past. Glad.
Speaker 16: Uh, you know, glad they made finally made the right decision.
Speaker 16: At the time, I was just happy to be able
Speaker 16: to be on the field and show while I belonged
Speaker 16: on that power five level.
Speaker 5: So you know, it's no, it's no bad blood there
Speaker 5: with me or the n C A A.
Speaker 16: I'm just thankful they they made that decision and I
Speaker 16: was able to do what I had to do to
Speaker 16: get to this point.
Speaker 12: Let's go to jeffsoniback and then create the parks.
Speaker 13: Please, my apologies if I missed this. I signed down
Speaker 13: a bit late. But what was your involvement with the
Speaker 13: Ravens in the pre draft process and did you get
Speaker 13: the sense at any point that they would be one
Speaker 13: of the most likely teams to take you here one
Speaker 13: of the middle rounds?
Speaker 5: Mm hm.
Speaker 16: So I didn't really talk to him at the cerebol.
Speaker 16: I talked to him at the combine. It was a
Speaker 16: good conversation, good meeting. I didn't I really didn't have
Speaker 16: a thought about him after the combine because I didn't
Speaker 16: talk so much. But they did call me here and
Speaker 16: there through after combine. So it was funny my high
Speaker 16: school head coach, and he had a feeling they was
Speaker 16: gonna take me with a lot of things they've been
Speaker 16: hearing about.
Speaker 5: Like what they need and stuff like that. So the
Speaker 5: Ravens have been in the back of my mind a
Speaker 5: little bit.
Speaker 17: He did, how are you Your ability as a deep
Speaker 17: threat has been praised. I'm just curious from your perspective,
Speaker 17: what do you think. Some of the strengths of your game.
Speaker 5: Are definitely vertical threat.
Speaker 16: But I feel like like the speed because at the
Speaker 16: top of the round things like that, I feel like
Speaker 16: I'm very good aspect and running away from defenders. Still
Speaker 16: a little work at the top of the round, clean
Speaker 16: up steps and things like that, but I feel like
Speaker 16: releasing off the ball and you know, being a vertical threat.
Speaker 16: Those are the two, you know, strong points in my game.
Speaker 12: The Brian Whacker and then.
Speaker 18: Nick hey Tees, congratulations, thank you. Growing up, was there
Speaker 18: a receiver you tried to sort of emulate or or
Speaker 18: or favorite player you had grown up?
Speaker 5: Oh?
Speaker 16: Yeah, Ravens fans not gonna like it. But aj Green
Speaker 16: with somebody I love growing up. I love watching him.
Speaker 16: I kind of em try to emlate my game. After him,
Speaker 16: I locked him a little bit, like a big fast
Speaker 16: can make those contested catches, and like he just continued
Speaker 16: to get better every year he was in the league.
Speaker 5: So you know, I love watching him, even when he
Speaker 5: was at Georgia.
Speaker 19: So that A. J.
Speaker 5: Green was was that person for me.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 5: As welcome to Baltimore. Congratulations. We talked about the NCAA earlier.
Speaker 11: What did you take from that experience and do you
Speaker 11: think that that can did you learn anything from that
Speaker 11: experience and do you think.
Speaker 5: That's going to help you transition to the NFL.
Speaker 16: What I took from that is how much I cared,
Speaker 16: you know, how how much I cared about my teammates
Speaker 16: and relied on them. Without them, I probably wouldn't have
Speaker 16: got through that situation. And that helped me become a
Speaker 16: better teammate because that helped me wanted to stay around
Speaker 16: them while I wasn't playing things like that and shared
Speaker 16: him on while they was out there competing and things
Speaker 16: like that.
Speaker 5: So that's something something I learned about myself.
Speaker 16: And yeah, I learned how good of a teammate I was,
Speaker 16: And I feel like that's what I bring to to
Speaker 16: this organization.
Speaker 12: Go to Gianna and then Ryan Mink Again.
Speaker 17: I'm just curious what you already know about the wide
Speaker 17: receivers on the Ravens froster and how you feel like
Speaker 17: you fit in or add something different to the script.
Speaker 12: Mm hmm.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 16: Jay Flowers watched him at Boston College. He's a good
Speaker 16: piece there and working inside and outside. He's like the
Speaker 16: rock textanition of the room. I know Odell wasn't there
Speaker 16: no more, but he's one of the guys I watched
Speaker 16: growing up.
Speaker 5: When he was there. He was a good player.
Speaker 16: He's that good veteran piece for him. What's the guy
Speaker 16: name on the outside, came from Minnesota.
Speaker 5: I forgot his name, but he you say what yeah,
Speaker 5: Shot Bateman.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 16: He's a good player, big physical, holds down the outside.
Speaker 16: He's able to stretch the field and be that vertical
Speaker 16: piece for Baltimore.
Speaker 5: He's done some good things on tape.
Speaker 16: So this room there, it's just a lot of great
Speaker 16: pieces for Lamar, and I feel like with my skill set,
Speaker 16: I'll be able to add to.
Speaker 5: You know, add on to be you know, deadly weapon
Speaker 5: weapon down the line.
Speaker 14: Yeah, Tessa, I'm just wondering you talked about Lamar a
Speaker 14: little bit earlier. Just you know, is is he somebody
Speaker 14: that even looking from Afar you were just a big
Speaker 14: time fan of. And then second, you know Todd Monkins offense.
Speaker 14: You know you probably saw that that Georgia from Afar.
Speaker 14: Just your thoughts on joining an offense like that that
Speaker 14: likes to get the ball to playmakers, speed guys in space.
Speaker 5: Yeah, like Lamar.
Speaker 16: Been a huge fan of Lamar, Like he used to
Speaker 16: do you know, amazing things at Louisville.
Speaker 5: Uh like that he was.
Speaker 16: He was one of those guys you you want to
Speaker 16: be like, you want to go off and you know,
Speaker 16: do the same type of things he does.
Speaker 5: Like I said, he's just a great football player. He
Speaker 5: makes the game fun.
Speaker 16: And you know that offense Baltimore, they showcase a lot
Speaker 16: of you know, great things. You see players like you
Speaker 16: said with play Megan, players like Jay Fliers making big
Speaker 16: players down the field and like you said, he's big
Speaker 16: and trying to get his his playmakers ball get the
Speaker 16: ball in the end. I feel like, you know, I
Speaker 16: can I can be one of those guys to do
Speaker 16: that for this organization.
Speaker 12: We go to Kreta and then close it out with
Speaker 12: Jonas Shaeffer.
Speaker 17: Can you just walk me through the moment that you
Speaker 17: got the call for Baltimore.
Speaker 5: What was going through your head?
Speaker 17: What was it like on your and sharing that with
Speaker 17: your family.
Speaker 16: Yeah, I got the call as soon as he told
Speaker 16: me it was a Baltimore already, you know, I teared up,
Speaker 16: kind of broke down. It was a moment I've been
Speaker 16: waiting for since since I was four years old. Told
Speaker 16: my grandmother and mother, this is what I want to do.
Speaker 16: I wanted to play in the NFL. That's always been
Speaker 16: my wife. Football has always you know, kept me, you know,
Speaker 16: kept me level headed. So hearing those words that I'm
Speaker 16: gonna be a part of the NFL roster, it broke
Speaker 16: me down to tears. Family yelling background when I told
Speaker 16: him it was Baltimore. They was very excited. They know
Speaker 16: how rich this organization is. But when we see Baltimore
Speaker 16: every Sunday, you know, Baltimore as the history and winning,
Speaker 16: so this is this is a good organization to be
Speaker 16: a part of and things like that, and just very
Speaker 16: ready to get there.
Speaker 20: Hey, Donta's congratulations. Man, Quicken, do you have a preference
Speaker 20: for how we you know right about you?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 20: You know, is it do you want Test, do you
Speaker 20: want davontees?
Speaker 5: Which everyone to comfortable? Which all doesn't matter to me?
Speaker 16: Me me personally, I do prefer Davante's because a lot
Speaker 16: of people do think my name is actually Test and
Speaker 16: they don't know my whole name.
Speaker 5: So I would say DeVante is me personally.
Speaker 16: But whichever one is comfortable for you, you can put Test
Speaker 16: or Davonte's.
Speaker 5: It doesn't matter to me, Okay.
Speaker 20: And then secondly, uh, obviously the U n c H
Speaker 20: offense is, you know, a pretty vertical offense. I think
Speaker 20: people said that you know you your route treat was
Speaker 20: a lot of vertical stuff. I mean, do you feel
Speaker 20: like you have a more tools in your bag to
Speaker 20: have a more kind of diverse pattern of routes and stuff.
Speaker 5: Yeah, so I definitely do.
Speaker 16: I feel like you and see, they did a good job,
Speaker 16: and you know, you love what we had all the
Speaker 16: best deep threat, so they try to keep me on
Speaker 16: those type of routes because that's where most most of
Speaker 16: my big plays came from.
Speaker 5: So but I feel like I do have a lot
Speaker 5: of other.
Speaker 16: Tools in the bag, a lot of other routes that
Speaker 16: I love running and getting get open on as well.
Speaker 5: So and I'm you know, that's something I'm I'm very
Speaker 5: eager and ready to showcase on this level.
Speaker 1: The Raves also got a cornerback in the first round TJ. Tampa, Iowa,
Speaker 1: stay who they took at number one thirty. Here's what
Speaker 1: he had to say when he met with the media.
Speaker 15: Hey, TJ, congratulations. Did you get any indication that when
Speaker 15: the Ravens were going to be on the clock that
Speaker 15: you were going to be there pick at that point?
Speaker 5: I don't know, sir.
Speaker 21: Just before I got the call, I really didn't have
Speaker 21: too much of an insight on where I was going
Speaker 21: my agent.
Speaker 8: I spoke to my agent a little bit.
Speaker 21: He kind of had a little bit to say to me,
Speaker 21: but I didn't know exactly.
Speaker 12: Right, Mick, Yeah, TJ.
Speaker 14: I think a lot of draft analysts had you as
Speaker 14: an early day two pick, even some in the first round,
Speaker 14: you know, and here you are in the fourth Just
Speaker 14: you know, what do you think kind of led to that?
Speaker 14: And does that kind of put a chip on your
Speaker 14: shoulder to prove wrong that a lot of teams missed
Speaker 14: out on a really good corner.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 21: They always said the draft is unpredictable, and of course
Speaker 21: I would I would have liked to go on earlier
Speaker 21: and it's definitely a tip of my shoulder from here
Speaker 21: on now for all the teams that skipped me and
Speaker 21: all the corners that went before me.
Speaker 8: And I'm gonna use that as a fuel every day.
Speaker 12: Go to Brian Whacker and then Garrett Downing.
Speaker 18: Hey, TJ, congrats. Some two things. First, what is what
Speaker 18: does the TJ stand for?
Speaker 5: Tampa?
Speaker 18: Junr is like, how did you how did you come
Speaker 18: up with with Tampa? You just wanted to go with
Speaker 18: Tampa Tampa.
Speaker 21: I mean it was just I mean I didn't come
Speaker 21: up with Sorry, you kind of grew up on it.
Speaker 18: And secondly, how do you think you'll fit into the
Speaker 18: Ravens scheme? Just based on what you know and what
Speaker 18: you've seen, I don't know how familiar you are.
Speaker 5: I feel like I'll fit in perfectly.
Speaker 21: I know the Ravens do a great job is developing
Speaker 21: corners and there's a big corner roll the Humphrey getting
Speaker 21: in to learn from him as much as I can,
Speaker 21: And yeah, they take a pride. Toughness is something that
Speaker 21: they take seriously. And then I feel like I'll fit perfectly.
Speaker 10: Hean TJ.
Speaker 1: Congratulations. Obviously, the Rivers took Nick Wiggins in the first round.
Speaker 1: I'm curious if you guys have any you know, relationships
Speaker 1: you get to know each other at all during the
Speaker 1: pre draft process, and what are your thoughts of teaming
Speaker 1: up with him here?
Speaker 21: Well, yeah, we were actually combine roommates, so I got
Speaker 21: to speak to him a lot. Then that's kind of
Speaker 21: a that's something crazy that happened. So yeah, I got
Speaker 21: to speak to him a lot.
Speaker 1: And was that just a random thing that you guys
Speaker 1: ended up being combat roommates?
Speaker 8: Yes, sir, we didn't know each other before that.
Speaker 1: Okay, And then I guess just what kind of stands
Speaker 1: out to you about about his game and your thoughts
Speaker 1: on teaming up on the same defense.
Speaker 21: Yeah, he's a great corner. Of course, Pete is a
Speaker 21: big thing. He's a bahall hawk everything. I can't wait
Speaker 21: to learn from him and deal with him in practice.
Speaker 12: Go back to Jams and then Ryan again.
Speaker 5: Yeah with with t J.
Speaker 15: I mean, what was kind of you said your combine
Speaker 15: what was that experience like, I mean, do you have
Speaker 15: any stories from you and Nate being there together?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 21: You know, we really we don't get to talk too
Speaker 21: much because we're busy all day. The most I ever
Speaker 21: asked him is when he said in his alarm, So
Speaker 21: that's about the only thing we got to talk about.
Speaker 14: Yeah, TJ, can you just talk about what do you
Speaker 14: feel like are your strengths as a player?
Speaker 21: Definitely physicality, just with aspects of the game, if that's
Speaker 21: point of contact, getting off of blocks, making tackles, being
Speaker 21: a willing tackler, and just pressed, getting hands on, getting
Speaker 21: receivers out their routes.
Speaker 8: So Karita parks, she's she's on mute.
Speaker 19: Yeah, okay, sorry about that, TJ. You talked about having
Speaker 19: a chip on your shoulder. What message do you have
Speaker 19: for Ravens fans? You know, who are they getting?
Speaker 2: What can they expect?
Speaker 21: Yeah, I'll say that you're getting somebody that's gonna work
Speaker 21: hard every day. I've been at the bottom of a
Speaker 21: depth part before and I'm willing to work my way
Speaker 21: up again. And that's gonna be a tip of my
Speaker 21: shoulder every day. And I can't wait to get started.
Speaker 21: Excited to get started.
Speaker 12: Go to Cliff Brown and then Gianna.
Speaker 5: Yeah, TJ.
Speaker 12: Congratulations.
Speaker 22: Just curious do you have any relationship with Charlie Kohler
Speaker 22: from our state connection and also, do you know any
Speaker 22: other Ravens And what do you know about you know,
Speaker 22: the Ravens. I guess culture and tradition here in Baltimore.
Speaker 5: Charlie, we're cool.
Speaker 8: Of course we don't.
Speaker 21: We don't talk like a lot, but you know, when
Speaker 21: we see each other, it's always a good conversation catching up.
Speaker 21: And Yeah, the Ravens they're big on pride and toughness
Speaker 21: throughout all their positions, and they're they're gonna compete with
Speaker 21: you no matter what the whole game. So this is
Speaker 21: a this is the organization that I would love to
Speaker 21: play for.
Speaker 5: Congratulations.
Speaker 16: I know you were saying you weren't super excepting the
Speaker 16: Ravens specifically.
Speaker 5: So when they called you, what was that call like?
Speaker 5: Is who did you get to talk to? And what
Speaker 5: did they tell you?
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's it's something that's going on.
Speaker 21: It's just the real just getting that call and getting
Speaker 21: able to talk to the defensive coordinator and just hearing
Speaker 21: everybody and how they were excited to have me, and
Speaker 21: that's a good hearing coming from them and just being
Speaker 21: even more excited to get started.
Speaker 12: It's good to Kyle Phoenix and then we'll close it
Speaker 12: out with Ryan mink adj. Congratulations.
Speaker 23: Just read that after you committed to Iowa State that
Speaker 23: Kirby Smart from Georgia was making a big push to
Speaker 23: sign you to Georgia after seeing you at a seven
Speaker 23: on seven trim to me, just you talk about why
Speaker 23: your main loyal to Iowa State and it's that kind
Speaker 23: of a big value of yours and what's that kind
Speaker 23: of mean to you?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 21: So I trusted in Coach Campbell and the whole organization
Speaker 21: from day one, and they trusted in me from day one.
Speaker 8: And I feel like I had chances to leave.
Speaker 21: I never wanted to because they believed in me and
Speaker 21: they stay true to there were every step of the way,
Speaker 21: and so I couldn't. I couldn't never like leave them.
Speaker 21: And I love everybody there and I love the fans,
Speaker 21: the culture and everybody.
Speaker 14: Yeah, TJ, I'm just curious, what was your day like
Speaker 14: yesterday as you were waiting for the pick? What was
Speaker 14: going through your mind as you went to bed yesterday?
Speaker 14: And how tough was that weight this whole time?
Speaker 21: Yeah, it's always tough, just sitting there just patiently waiting
Speaker 21: and for your name to get called and then it doesn't.
Speaker 8: You can't think too heavily on it. You can't drift the.
Speaker 21: Way anywhere, but just got to stay locked in and
Speaker 21: just know that your name is gonna get called and
Speaker 21: be ready whenever you get there.
Speaker 1: In the sixth round, the Ravens took a backup quarterback
Speaker 1: Devin Leary out of Kentucky. Also played at NC State
Speaker 1: earlier in his career. Here's what he had to say
Speaker 1: during a zoom call with local reporters. Hey, Devin, congratulations,
Speaker 1: we'll welcome to Baltimore. Just which big picture just cut?
Speaker 1: What's your reaction to the to the pick and your
Speaker 1: thoughts on joining the room? That, of course has Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson man.
Speaker 24: The blessing a blessing, I mean, honestly completely.
Speaker 5: Took by surprise.
Speaker 24: I talked to Coach Martin at the combine, had an
Speaker 24: awesome conversation, got the talk ball with him, and you know,
Speaker 24: I just remember telling him, Coach, anything I could do
Speaker 24: to help this team is why I want to be
Speaker 24: a part of the Ravens. And to get that call
Speaker 24: and kind of turn my whole world around was truly
Speaker 24: a dream come.
Speaker 14: True, all right, Ryan Mink, Yeah, Devin, just your thoughts
Speaker 14: about Lamar Jackson, I mean, playing with him specifically, Uh,
Speaker 14: just what's going through your mind?
Speaker 5: Man? A dog, A dog.
Speaker 24: He's someone you know when I when I committed to
Speaker 24: Anti State out of high school, was someone that you know,
Speaker 24: obviously I followed. And being able to play in the
Speaker 24: ACC and turn on film in the past see and
Speaker 24: him carve up defenses really an awesome opportunity for me
Speaker 24: to come in and meet him and you know, learn
Speaker 24: behind him and obviously just help as much as I
Speaker 24: can to that quarterback room.
Speaker 5: To bring value.
Speaker 17: Jameson Hensley, Yeah, was.
Speaker 15: There any point on the draft process did you think, Okay,
Speaker 15: if the Ravens you know, have a picky in you
Speaker 15: in this draft, that I might end up there.
Speaker 24: Yeah, definitely. Mean, like I said, I had great conversations
Speaker 24: with coach Martin. I know, I left a really really
Speaker 24: good impression with him, and you know, I knew they
Speaker 24: were in the market for quarterback.
Speaker 5: I didn't necessarily know.
Speaker 24: When or you know, where they were going to take
Speaker 24: a pick, but I was just really honored and blessed
Speaker 24: that it was me.
Speaker 23: Kyle Phoenix, Hey, congratulations, Devin. Can you just talk a
Speaker 23: little bit about I was reading your bio it said
Speaker 23: that you never want to go through Navy Seal slash
Speaker 23: marine training. Can you just talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 24: Yeah, So when I was at NC State, coach Dorian
Speaker 24: put us through a trial of three days former Navy
Speaker 24: Seals and you know, Marine Corps training of five am up.
Speaker 24: Rarely everyone's dressed the same. You know, we were swimming
Speaker 24: in pools at five am with guys screaming in our faces,
Speaker 24: and ultimately it was it was a you know, it
Speaker 24: was for our team to have emerging leaders, and me
Speaker 24: being a young guy obviously helped me out a ton,
Speaker 24: But when it came to the those activities, I don't
Speaker 24: think I could do what those guys do on a
Speaker 24: daily basis, right Mink.
Speaker 14: Yeah, Devin, I'm curious after your transfer to Kentucky and
Speaker 14: playing in Liam Cohen's you know, kind of pro style offense,
Speaker 14: how that adjustment you felt like went for you. What
Speaker 14: did that How did that grow you as a player
Speaker 14: and a quarterback.
Speaker 24: Yeah, I mean it was an awesome opportunity, you know,
Speaker 24: to learn from coach Cohen, who's now in the NFL
Speaker 24: with the Buccaneers, to playing a whole different system of
Speaker 24: what I wasn't used to in the past, getting under center,
Speaker 24: calm plays in the huddle.
Speaker 5: You know, ultimately I wish.
Speaker 24: We won a lot more games, but from a developmental standpoint,
Speaker 24: you know, it is the best thing I could have
Speaker 24: done to you know, put my best foot forward in
Speaker 24: the NFL and you know, bring what I can to
Speaker 24: the table to the Ravens.
Speaker 12: Go back to Kyle Phoenix.
Speaker 23: Yeah, Devin, what are just some of your strengths that
Speaker 23: you know the Ravens are getting and what are some
Speaker 23: things that you're hoping to work on with Martin and
Speaker 23: the coaching staff as well.
Speaker 24: Yes, I think you know, strength for me is just
Speaker 24: pure arm talent. You know, I truly truly believe that,
Speaker 24: you know, I throw the football, you know, not like
Speaker 24: many people in this world, something that you know, I
Speaker 24: prid myself on being able to fit the football in
Speaker 24: the tight windows and then obviously just getting around the
Speaker 24: other quarterbacks, learning from them, adapt into the NFL style,
Speaker 24: learning from coach Martin, and like I said from the beginning,
Speaker 24: you know, I want to help this team win any
Speaker 24: any way possible that I can, you know, fit myself
Speaker 24: into that room, fit my role into the team that's
Speaker 24: going to help us win more games.
Speaker 5: That's my overall goal.
Speaker 1: Evin Richardson, Welcome to the Baltimore Devin. You mentioned, of course,
Speaker 1: I know it's your dream to play in the NFL.
Speaker 7: But what you mentioned that you also would like to
Speaker 7: coach high school?
Speaker 5: Why is that? Yeah?
Speaker 24: I think, you know, in my life, when I look
Speaker 24: back at the coaches that have had the most impact
Speaker 24: on me, we're my high school coaches, because you know,
Speaker 24: coming in as a freshman, you know, not many times
Speaker 24: do you immediately know you can play college football or
Speaker 24: immediately know you can eventually become an NFL football player.
Speaker 24: And it was those coaches and mentors that I came
Speaker 24: across when I was fourteen, fifteen years old that you know,
Speaker 24: kind of opened up the light in my eyes to
Speaker 24: you know, if you have a goal in mind or
Speaker 24: a dream that you want to chase, you know, go
Speaker 24: after it. And one day I want to become that
Speaker 24: type of you know, mentor or someone for a young
Speaker 24: guy to look up to.
Speaker 1: You're listening to The Raven's Press Pass podcast. If you
Speaker 1: want a full breakdown on everything from Drafts weekend, head
Speaker 1: over to the Lounge podcast feed where Ian making I
Speaker 1: will break it all down for you. Give you our
Speaker 1: thoughts on this draft class and what it means for
Speaker 1: this team moving forward. Make sure you leave a rating
Speaker 1: and a review, and we will talk with you again
Speaker 1: soon