Very rarely do a team’s Super Bowl odds shift dramatically due to picks made in the NFL Draft. Such is the case for the Baltimore Ravens, despite the team concluding what many deemed a successful weekend of drafting.
Heading into the annual event at Allegiant Stadium, the Ravens boasted +2000 odds to win the 2023 Super Bowl via BetMGM. After the draft, the team is still sitting with those same odds, while their chances of winning the AFC (+1100) and the division (+210) also remained unchanged.
Sports betting in Maryland is currently legal, though bettors must travel to a casino to put their money down. Regulators hope online sportsbooks can set up shop ahead of the 2022-23 NFL season.
Baltimore boasted 10 draft picks heading in, including No. 14 in the first round. The team used that pick to select Kyle Hamilton, a safety out of Notre Dame who some had slated to be drafted in the top 10.
Thanks to a few moves, the Ravens left Las Vegas with 11 newly drafted players. One of those moves was a trade that sent fourth-year wide receiver Marquise Brown to Arizona, but more on that later.
Before that, let’s take a deep dive into who Baltimore got in this year’s draft.
Draft selections
- Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame: Round 1 (14)
- Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa: Round 1 (25)
- David Ojabo, Edge, Michigan: Round 2 (45)
- Travis Jones, DT, Connecticut: Round 3 (76)
- Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota: Round 4 (110)
- Jalyn Armour-Davis, CB, Alabama: Round 4 (119)
- Charlie Kolar, TE, Iowa State: Round 4 (128)
- Jordan Stout, P, Penn State: Round 4 (130)
- Isaiah Likely, TE, Coastal Carolina: Round 4 (139)
- Damarion Williams, CB, Houston: Round 4 (141)
- Tyler Badie, RB, Missouri: Round 6 (196)
As mentioned above, many viewed Hamilton as a top-10 pick. ESPN had the safety ranked as its No. 4 overall prospect, while The Athletic slotted him at No. 6. Being able to select him at No. 14 should feel like a win for the Ravens’ front office.
Baltimore kept the value train chugging along with its next pick of Linderbaum. The Iowa center is seen as one of the top offensive linemen in this year’s draft at a position of such importance in the NFL. Both ESPN and The Athletic ranked Linderbaum as their No. 19-rated prospect.
Already with two high-value picks in the bank, Baltimore wasn’t done there. The second round saw the Ravens take David Ojabo, who slid slightly due to a torn Achilles at his Pro Day in mid-March. Prior to the injury, some mocks had the Michigan edge rusher being selected among the first 20 picks. There’s a chance he redshirts the upcoming season.
The top three picks set the tone, but Baltimore continued its strong draft throughout. It got really busy in the fourth round when it made six picks, including snagging Isaiah Likely. The Coastal Carolina tight end racked up a 95.1 career grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest by any at his position in PFF history.
What they’re saying
Many media outlets list the Ravens as having one of the best drafts in the entire league, earning an “A” grade from both ESPN and The Athletic. Longtime NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN said: “Talk about a class of value. This is an outstanding haul.”
Lamar Jackson reacts to trade
The Ravens ended up with 11 picks, instead of 10, due to a couple of trades.
First, Baltimore pulled off a somewhat surprise of a move by trading Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals. The Ravens got Arizona’s No. 23 pick in exchange for the fourth-year receiver and the No. 100 pick.
The Ravens drafted Brown in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The soon-to-be 25-year-old cracked the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time in his young career last season. This trade will reunite him with his college teammate in Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
According to Peter King of NBC Sports, Brown thought Baltimore’s offense was “too conservative.”
Brown was one of the franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson’s favorite targets downfield. He was second on the team behind tight end Mark Andrews in receiving yards (1,008), receptions (91) and touchdowns (6). No other wide receiver finished with more than 515 yards or two touchdowns.
Jackson took to Twitter as the trade was being announced. While no names were specifically mentioned, the timing of the tweet has led most to believe it was in regards to the Brown trade.
He addressed it again when the Cardinals officially welcomed Brown to the team on Twitter.
While the Ravens surely had a strong draft, a recent concern among fans has been the verticality of the offense. To Brown’s point, it’s not exactly the most pass-happy unit in the league. With the speedy receiver now gone, there appears to be a hole in that regard after the team neglected to draft any receivers over the weekend.
Latest updates for Maryland bettors
Initial plans to have online and mobile sports betting options ready to go by the start of the 2022 NFL season now look less likely.
Until mobile operations clear the last legal hurdles, Maryland bettors can still visit retail sportsbooks in person at five of six of the state’s land-based casinos, including:
