Howdy folks! Welcome to The Pick Is In! That’s right, we’re back for another run with this experiment and can’t wait to see what our GMs, err, writers can cook up. If you’re unfamiliar with this series, lemme paint the picture for you. Our writers will be stepping up to the plate for a NFL franchise and act as if they have full control of the team on draft day. For each team, we’ll have two or three writers step into the front office and take over as general manager. You’ll see picks made from No. 1 overall to a sixth-rounder, bold picks will be made in unique spots, and trades will be cooked up. To highlight some of our success from 2022, we saw the Bengals trade up to take a star named Tariq Woolen in the mid 40s, the Packers snagged a stud in Jalen Pitre with the 28th overall pick, and with the 98th overall pick, the Saints struck gold with the valuable Zach Tom. This year will be no different. Our GMs will once again be showcasing their unique abilities to find intriguing talent. Whether you know it or not, the draft has already begun and it resumes with The Pick Is In. Welcome to the 2023 NFL Draft. The Baltimore Ravens are on the clock…
Matthew Townsend:
The Pick Is In: Jordan Addison WR — USC (1st Round, 23rd Overall)
Not much is known about the Ravens’ future at the moment, as much of it is inherently connected to the fate of Lamar Jackson. Whether or not he’s on the team instantly turns them from a contender into a rebuilding team, and as such will affect their draft strategy. Naturally once they trade him, they will have a new haul of draft capital in exchange, but for this exercise I’ll just be working with what they have now. What they have is only five picks in this year’s draft, and only two in the first two days. They also have glaring holes at both WR and CB that need to be filled before the season starts. With the potential that Lamar leaves, the necessity to add another wide receiver or two grows even greater, as not many QBs will be able to contend with so little at the position like Lamar has. This makes it priority number one for them in my eyes and is the reason my first-round selection is Jordan Addison.
Could Jordan Addison be the first WR taken off the board in the 2023 Draft? 🤔@Espn_Jordan | @uscfb
— NFL (@NFL) April 15, 2023
📺: 2023 #NFLDraft -- Starts Thursday, April 27 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/iBTRabGz55
Beyond Rashod Bateman, the Ravens really have nothing in terms of long-term answers at the wide receiver position. With the way the league is going currently, you generally need more than one DUDE at the position to be competitive on offense. We give the Ravens their second DUDE here with Addison. The 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner had a slightly down season at USC, mostly due to injury woes throughout the year. I don’t know that he was really ever fully healthy after the Oregon State game, but before that he was averaging almost 100 yards a game, so I’m really not concerned about his production, especially with the elite 2021 season on his résumé. On the field, Addison is the craftiest route runner in the class. He has a weird sort of loose athleticism that allows him to be extremely fluid as he transitions into his breaks, leaving no room for extra, wasteful movements. This makes him a menace against man coverage, although he has a knack for sitting down in zones as well.
#USC WR Jordan Addison is a master at creating separation.
— Jared Tokarz (@JaredNFLDraft) January 23, 2023
6’0 175 lbs - one of the elite route runners in this class. He will be open early and often in the NFL.
Runs a beautiful whip route here:
pic.twitter.com/9iylxfuxMi
At the catch point, his one weakness comes into play. He is a slight receiver at only 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds, and this leads to him not being among the best of his class at contested catches. This isn’t to say he can’t play through contact, because he can make catches with defenders on him, but he isn’t the guy you want to target on a jump ball in the red zone. He is a fairly prolific scorer despite that though, averaging a touchdown every 7.5 receptions in college, a number that is in the top three in the class. After the catch he is slippery and has good vision as a ball carrier. He isn’t going to muscle through tackles like A.J. Brown, but he can see the holes developing and can burst through them for extra yardage. While his frame is a weakness, it is not a reason not to draft him. We’ve seen now a similarly successful and slight receiver go on to become a phenomenal NFL receiver in DeVonta Smith, so the blueprint is there.
Those are some loose hips from Jordan Addison, weaving through lanes for a TD.
— Ian Cummings (@IC_Draft) September 11, 2022
Part of what makes him so prolific both as a route runner and a RAC threat.
pic.twitter.com/sSyBpo8RbD
The Ravens need a wide receiver plain and simple, and if Lamar is gone, that need doubles. The Odell Beckham Jr. signing is honestly a good thing in terms of their willingness to draft a young talented receiver. Odell would be a fantastic mentor for Addison, as he is of a similar build and had similar expectations coming out of college. If they lean the other way with this pick and grab a corner, it’s a great spot to do it, as the top of this CB class is outstanding, but for me the hole at WR is more pressing.
Dylan Reubenking:
The Pick Is In: Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson — TCU (3rd Round, 86th Overall)
The reigning Jim Thorpe Award winner finds a home in Baltimore to a franchise that could use some help at the position. Even with the signing of Odell Beckham Jr., it seems clear that the Ravens will spend their first-round pick on a wide receiver, so the next move is to grab a corner, and there weren’t many better than Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson in 2022.
Once drafted, Hodges-Tomlinson will be one of the smaller cornerbacks in the NFL at 5-foot-8, but his production and athleticism are too hard to pass up. He possesses elite speed (4.41 40-yard dash), ball skills (five interceptions in last two seasons; 41 passes defended in four years), and explosiveness. He also has fantastic anticipation and is one of the smarter defensive backs in this class.
#TCU CB Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson (@TreTomlinson) is one of the top corners at the @ShrineBowl 💥
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) January 26, 2023
Follow along with all the measurements from the Shrine Bowl as they become available: https://t.co/O2k4F73cxm pic.twitter.com/5LHzQ9vfBq
Hodges-Tomlinson will likely find a home at nickel in the NFL. At his size, however, he brings a physicality and willingness to make the tackle that you won’t often find in 178-pound dudes. He can make plays in the run game as well, which will come to use against teams like the Browns and the Steelers who lean on their run game.
The Ravens might have themselves a steal in the third round with Hodges-Tomlinson, a player who stuck around at TCU to help turn around a program that went 16-18 in his first three seasons to a national championship appearance.
About the author
I’m a USC fan of 15 years who majored in Math at UC Riverside, and graduated in 2020. I’m a big fan of using analytics and statistics to shape how I view college football. I've been watching and betting on sports for as long as I legally could. My favorite college football memory is Tua coming in at halftime of the championship game to come back and lead Alabama to a national title.
I am an Oregon Ducks fan who graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism. At the UO, I did on-site reporting with Duck TV Sports and KWVA Sports 88.1 FM and have covered events such as the 2020 Pac-12 Football Championship Game and the 2021 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament. I previously wrote for Ducks Digest on the Sports Illustrated network.
