Ravens Could Trade Their First-Round Pick to a QB-Needy Team

In 2018, the Ravens made a huge draft-night trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to move back into the first round and snag Lamar Jackson with the 32nd-overall pick.

ESPN’s Jamison Hensley noted that no team has traded up into the first round to take a quarterback since then, but the Ravens could be on the other end of such a move in this year’s draft.

“With quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix likely available near the bottom of the first round, the Ravens could be in position to benefit from a team seeking a franchise quarterback like Baltimore did in 2018,” Hensley wrote.

Hensley said such a trade would be a win-win scenario.

“Baltimore, which has the No. 30 overall pick, might be open to acquiring more picks because it needs to build through the draft after giving a big-money deal to Jackson,” Hensley wrote. “Then, there are the teams like the Las Vegas Raiders (No. 44 pick), New York Giants (No. 47) and Los Angeles Rams (No. 52), who could covet a young quarterback and might want to leap into the bottom of the first round to get their targeted passer. The Ravens understand the incentive of getting a quarterback in the first round instead of the second is gaining that fifth-year option, which allows the team to have an additional season of contractual control over the player.”

General Manager Eric DeCosta likes having as many picks as possible, but he said at the pre-draft press conference last week that it would require a “premium” offer for the Ravens to trade out of the first round.

To move up 20 spots to get Jackson six years ago, the Ravens sent three picks to the Eagles — a 2018 second-rounder (No. 52) and fourth-rounder (No. 125) and a 2019 second-round pick — in exchange for Philadelphia’s 2018 first-round pick (No. 32) and fourth-round pick (No. 132).