The Baltimore Ravens went into the draft last April trying to help out the offense and it worked out well for them.  In the first round the Ravens selected Joe Flacco and he started all 16 games for them as a rookie and won two games in the playoffs.  Flacco completed 257 of 428 passes (60%) for 2,971 yards with 14 TD passes and 12 interceptions (80.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 52 times for 180 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs last season.  Flacco even lined up at receiver on occasion and he caught 1 pass for 43 yards last season.  Look for the Ravens to start giving Flacco more leeway starting in 2009 to throw the ball.  The Ravens also made a nice pick in the 2nd round with running back Ray Rice.  Rice played in 13 games (4 starts) for the Ravens last season and he carried the ball 107 times for 454 yards (4.2 ypc).  He also caught 33 passes for 273 yards (8.3 avg) last season.  Rice also helped out on special teams once in a while as he returned 7 kickoffs for 161 yards (23.0 avg).  Look for Rice to be more involved in the Ravens’ offense in the near future.  The Ravens expected much more out of third round pick Tavares Gooden (OLB).  He played in only 4 games (0 starts) as a rookie last season and he only made 5 tackles.  Safety Tom Zbikowski looks like he could develop into a starter in the very near future.  He played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Ravens last season and he made 19 tackles.  He also returned 2 kickoffs for 48 yards (24.0 avg) as a rookie last season.  With Jim Leonhard leaving the Ravens in free agency, Zbikowski might get his chance in 2009.  3rd rounder Oniel Cousins (OG) and 4th rounder David Hale (OT) both got some playing time off the bench in 2008.  Cousins played in 5 games while Hale played in 6.  It will be interesting to see if either of these guys steps up and starts any time soon.  WR Marcus Smith was drafted in the 4th round by the Ravens last season and he didn’t show much in 7 games (0 starts).  He didn’t catch any passes as a rookie and made 6 tackles on special teams.  6th rounder Haruki Nakamura played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Ravens last season and he made 12 tackles mostly on special teams.  The Ravens hope he can develop into a solid backup safety in the near future.  7th round pick Justin Harper (WR) was placed on the Injured Reserve List last September missing all of his rookie year.  The Ravens released their other 7th round pick (RB) Allen Patrick last August and he finished the season with the Browns.

GRADE FOR 2008 SEASON:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+