The Baltimore Ravens selected OT Michael Oher (1st round, #23 overall) out of Mississippi.  He had a great rookie season for the Ravens starting all 16 games for them.  He did catch 1 pass for -8 yards last season.  Oher’s life story was portrayed in the movie the Blind Side which was very good and I recommend it to everyone.  DE Paul Kruger (2nd round, #57 overall) out of Utah didn’t show much as a rookie but he did have one huge play intercepting a Dennis Dixon pass in O.T. against the Steelers setting up a nice win over the Ravens’ rivals.  He played in 9 games in which he made 11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he defensed 3 passes and he picked off 1 pass.  CB/KR Ladarius Webb (3rd round, #88 overall) out of Nicholls State wound up being a great pick for the Ravens.  He played in 14 games for the Ravens last season and he made 35 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, had 1 sack and he defensed 6 passes.  Webb also returned 35 kickoffs for 918 yards (26.2 avg) with a TD return (95-yarder).  Linebacker Jason Phillips (5th round, #137 overall) out of TCU spent his rookie year on the Injured Reserve List.  TE Davon Drew (5th round, #149 overall) out of East Carolina didn’t get into any games as a rookie for the Ravens last season.  RB Cedric Peerman (6th round, #185 overall) out of Virginia got cut by the Ravens and he is on the Lions.  He didn’t play in any games as a rookie last season.

GRADE FOR 2009:  B-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+

The Ravens will be without rookie corner Lardarius Webb for the rest of the year due to a torn ACL.  Webb played in 14 games for the Ravens this season and he made 35 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, defensed 6 passes and he had 1 sack.  Webb also was the kickoff returner for the Ravens as of late.  He returned 35 kickoffs for 918 yards (26.2 avg) with a TD return this season.  Webb looks like he was another outstanding pick by Ravens’ GM Ozzie Newsome who selected him in the 3rd round last April out of tiny Nicholls State.

The Baltimore Ravens appear to have two keepers out of last April’s NFL Draft.  OT Michael Oher (1st round, #23 overall) has started all 7 games at tackle for the Ravens and he is playing well.  Oher has even caught a pass but he lost eight yards on it.  CB/KR Ladarius Webb (3rd round, #88) has also been outstanding this season for the Ravens.  He only has 3 tackles this season but he has returned 13 kickoffs for 394 yards (30.3 avg) with 1 TD return.  Webb will likely be the kick returner for a long time for the Ravens.  DE Paul Kruger (2nd round, #57 overall) has been very disappointing so far this season and he only has 1 tackle.  LB Jason Phillips (5th round, #137 overall) got injured in training camp and he has been placed on the Injured Reserve List.  TE Davon Drew (5th round, #149 overall) hasn’t done a thing for the Ravens yet.  RB Cedric Peerman (6th round, #185 overall) got cut before the season started.  Getting Oher and Webb was enough to make this a decent draft for the Ravens.

The Baltimore Ravens didn’t really need another RB but Peerman was too good to pass up in the 6th round.  Peerman is solid in every phase of the game on offense as he’s a solid runner, receiver and blocker.  But what really caught the Ravens’ eye was Peerman’s play on special teams where he’s a standout.  Peerman is only 5′9″ but he weighs a solid 210 pounds.  He’s not a burner however running a 4.55 40.  Peerman played in 41 games (18 starts) in four seasons at Virginia and he carried the ball 382 times for 1,749 yards (4.6 ypc) with 15 TD runs.  He also caught 66 passes for 344 yards (5.2 avg) with 1 TD grab at Virginia.  This was another solid pick by GM Ozzie Newsome.

Davon Drew is a converted QB who is still learning the position.  He is 6′3″, 246 pounds and runs a 4.88 40 which is a tad slow.  Drew is not a good blocker so he will have to earn his keep in the passing game.  Drew played in 40 games (32 starts) in three seasons at Eastern Carolina catching 78 passes for 1,078 yards (13.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Drew will likely take some time to develop into a NFL caliber TE but he’s a good special teams player which should keep him on the roster as a rookie.