The Ravens received one of just two A's handed out by ESPN expert Mel Kiper Jr. on his draft report card this week (Seattle got the other). But Kiper isn't ready to make them AFC North favorites ahead of the defending champion Bengals.
"The Bengals did a pretty good job, too," he said on a conference call Tuesday morning. "They had a very solid draft. They got help for [quarterback Carson] Palmer. They needed a tight end who can catch the ball and the got Jermaine Gresham. They got [wide receiver] Jordan Shipley, who is similar to Wes Welker, and Dezmon Briscoe had a ton of catches at Kansas. He could make the team.
"[Carlos] Dunlap is hit or miss, [cornerback Brandon] Ghee is hit or miss," Kiper said of second- and third-round picks. "If you're competitors of the Bengals, the only players that can elevate them this year are Gresham and Shipley."
What grade did Kiper give the Bengals? C. He gave the Browns a C and the Steelers a B.
The Ravens didn't get the cornerback or safety that were expected, but Kiper said "you can't take a corner if you don't have a conviction on a guy." And he agreed with John Harbaugh's assessment that the cornerback pool wasn't deep enough to dive into on the third day.
"I think [wide receiver] Dez Bryant was the guy they would've taken [at 25]," Kiper said. "That's what I was told. The Ravens didn't panic and take a player they didn't have a strong conviction about."
Of undrafted free-agent middle linebacker Mike McLaughlin, whom the Ravens reportedly have signed, Kiper said: "He has awareness, he's smart, a leader, good athlete, has issues in coverage. He ran a 4.84. Speed is the question. He did 29 reps [bench pressing 225 pounds] at the combine. He's a good athlete, just not real fast. If he ran a 4.7 instead of 4.84, he probably would have been a fourth-round pick. He's an undrafted free agent that will have a chance to make the team, I think."