Baltimore Beatdown
The annual premier all-star games featured some impressive performances from prospects at positions that will be addressed this offseason.
The Ravens front office has long believed in drafting and developing their core talent rather than relying on veteran acquisitions. General manager Eric DeCosta has repeatedly said that the draft is the “lifeblood” of the organization, and a quick glance at the roster explains why. Outside of Roquan Smith, all of the Ravens’ key long-term players were acquired via the draft.
College football’s annual all-star games are key scouting opportunities for the Ravens. The Reese’s Senior Bowl is one of the premier events of the circuit and provides a pool of the top collegiate talent from which the Ravens regularly find future players.
Four of the Ravens’ nine selections in the 2024 NFL Draft attended last year’s Senior Bowl: right tackle Roger Rosengarten, outside linebacker Adisa Isaac, wide receiver Devontez Walker and running back Rasheen Ali.
Here are some promising prospects who fit the Ravens’ positions of need on offense and could hear their names called by the organization during the 2025 NFL Draft.
IOL Grey Zabel, North Dakota State
The former FCS standout who spent the last two years playing left tackle for the Bison projects better as an interior player at the next level. Zabel will be one of the biggest risers up draft boards after he consistently dominated higher-level competition. He took reps at all three interior spots throughout the week, earning National Team’s Practice Player of the Week honors. During practice, he’d sometimes flip between both guard spots from one rep to another and showed impressive grip strength, hand placement, and ability to mirror to go along with a strong anchor.
In Saturday’s game, he started at right guard and performed well in pass protection and largely held up as a run blocker. (His one bad rep was against a player further down this list.) Zabel moved over to center in the second quarter and continued his success on pulls and screens. While the Ravens are set at center with two-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum, they could be losing versatile veteran Patrick Mekari in free agency and starting right guard Daniel Faalele is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Zabel might be an option for the Ravens in the late first round or if they trade back into the early second. He likely won’t be available in the bottom of Round 2 after the strong week he had.
WR Jack Bech, TCU
The former Horned Frog has one of the most inspiring stories of the pre-draft cycle. His older brother, Tiger, was one of the victims of the domestic terrorism in New Orleans on New Year’s Day. With players on both sides wearing a helmet decal to commemorate Tiger, Jack Bech honored his brother in the best way he knew how. He was one of the best overall players from the event whose draft stock is certainly on the rise. Bech displayed the skill...
