The Baltimore Ravens have hit on many draft picks over the course of their franchise history. Building through the draft is what has made the organization so successful, finding value not just early, but in the later rounds as well. However, that doesn’t mean that Baltimore has a perfect draft record. In fact, no team does.
When looking at each NFL team’s biggest draft bust over the past 10 years, Alex Kay of Bleacher Report named a familiar face for the Ravens in safety Matt Elam. The former University of Florida star was taken with the 32nd overall pick in the 2013 draft. Kay talked about how Elam struggled mightily during his time in Baltimore.
“Elam struggled for two seasons at both safety spots, never earning better than a lowly 51.0 PFF grade in that span…The Florida product missed the entire 2015 campaign with a torn bicep and wasn’t activated off injured reserve until the latter half of 2016, appearing as a backup in nine disappointing games, ultimately earning a dismal 42.8 PFF grade.”
During his three seasons with the Ravens, Elam totaled 131 tackles and one interception. He struggled with tackling and putting himself in the right position, and was ultimately let go by the team after a series of legal issues in 2017. He will likely go down as one of the biggest draft busts in franchise history when everything is said and done, but luckily to this point Baltimore hasn’t had too many high draft picks flop the way Elam did.
