Though the NFL Draft does not have official winners and losers, it seems like the Baltimore Ravens always knock it out of the park. And this year was no different. Their class features eleven prospects, with their top four picks in TDN’s top 60 for the entire class. General Manager Eric DeCosta displayed a value hunting display that left even the most extreme couponers jealous. After Baltimore gave up the most passing yards in the league, he used four of his top six selections to get players on the defensive side.

Safety Kyle Hamilton was the star of the show and deservedly so after sliding down the board and falling into Baltimore’s lap with pick No. 14. Baltimore then went back to that side of the ball to select David Ojabo (who might be available after week four of the coming NFL season), an edge rusher to pair with last year’s first-round pick, Odafe Oweh. Hamilton’s versatility and tackling and Ojabo’s first step explosiveness will allow them to have featured roles in new Defensive Coordinator Mike Macdonald’s scheme. Still, they are not the most critical selections the Ravens made. That honor belongs to defensive tackle Travis Jones who is moving just five hours to anchor the interior of Baltimore’s defense.

Jones was able to dominate throughout his career at UConn without ever having much help. He combined his power and mass with his ability to diagnose blocking schemes and disrupt offenses, eating double teams for his teammates in the second level of the defense. Linebackers Patrick Queen, Josh Bynes and Malik Harrison will be able to penetrate gaps and live in opposing backfields with Jones lining up in front of them. He is a welcome injection of youth to a Ravens defensive line that needs it badly. Jones joins defensive ends Broderick Washington and Justin Madibuke as the only people in the room that Baltimore has drafted in the past couple of years.

The most exciting part about Jones heading to Baltimore? The veterans from which he will be able to learn. Nose tackle Michael Pierce is entering his sixth season in the league and has been one of the best-run stuffers in the league throughout his career. The tricks and tools he can give Jones will transform him from the raw prospect that he was into potentially one of the best tackles in the league. And in a division that features running backs Nick Chubb, Najee Harris, and Joe Mixon, Jones will be thrown into the deep end once the season starts. Against the pass where Jones separated himself from fellow prospect Jordan Davis, he will be able to pick the brain of Derek Wolfe and Calais Campbell, who have been some of the best power rushers in the league for the last decade.

In college, Jones flashed the ability to not only collapse the pocket but also to use his hands to win one-on-one off the ball. Both of those aforementioned veterans can continue to help him add to his pass rush bag to become an everyday player.

When Baltimore selected Jones with the 76th pick last week, they made one of those picks that fans across the league will look back on for the next several years and ask, “How did he fall that far?” He has the potential to be one of the best tackles in the league and he is in an environment to develop that ability. Whatever Jones is this year, he will be a vital part of the Ravens’ plan to hoist the Lombardi trophy next February.