Baltimore Ravens expect C.J. Mosley to start ‘right away’

Although the Baltimore Ravens didn’t exactly need to draft a top inside linebacker this year, they decided that Alabama Crimson Tide product C.J. Mosley was just too good of a value to pass up on with the 17th overall pick. Mosley had an excellent career at ‘Bama as the quarterback of college football’s best defense, and he brings a great all-around game to the city of Baltimore. Like entrenched Ravens starting ILB Daryl Smith, who was re-signed this offseason after an exceptional first year with the Ravens, Mosley can cover at a high level, do a solid job of stuffing the run, and he can blitz. Mosley came into the draft with some medical concerns, but he was likely one of the top ten prospects in the entire class, especially when you factor in his football sense and other intangibles- such as leadership qualities.

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Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta told SiriusXM NFL Radio that he thinks Mosley is a “very explosive players who can make big plays” and that he “would expect him to start right away.”

The Ravens didn’t draft Mosley to sit on the bench in his first year, as that would have been a waste of a first-round pick. Arthur Brown was a second-round pick last year, though, and this statement from DeCosta confirms that Brown most likely won’t even get a shot to start this season. I do wonder if he can crack the starting lineup at some point, because he was an excellent player at Kansas State and looks like a very good starting linebacker in the future; he’s just not as good as Smith or Mosley.