NFL Draft: Greatest pick from each franchise’s history
NFL Draft: Greatest pick from each franchise’s history: Baltimore Ravens, LB Ray Lewis
Pick: 1996 NFL Draft, 1st round number 26 overall
Stats:
- 31 interceptions
- 2,059 total tackles
- 41.5 sacks
Awards:
- 13 time Pro Bowler
- 2 time Defensive Player of the Year
- 10 time All-Pro selections
It was a tradition like no other. Ray Lewis would saunter his way to the football field, scowling before immediately breaking out into a dance. Then, as he slid across the field one last time, he screamed as if he was ready for war. It was the Baltimore Ravens unofficial battle cry and every Sunday he would perform the same ritual.
Linebacker Ray Lewis is undoubtedly the best player Baltimore Ravens have ever selected in the draft. If anyone knew what he would become, there’s no way he would’ve slid all the way to the bottom half of the first round in the 1996 draft.
It didn’t take long for Lewis to become a dominant player on the defensive side of the ball. By his second year, he was already a Pro Bowler and truth be told, there were plenty of reasons as to why he could’ve been selected in his first year. Lewis took down opposing running backs before they picked up speed in the backfield, he defended players who were quicker and stronger with ease and he also blasted QBs on numerous occasions before they ever got the chance to release the ball.
Lewis was a major part of two Super Bowl winning teams, the latter represented his last game in the league. He was a 13 time Pro Bowl selection and made 10 All-Pro teams. His 1,568 solo tackles and 2,059 combined, rank first in the entire history of the league. Even as he played on his last legs during the back half of his career, Lewis hit triple-digit combined tackles several times over.
Not many can boast of making it to the Hall of Fame on their first try, Lewis can. The Baltimore Ravens have always been about defense and Lewis was the best on that side of the field the franchise has ever seen.