Thanks to a couple of top-five surprises, the Baltimore Ravens had their pick of the litter by the time they were on the clock in Thursday's NFL Draft.
With the No. 6 overall selection, the Ravens opted for Notre Dame offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley.
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Stanley, at 6-6, 312 pounds, was one of the fastest risers in the week or so leading up to the draft. Once projected for the middle of the first round, Stanley's climb up team's big boards into the top 10 could be attributed to character concerns over consensus top tackle prospect Laremy Tunsil.
A since-deleted video of Tunsil, an Ole Miss product, smoking from a bong surfaced just before the draft began. It's unclear whether that influenced Baltimore's decision.
"There's been some Ronnie Stanley momentum amongst the top-10 teams as far as even over Laremy Tunsil," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said before the draft. "I think the conversation is that Tunsil might be a little bit more, might be a better athlete today, but Stanley is a better run blocker, and his feet are really close.
"So my point is as an evaluation, they're very, very close, and Stanley has got no off-the-field issues."
Stanley would have been a first-round pick in 2015, but came back for his senior year to have an All-American season. He seamlessly transitions from power blocker to finesse pass protector. He has great feet and slides well while displaying sound technique and above-average balance.
The Las Vegas native started 13 games at left tackle for the Irish in 2015 but he could shift to the right side with the Ravens opposite incumbent left tackle Eugene Monroe.
Monroe, the eighth overall pick by the Jaguars in 2009, has missed 15 games in the last two seasons.
