POD Community Mock: With the 27th pick, the Ravens select…

With the 27th pick in the Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Baltimore Ravens select…

Before the Detroit Lions make their first-round pick this year, they’ll have to wait for the Baltimore Ravens to make their selection. That pivotal moment is where we’re at in the 2025 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft.

So far, 26 selections have been made—which you can see over here in our Community Mock Draft tracker—and several of our favorite prospects are already off the board. The Ravens, much like the Lions, are so close to being a championship-level team, but haven’t gotten themselves over the hump. Now the two teams could be fighting for the same college player.

Representing the Ravens in this mock is POD commenter StevenGreen8.

With the 27th pick in the Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Baltimore Ravens have selected…

James Pearce Jr., edge defender out of Tennessee.

Here’s StevenGreen8 with the reasoning for the pick:

The Baltimore Ravens have been built for long-term success for decades at this point, and have obviously been an inspiration to the way the Detroit Lions are trying to team-build as well. With that being said, the roster is in a good spot, with mostly depth concerns coming to the forefront after the free agency period. Due to the Ravens similarly building up their team to allow for flexibility in the draft, this could also be a spot for Lions fans to watch as they could play spoiler for a couple of guys who may drop this far. Let’s examine where the Ravens may go!

The biggest concerns going into free agency were along the offensive line and in the defensive backfield, which means there will be some crossover with players the Lions will be looking for as well. Luckily, after re-signing Ronnie Stanley and replacing most of the exiting players with new additions, the Ravens do not HAVE to draft for need.

With that being said, those positions will still be on the table, and guys like Grey Zabel or Jonah Savaiinaea would be tempting to keep the Derrick Henry train rolling. The G/T flex guys will be higher up on the board, similarly to Detroit.

From there, it was extremely tempting to go safety with Emmanwori and Starks available. Baltimore runs a lot of three-safety sets, so even with Kyle Hamilton back and Ardarius Washington currently under tender, this could be a position they attack with a high draft pick.

Finally, outside cornerback, more specifically, is a position they could seriously upgrade, unless they feel good about TJ Tampa’s development or feel alright about moving Humphrey outside, allowing for nickel options as well. A DB will be high on their list.

That brings us to our pick—James Pearce Jr. While edge isn’t a glaring need with Van Noy and Oweh under contract, both deals expire after this season. The character concerns of Pearce have lead to a pretty significant drop in draft stock from his actual ranking as a player, but with Baltimore’s culture so strong and a player like Van Noy able to teach the young pick, I think Baltimore takes the best value pick, yet again, here.

What do you make of this pick? Give it a grade in the poll below and share your overall thoughts in the comment section.

Stay tuned for a breakdown of the Lions’ options in a separate post. And the Lions’ selection will be revealed on Monday.