Ravens May Have Gotten a Steal at QB

In the eyes of a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and current NFL Draft evaluator, the Baltimore Ravens got their rookie QB for less than he was worth.

Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary (13) passes near Clemson defensive end Justin Mascoll (7) during / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Baltimore Ravens selected Kentucky signal caller Devin Leary to be the No. 2 option behind two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson.

Leary was the 218th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was the 10th quarterback taken in a record-setting draft for the position.

Leary may have been selected lower than he is worth.

Former NFL quarterback Drew Stanton -- a Super Bowl-winning veteran who played for 14 seasons -- now evaluates quarterbacks in the draft for NFL teams. Stanton was a mentor to several first-overall picks turned playoff-winning talents -- Matthew Stafford, Andrew Luck, and Baker Mayfield.

Stanton told Sports Illustrated how he evaluated.

Stanton considered 15 traits for his evaluation system -- arm strength, short accuracy, medium accuracy, long accuracy, command, toughness, processing, eyes, vision, footwork, escape ability, poise, "it" factor, upside and risk of injury.

Stanton grades the traits on a scale of 1 to 7. The highest possible score a prospect can receive is 105.

Stanton said he wanted to narrow the evaluation down even further, so he developed a "crucial" score. He based the score on what he learned from executives around the league.

The five "crucial" traits are short, medium and long accuracy, vision and "it" factor. Stanton grades each trait on the same scale as his regular score. The highest possible score is 35.

Stanton's findings shaped his list of top ten quarterbacks going into the draft.

Stanton ranked Leary as the fifth-best quarterback in the draft. Stanton compared Leary to his former teammate and current Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.

"Just the way that [Leary] plays, the way he plays with emotion ... a minor adjustment here, or a little tweak there ... put better supporting casts around him -- and you're like 'this kid's got a chance'," he said.

Stanton liked Leary's arm strength and athleticism. Stanton felt that whoever drafted Leary would be lucky in getting Leary.

Leary received a total score of 79 of 105. His crucial score was 27 of 35.

Stanton had Leary ranked higher than several quarterbacks taken ahead of him -- first-rounder Bo Nix, fifth round picks Spencer Rattler and Jordan Travis, and sixth round selection Joe Milton III, who did not make Stanton's top ten.

Nix was last on Stanton's list -- behind undrafted free agent Kedon Slovis.

Click here for Stanton's full evaluation.

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