With the Draft just hours away there are rumors fluttering that teams are looking to move up and down in the first round of the NFL Draft. The Draft will start at 8 PM Eastern time tonight with just the first round of the draft airing today. One of the teams rumored to potentially be looking to move down in the first round are the Detroit Lions who sit at #23; one pick ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steelers’ fans have come to a general consensus over the past few weeks that Alabama inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower is the player the Steelers should select and he should be there at #24.
The Baltimore Ravens, however, are known to be in love with Hightower and are looking for a future replacement for Ray Lewis who, likely, doesn’t have many years left in the NFL. The Ravens have expressed interest in moving up in the draft if the right situation presents itself. Based on the draft trade value board the Ravens would have to give up their third round pick to move up to #23. They would be killing two birds with one stone so to speak, however, potentially making it a trade worth making.
If the Ravens believe Hightower to be a very good player they could move up to #23 and draft him adding him to their defense and taking away the possibility of having to play him twice a year for the foreseeable future. This move would mean no Hightower in Pittsburgh as well as having to see another big linebacker in the middle of the Ravens defense that is sure to lose Lewis soon. Nothing is definite in the NFL Draft, but this would definitely add some fire to the Steelers-Ravens rivalry.
