Ravens agree to terms with Devin Duvernay, locking up entire draft class
With rookies across the league descending on their organizations to start the next chapter of their lives the Baltimore Ravens can proudly say that they are among the teams to officially have their entire 2020 draft class under contract after locking up their last two holdouts. After agreeing to terms with the first-round pick Patrick Queen on Wednesday morning and rounding out the 10-man group by agreeing to terms with third-round pick Devin Duvernay in the afternoon.
The former University of Texas standout was the last holdout but now that he too is under contract, he can focus completely on getting ready for his first season in the league. Like Queen and the rest of his fellow rookies, he’ll face the difficult challenge of trying to get up to speed and prepared for the gauntlet of a full regular season—hopefully—without having had any real offseason program outside of virtual meetings and workouts with teammates and coaches.
Duvernay is expected to come in and compete with veteran Willie Snead for snaps in the slot but he has also shown the ability to play on the outside as well. He broke out in his last season with the Long Horns established himself as one of the most dangerous slot receivers in the country with a career-high 106 receptions for 1,386 yards and nine touchdowns.
He brings more of a dynamic threat as a playmaker to the table and is a lot more explosive after the catch but Snead is one of the best blocking receivers in the league and was an integral part of the Ravens’ record-setting rushing attack last season.
While he hasn’t been able to join any of his new teammates in an official capacity, Duvernay and fellow rookie James Proche who was selected in the sixth round out of SMU have been able to get some work in on the field with backup quarterback Robert Griffin III and reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson in private throwing sessions in both Florida and Texas since being drafted.
“Both guys, phenomenally talented,” Griffin said on “The Lounge” podcast via the official team website. “It just comes down to them being able to showcase what they did in college at the pro level. They definitely have what it takes in my opinion because I’ve worked with a lot of guys.”
“Duvernay, obviously a track guy. He’s a tough guy, tracks the ball really well downfield. He is fast, but he’s really fast,” Griffin said.
He recorded one of the fastest times in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine with a mark of 4.34. In addition to being a speedster, he has incredible hands as evident by a mere five drops in 244 career targets, per Pro Football Focus. He knows how to get open underneath as well as downfield and his ability to reel in the ball in traffic, break tackles and rack up yards after the contact will serve him well in the Ravens’ offense.
