Deep QB draft class changes conversation

Front office examines options for post-Flacco era

It’s been a full decade since the Ravens faced the greatest question that can confront an NFL team going into the draft. What to do at quarterback? We know Joe Flacco will be the starter next season, but for the first time since he was drafted in 2008, it’s not clear what lies beyond at the most important position in pro football.

Many analysts believe the Ravens will take advantage of an unusually deep quarterback crop to select a signal caller in the second or third round of this year’s draft. That player could back up Flacco in 2018 and become a candidate to start if/when the Ravens move on from their high-priced franchise player.

Some draft experts have even projected the Ravens to take a quarterback in the first round, speculation they helped fuel by scheduling a pre-draft visit with Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson.

All the quarterback talk is mitigated by owner Steve Bisciotti’s statement in February that the Ravens have “bigger fish to fry” than finding Flacco’s eventual replacement.

“Top two or three [rounds], maybe?” said NFL Network analyst and former Ravens coach Brian Billick. “First round, wait a minute, there. First, let’s remember, Joe’s not done, and no matter how you couch it, to bring in that heir apparent before a guy thinks he’s done is not good. It does not go well typically. Also, there’s a lot