DeCosta drafts above-average athletes (avg 56th percentile)
The Ravens FO is the gold standard for organizational stability and internal development. Eric DeCosta waited 23 years for the GM job, turning down numerous offers, which speaks to both the culture and his loyalty. The "20/20 Club" - their program of hiring young assistants at entry-level and developing them into evaluators - has produced an extraordinary pipeline: DeCosta himself, Joe Hortiz (now Chargers GM), David Blackburn (now Commanders personnel director), and countless others. The scouting department is remarkably stable, with most scouts having spent their entire careers in Baltimore. George Kokinis (34 NFL seasons) and Mark Azevedo (20 years) provide institutional knowledge, while younger scouts like Joey Cleary and Brandon Berning represent the next generation. The analytics integration under David McDonald and Derrick Yam has been seamless - they blend traditional scouting with data science without the cultural friction seen elsewhere. Nick Matteo is a rising GM candidate who handles some of the league's most complex contract negotiations. The main challenge is the same as always: keeping this talent in-house when other teams come calling. Hortiz's departure to LA was a loss, but the depth of the organization absorbed it.