Mailbag: Henne, Ravens may be match made in NFL draft heaven

Chad Henne threw for 87 touchdowns during his four-year career with the Wolverines. John Biever/SI NFL Draft 2008 Tuesday, April 29 Andrew Perloff: Early look at 2009 draft Tony Pauline: Top prospects for 2009 Peter King: Monday Morning QB Mailbag Monday, April 28 Peter King: Monday Morning Quarterback Dr. Z: Non-grading every team's draft Richard Deitsch: How did the media do? Sunday, April 27 Don Banks: How the class of QBs stack up Michael Lombardi: Lessons from the draft Tony Pauline: Top 10 steals and reaches Draft Tracker: Review all 252 selections Saturday, April 26 Don Banks: Need, speed dominate first day Bucky Brooks: Pick-by-pick breakdowns SI.com At The Draft Blog: Fourteen writers in 11 cities bring you behind the scenes Photo Galleries SI's best pictures from the NFL draft Top six picks take in Big Apple sights Darren McFadden | Glenn Dorsey Matt Ryan | Rashard Mendenhall Vernon Gholston | Jake Long Derrick Harvey | Keith Rivers

Ravens fans, you may finally have your quarterback of the future: Chad Henne. I made him the 20th pick in my mock first round Monday, chosen by Baltimore after a trade with Tampa Bay. And after talking to Henne at length Monday night, the idea seems pretty plausible.

"They seem to like me a lot, but you never know,'' the 22-year-old Henne said from his Pennsylvania home. "I think I'm a pretty good fit there. I kind of stressed with them my ability to come in and play right away, because I've been through it already [as a four-year starter at Michigan].

The Ravens sent offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson to Michigan's Pro Day to see Henne's workout. Cameron and Jackson drove to Albright College in Reading, Pa., near Henne's hometown of Wyomissing, Pa., two weeks ago to work Henne out for 90 minutes -- with Henne's local fans, about 100 of them, coming out of the woodwork to watch the drills. The Ravens gave Henne an offensive playbook, asked him to learn as much as he could in a few days, then had him visit their facility in Owings Mills, Md.. They spent a morning testing him and putting him on the board to see how he'd fit in the offense.

Cameron is a former Wolverine assistant coach. Coach John Harbaugh grew up in Ann Arbor, and his brother was a star Michigan quarterback. Andy Moeller, Baltimore's assistant offensive line coach, coached at Michigan last year and has been singing Henne's praises through the building this spring. So no team is as plugged in regarding Henne as Baltimore. And the news is all good. They think Henne can be a winning NFL quarterback.

Baltimore holds the eighth pick in the first round, then No. 38, in round two. It's true the Ravens have a high regard for Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan and would certainly take him if he made it through seven picks. But since that's highly unlikely -- the Falcons (three), Chiefs (five) and Jets (six) all very interested in Ryan -- the Ravens can either trade down from eight and pick Henne or trade up from No. 38 to acquire a pick where they could be assured of getting him.

Now, nothing is a sure thing in this or any draft. But there's no question the Ravens want to come away with a quarterback, and they don't seem inclined to pay the ransom it would take to move up and acquire Ryan -- particularly in a year in which they absolutely have to start rebuilding an aging secondary. The ideal scenario would be to get Ryan. Ideal Scenario 1B would be to trade down from about eight to 15 for a second-round pick, then from 15 to 20 for a third-, then take Henne.

My feeling on Henne is that no other quarterback in this draft is as prepared to step into a situation like Baltimore's. The Ravens still have the pieces to make a playoff run, just 16 months after a 13-3, playoff-bye season. All that's missing is quarterback competency. In the wake of Steve McNair's retirement last week --and there was no guarantee he'd have started this year anyway -- Baltimore is left with Kyle Boller and Troy Smith at quarterback. Neither is the organization's preferred long-term starter. Whoever is drafted would be expected to come into camp this year with a chance to play, and perhaps start.

Henne left home the day after his high school graduation, in June 2004, to begin working out at Michigan. And on Sept. 4 of that year, in the Wolverines' opener against Miami of Ohio, with starter Matt Gutierrez nursing a sore arm, coach Lloyd Carr put Henne in the starting lineup. He responded with a 14-of-24 day, with two touchdown passes to Braylon Edwards, before a crowd of 110,000. "Considering he ran out into this stadium after he just got out of his high-school prom, I was impressed,'' Carr said that day.

In four years, Henne missed only three starts (due to injury), and was the paragon of consistency, completing 60, 58, 62 and 58 percent of his throws over the four years. He has the quickest release in the draft. His arm strength and quickness are average, his game-management and leadership above average.

"I think I'm at the top of my game, physically, right now,'' Henne said. "I think coming into this offense, with Steve McNair retiring, I'd be thrown into the mix right away, and I'd be comfortable with that.. There are people out there who view some of the quarterbacks in this draft ahead of me. The way I handle that is to keep working, keep fighting. If teams turn on the game film, they know I'm right up there with them, and I have more experience than any of them. I know I have the capability to be the top quarterback in this draft.''

There are two basic systems of offensive nomenclature in football -- one using numbers, one using words. At Michigan, Henne used words. The Ravens use numbers. What was "Devo'' in the Michigan playbook, a go route for a receiver, will be a "9'' route with Baltimore. "As soon as you learn the number tree,'' Henne said, "it's easy.''

Henne visited only one other team -- St. Louis -- and the Rams, with Marc Bulger in place, would be unlikely to use a first- or second-round pick on him. There could be other teams out there (Miami, Green Bay, the Jets and Atlanta if the Falcons don't pick Ryan) between picks 25 and 40 interested, so the Ravens would likely have to pick him by the mid-twenties to be assured of getting him.

Now for your emails.

• WORRY NOT, ONTARIO GIANTS FAN. From Jim Fitzgerald, of Barrie, Ontario: "Are the G-men facing an ugly negotiation with their first-round pick this year because of the Patriots forfeited pick? I can picture a scenario where the agent makes the case that their selection was actually the 31st player taken and the teams wants to pay equivalent to 32nd pick money. What is the difference in contracts for the picks at the end of the first round, and is there any precedence for this?''

Last year, the Bears paid 31st pick Greg Olsen five years and $7.769 million. Indianapolis paid the 32nd pick, Anthony Gonzalez, five years and $7.5 million. Whoever the Giants pick at 31 will be slotted financially behind the 30th pick, and N.Y. won't try to pay him like the 32nd pick. It's not going to be a big factor.