Melvin Gordon to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round?

Three days from the start of the NFL draft, the running back from Wisconsin is the most popular pick for the Ravens by media draft analysts. Five of the 13 mock drafts have Gordon going to the Ravens at No. 26.

2015 NFL DRAFT Round 1: April 30, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Rds. 2-3: May 1, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Rds. 4-7: May 2, noon ET (ESPN)

Where: Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, Chicago NFL draft home page • 2015 NFL draft order

• Mel Kiper Jr.: Mock 5.0 • Todd McShay: Final mock • Todd McShay's Top 32 players • Mel Kiper Jr.'s Big Board • Top 10 prospects by position • NFL draft player rankings

Gordon is definitely an option for the Ravens in the first round, and Sports Illustrated's Peter King noted recently that Gordon wouldn't get past the Ravens at No. 26. That would be an unusual pick based on Baltimore's draft history. The Ravens have only selected one running back in the first round and that was Jamal Lewis in 2000.

Running back is a need for the Ravens in this draft. Baltimore re-signed Justin Forsett this offseason, but he's not considered a long-term answer at that position. The Ravens also have Lorenzo Taliaferro, a fourth-round pick from a year ago who projects to be a backup.

The other popular choice was wide receiver. Draft analysts linked four pass-catching targets to the Ravens in mock drafts: Central Florida's Breshad Perriman, Arizona State's Jaelen Strong, Ohio State's Devin Smith and USC's Nelson Agholor.

Here is a roundup of what media draft experts are predicting for the Ravens in the first round:

Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN (April 9): Marcus Peters, CB, Washington

Todd McShay, ESPN (April 23): Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin

Don Banks, SI.com (April 16): Marcus Peters

Will Brinson, CBS Sports (April 22): Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State

Bucky Brooks, NFL Media (April 23): Devin Smith, WR, Ohio State

Dane Brugler, CBS Sports (April 25): Breshad Perriman, WR, Central Florida

Charles Davis, NFL Media (April 15): Melvin Gordon

Daniel Jeremiah, NFL Media (April 20): Melvin Gordon

Peter King, SI.com (April 1): Melvin Gordon

Shaun King, Yahoo Sports (April 23): Nelson Agholor, WR, USC

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports (April 22): Melvin Gordon

Rob Rang, CBS Sports (April 21): Breshad Perriman, WR, Central Florida

Lance Zierlein, NFL Media (April 22): Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia