Press Release: Ravens Player Personnel Department Promotions

The Baltimore Ravens promoted seven members of their player personnel department, executive vice president & general manager Eric DeCosta announced Wednesday. The following people have new titles and responsibilities within the department:

George Kokinis – Vice President of Player Personnel

One of the longest-tenured members of Baltimore’s personnel department, Kokinis enters his 34th NFL season after spending the past five years as the director of player personnel (2019-23). Before assuming that role, Kokinis served as the Ravens’ senior personnel assistant (2010-18), providing guidance for the team’s college and pro personnel operations. Originally joining the Browns in 1991 as a scouting intern, he was among the group of staffers who were invited by owner Art Modell to move to Baltimore with the franchise in 1996.

Stated DeCosta: “George has been a stalwart of scouting since the beginning of the Ravens. He’s a tireless worker, an elite evaluator, and he’s adept at building relationships with coaches, players and agents in our industry. He will oversee all player personnel matters related to scouting and work closely with Nick [Matteo, vice president of football administration] and Mark [Azevedo, director of player personnel] on day-to-day football operations.”

David McDonald – Vice President of Research and Development

McDonald enters his 10th season in Baltimore, where he leads all software and data development aspects of the player personnel department. McDonald spent the past five years (2019-23) as the director of research and development after joining the organization in 2015 as a football systems developer.

Stated DeCosta: “‘D-Mac’ is the driver behind our scouting platform (BANE) and the leader of our entire player personnel analytics group. He’s a natural collaborator who is strategic, curious and thoughtful. David will work with George, Nick and Mark on all things scouting and salary cap-related, providing support and structure through development and analysis.”

Mark Azevedo – Director of Player Personnel

Azevedo enters his 20th season with the Ravens after serving as the assistant director of player personnel the past two years (2022-23). Prior to that, he spent six seasons as a Northeast scout, covering schools in the ACC, AAC, Big Ten, Big 12, Ivy League, MAC, MEAC and SEC. Azevedo joined the franchise in 2005 as a player personnel assistant, and for many years has coordinated the Ravens’ post-draft rookie free agent signing process.

Stated DeCosta: “Mark does a great job collaborating with our analysts and scouts alike. He’s a skilled evaluator who has overseen our undrafted free agency and local pro days with great success. Innovative and well-versed in all areas of scouting, Mark will work with George directing both college and pro scouting.”

Andrew Raphael – Director of College Scouting

Raphael enters his 11th season with the organization, formerly serving as a national scout the past three seasons (2021-23). Prior to that role, he spent five years (2016-20) as Baltimore’s Southeast area scout. Raphael originally joined the Ravens as a player personnel intern (2013-14) before being promoted to player personnel assistant in 2015.

Stated DeCosta: “Andrew is a sharp evaluator who is both thoughtful and meticulous. He has great interpersonal skills, he’s highly organized, and he collaborates easily with others. Andrew will work seamlessly with Joey [Cleary, assistant director of college scouting], Mark and George, ensuring that our college scouting process will be the industry standard.”

Derrick Yam – Director of Data and Decision Science

Yam begins his fifth season in Baltimore after serving as the manager of data and decision science for the past two years (2022-23). He originally joined the Ravens in 2019 as a quantitative analyst, after earning a master’s degree in biostatistics from Brown University.

Stated DeCosta: “Derrick is an innovative analyst, a talented researcher and an emerging leader who does a great job finding value, charting course and attacking complex problems. He works well with everyone in our department; his positive approach and analytical skills make him an easy choice, working closely with David, to lead our data and decision science team.”

Joey Cleary – Assistant Director of College Scouting

Entering his 10th year in Baltimore, Cleary spent the past three seasons (2021-23) as the organization’s Southeast area scout. He has covered a number of schools in different regions, spending the 2020 season as Baltimore’s West area scout and 2019 as Northeast area scout. Cleary originally joined the Ravens as a player personnel assistant in 2015.

Corey Frazier – Assistant Director of Pro Personnel

Frazier joined the Ravens as a player personnel assistant in 2017 and most recently served as the organization’s West Coast scout the past three seasons (2021-23). Prior to that, he was a Ravens’ pro scout for two years (2019-20). Before he arrived in Baltimore, Frazier worked as an advance scout for Vanderbilt University (2016) and spent the 2015 NFL season with the Denver Broncos as a scouting intern.