From Peter Schrager @ Fox Sports:
9. Ozzie the wizard: Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta, the braintrust behind the Baltimore Ravens’ greatness, did what they do — they drafted tremendously on Friday night.
After trading out of the first round on Thursday, they got a first round talent in outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw with the 35th overall pick. Upshaw was as high as top 15 on some teams’ boards and was the MVP of the BCS National Championship Game. I spoke to Upshaw at Radio City on Friday night, and though he was upset that he fell to the second round, he was thrilled with his ultimate destination.
“I mean, it’s Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs … It’s going to be a great experience to go and play under those guys or play with those guys,” Upshaw said. “I mean, really, I’m just at a loss of words to be actually drafted now, and I’m ready to just get back to the football part.” The Ravens lost longtime linebacker Jarret Johnson to the Chargers in free agency this offseason. Upshaw could be even better.
After the Upshaw coup, Baltimore grabbed Kelechi Osemele, a 333-pound guard who was an all-conference offensive tackle in college. Osemele provides depth, youth, and more talent to an already strong offensive line.
With its third pick of the night, Baltimore got some insurance at running back with Bernard Pierce, a do-everything back out of Temple. Three swings, three hits. It’s the Baltimore way.
Read the entire article here.
No comments:
Post a Comment