Draft Day 2 Wrap-Up

The Ravens went into the second day of the NFL Draft with the goal of focusing on four characteristics they want to describe the John Harbaugh era of Baltimore football.

"We tried to get big, fast, smart and tough, and I think we accomplished that," said director of college scouting Eric DeCosta at a wrap-up press conference. "It was a great weekend for the scouts and coaches."

DeCosta and general manager Ozzie Newsome possessed a league-high nine draft picks Sunday and collected eight players they feel will be solid contributors throughout their careers.

The missing fourth-round selection (125th overall) was traded to the Oakland Raiders for cornerback Fabian Washington, the 23rd-overall selection in the 2005 draft.

Add in 22-year-old tackle Jared Gaither, who was taken in the fifth round of last year's supplemental draft (which counted against Baltimore's 2008 tally) and the Ravens consider themselves walking out with a nice haul of young prospects.

The Ravens were active from the start, trading back from their original No. 8 spot to No. 26, and then back up to No. 18 to select highly-touted quarterback Joe Flacco. Then, they swapped second-round picks with the Seattle Seahawks to move down and tab talented running back Ray Rice.

In the aftermath of Saturday maneuvering, Newsome was holding three extra picks for the latter rounds.

"I think it was two very good days for us bringing an influx of talent to our football team," said the general manager. "Starting with the trade with Jacksonville [No. 8 for Nos. 26, 71, 86 and 125], that gave us all of the flexibility that we needed to pick players when we wanted to pick them based on our board."

The quest began in the third round (71st overall) with Miami linebacker Tavares Gooden, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound physical specimen that the Ravens targeted in a private workout last week. Outside linebackers coach Mike Pettine personally ran Gooden through a set of drills.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native appeared on the national radar in 2007 after shifting to middle linebacker and posting a career-high 100 tackles.

Gooden has excellent speed - running the 40-yard dash in the high 4.4 range - and a 39-inch vertical leap. And, since he sported a orange and green No. 52 jersey in college, many have likened him to Ray Lewis.

"Anytime you get a player from the Miami Hurricanes, you know you get someone who loves the game, who runs to the football, and knows and understands how to play the game," Newsome explained. "It gives us depth, but it helps us on special teams right away."

While Gooden could be a solid replacement for Lewis or Bart Scott, who are both entering the final years of their contracts, DeCosta was quick to temper breathless Lewis comparisons.

"He's just a good football player," he said of the linebacker. "He had a great year this year. We think he's got a lot of potential. He made huge strides from his junior year to his senior year, in terms of improving his play and really taking the next step in becoming an elite college linebacker.

"We love good, fast, aggressive linebackers in Baltimore. We know when we see one."

The same might be said for Ravens safeties, a position that received depth when Baltimore took Notre Dame's Tom Zbikowski 86th overall (third round) and Haruki Nakamura of Cincinnati 206th.

Zbikowski is known as much for his big plays on the field as he is for his boxing career. A former Gold Gloves champion, he made his professional debut at Madison Square Garden in 2006. The fact that he KO'd his opponent, Robert Bell, in 49 seconds caused head coach John Harbaugh to joke that Zbikowski would be pulling double-duty as his bodyguard in an ESPN interview.

But, Zbikowski is a big-hitting safety that 300 career tackles, eight interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) and three punt returns for scores.

"[He is] physical, fast and can run to the football," Newsome said. "Zbikowski can also be a backup returner for us."

Nakamura is a three-year starter that earned All-Conference honors as a senior when he led the Bearcats with 95 stops, adding four interceptions and four fumble recoveries.

He represents DeCosta's decision to make special teams a priority in this draft.

"I think you will see immediate dividends in terms of special teams probably from Day One," he said. "Looking at our special teams last year, we felt like, I feel like personally, I did a poor job of really bringing in some guys to help us. We changed that this year."

Baltimoredrafted two offensive linemen to bolster a line that must prepare for Jonathan Ogden's possible retirement. UTEP tackle Oneil Cousins went in the third round, and Weber State guard/tackle David Hale was selected in the fifth.

Cousins, 6-foot-4, 310 pounds, is a converted defensive lineman with experience at both left and right tackle on the offensive line. He first played football as a high school sophomore, but the Ravens see potential with his speed and athleticism.

"We think he's got a lot of upside and should develop over time," DeCosta noted. "He probably needs to get a little stronger, but the tools are there.

"He's a worker. He's got the right temperament. He's a nasty player, and we think he'll compete right away at the right tackle spot."

Hale is known for his intensity after starting in 36 consecutive games for Division I-AA Weber State. His mauler's mentality reminded DeCosta of current Ravens guard/tackle Marshal Yanda and former Ravens tackle Tony Pashos.

"[He's a] very, very physical, mean, tough, nasty guy, in the same mold as a guy like Marshal Yanda and Tony Pashos," DeCosta said. "He's that type of player – a very, very physical, in-the-trenches type guy."

The Ravens also improved their bulk on the edges with New Mexico's Marcus Smith, 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, and Justin Harper, 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, of Virginia Tech.

Smith is one of the nation's strongest receivers, boasting a 355-pound bench press. While he posted 153 receptions for 2,073 yards and 13 touchdowns over his career, Smith also was an excellent special teamer, totaling 29 special teams tackles.

"He's an inside guy, primarily a slot receiver," DeCosta said of the fourth-round choice. "He's got good size; he's a tough guy, blocks really well, catches the ball in traffic and is very physical. We felt like we wanted to bring a physical receiver and a bigger guy in here to compete for balls inside the numbers."

Harper, a seventh-rounder, was more of a deep threat for the Hokies, averaging 16.1 yards on 83 career catches.

"We needed to add a big receiver to the group, and that's what we did with Harper," Newsome stated.

To close the draft, the Ravens took Oklahoma running back Allen Patrick, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound former safety. Patrick continues DeCosta's special teams theme for the late rounds.

"I think it's a lot of different, interesting guys," DeCosta said. "We have a great influx of guys who can help us Day One, and also some developmental guys who can help us three or four years from now. I'm excited about that mix."

Newsome agreed, saying, "I feel a lot better than I did on Friday. We addressed some needs. Like Eric said, we got bigger, we got tougher, we got faster and we got smarter."