The Baltimore Ravens selected Maryland’s outstanding tackle Jared Gaither in today’s NFL Supplemental Draft. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome selected Gaither with the 31st pick in the fifth round. (Choosing Gaither now replaces the Ravens’ 5th-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft). Gaither, 6-9 and 340 pounds, started 17 of his final 21 games at either right or left tackle in his freshman and sophomore seasons for the Terps.
Newsome had this to say about drafting Gaither: “First, this is another very good job done by Eric (DeCosta) and our scouts working year-round to improve our team. They were able to put together thorough evaluations on what Jared had done so far at Maryland. Also, give some credit to Steve (Bisciotti) who set me up with Ralph Friedgen. Ralph thinks highly of the young man, and gave excellent background on him,†Newsome said. “Jared has a chance to play in this league, even at a high level. It would have been interesting to see how high he would have gone in the draft had he played one or two more seasons at Maryland. He’s got size and ability. He wants to start working with us right away and our coaches will make that happen.â€
