With the 58th overall pick in the NFL Draft the Ravens selected University of Maryland wide receiver Torrey Smith. Smith gives the Ravens a vertical threat that the team desperately needs and given the club’s affinity for 2010 fifth round pick David Reed, it would appear that the fates of long-shot returnees TJ Houshmandzadeh and Donte Stallworth are all but sealed.
Smith is a high character player who was once described by former Terps Head Coach Ralph Friedgen as “a perfect person.”
The Ravens love the kid and prior to the draft conventional thinking in Owings Mills regarding Torrey Smith was that at No. 26 he would be a stretch. BUT… if he fell to them at No. 58, he would be difficult to pass on.
And today they did not!
The Ravens can thank the poor professional development of Darrius Heyward-Bey for Smith’s fall and they are hoping that the speedster can be Ozzie Newsome’s answer to the Steelers’ Mike Wallace.
Working against Smith is the league’s labor difficulties. With the exception of quarterback, the adjustment to the NFL from the college ranks for wide receivers is the most difficult of all positions. As the clock ticks down towards the season and OTA’s are lost and players can’t even obtain playbooks or sit in on film sessions, the chance for a sudden impact from Smith slides considerably.
And this is where his solid character and work ethic could be a real bonus for the Ravens 2011 second round pick – a round that has not been kind to Baltimore in the past.
