During the 2011 NFL Draft the Baltimore Ravens had worked out a trade with the Chicago Bears to give up their 26th overall pick in the draft in exchange for the Bears first pick – the 29th overall and presumably another pick, likely a fourth rounder assuming the clubs used the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart.
The Bears held the Ravens hostage while Ozzie & Co. were on the clock and failed to call in the trade. That allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to jump up in front of the Ravens as the clock on the Ravens pick expired. The Chiefs selected Jonathan Baldwin with the 26th pick and eventually the Ravens got their guy anyway, Jimmy Smith, cornerback out of Colorado at No. 27.
Smith had early first round grades entering the 2011 draft but red flags surrounded the talented defender stemming from perceived character issues that in the eyes of some would linger.
“He’s as athletically gifted as Asomugha. He’s got all the ability in the world. He also could be a supreme punk.” ~ NFC Personnel Director
“Jimmy Smith is a carbon copy of Aqib Talib,” said an executive in 2011 who had dealings with both players. “This guy will be the same way.“
Smith was for the most part raised by his brother in a rough California town called Colton in San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles. The town’s streets are laced with gangs – murders are not uncommon.
Jimmy steered clear of the gangs yet he still found trouble. While at Colorado he flunked three drug tests including one for misusing codeine. Smith also had alcohol-related violations and was linked to a pair of abortions paid for by the parents of the women he impregnated.
There was also an arrest for assault.
But the Ravens did their due diligence and they were comfortable in their belief that Smith seemed to be showing signs of maturity — his transgressions then a couple years removed.
And so they made the pick.
Save one incident in Towson last year when he was arrested for disorderly conduct (charges were later dismissed), Smith has been quiet off the field and hardly the locker room problem child forecasted by the aforementioned league execs.
Recently the Ravens extended the talented corner for four more seasons (5 in total). Smith was set to become a free agent after the 2015 season and as we’ve seen from the Ravens recently, once their free agents hit the market, they don’t seem to come back. With Smith it was different.
“For me it was never truly about being the highest paid corner,” said the fifth-year player. “I knew I couldn’t be that on this team and be here just because of the talent already spread around. You have to pay other people, so I knew that going into it.”
I wonder if Aquib Talib or Byron Maxwell ever had such thoughts.
“They drafted me, they trusted me,” Smith said. “For this organization to stand behind me through everything that has happened even up to this point, it means a lot. They have my back. That’s why I’m staying here.”
What a shame that former Ravens great Haloti Ngata, someone who was an alleged team leader, didn’t share similar thoughts.
