The Baltimore Ravens rounded out the 2013 NFL Draft with two picks in the seventh round. With the first pick, they finally netted a wide receiver and the second, a cornerback with a name that has garnered attention and wisecracks from people throughout the interwebs.
Aaron Mellette, a WR from Elon was the 238th overall pick for Baltimore and is a possession receiver with good size at 6’2″ 217 pounds. Because of that size, he’s able to make catches over the middle of the field, something the Ravens don’t have much of looking at the WR depth of the team.
Mellette ran a solid 4.45 in the 40-yard dash and scouts have raved about how good his hands are, being able to catch in traffic and using his size against defenders. They love his versatility and being the athlete that he is considering he didn’t start playing football until he was a sophomore in high school.
Playing at a smaller school against lesser competition didn’t deter the Ravens from drafting Mellette, but did play well in one game against BCS school, Vanderbilt, hauling in two scores. Director of College Scouting, Joe Hortiz called Mellette, “a subtle route runner and very smooth.” In scouting reports, Mellette is agile and his ability to make defenders miss in open space is something that will make coaches happy too.
The Ravens will have plenty of competition coming up in camp as some of the young WR’s on the team will jostle for looks and time on the field. Mellette joins the ranks of Tandon Doss, Deonte Thompson, David Reed and Tommy Streeter.
Here’s video on Mellette:
Marc Anthony
The Ravens second pick hails from the University of California and gives the cornerback unit even more depth. Marc Anthony, the 247th overall selection, started 32 games for the Cal Bears during his time there.
In 2012, he started 10 games and recorded 52 tackles and two interceptions, including a 64-yard interception returned for touchdown. He has nice size for a corner at 5’11” and 196 pounds and showed nice speed during the NFL combine, clocking in at 4.63 in the 40-yard dash.
There is a lot of depth now for the Ravens in this unit and being a 7th round selection, will really have to stand out in OTA’s and training camp. Anthony will likely find himself working on the special teams this season and could be envisioned as a gunner with his nice speed.
Anthony has real nice potential as he develops behind some of the veterans of this unit because of the blend of speed and size to match up with bigger receivers on the outside. Scouts like his reaction skills and can close out on a receiver to make the play. He’ll need to build on his lower-body strength to help be a more consistent tackler. The Ravens were quite thrilled to snag this guy in the 7th round.
Here’s video on Anthony:
Matt Lund is a contributor for BaltimoreSportsReport.com and co-host of the BSR Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @MattCLund.
