The Baltimore Ravens have selected junior safety, Matt Elam from the University of Florida with the 32nd pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Elam, 21, was a two year starter in the Gators secondary and possesses great speed and the ability to deliver hard hits from the safety position.
In the 2011 season at Florida, Elam started 13 games for the Gators at the strong safety position, leading the team in tackles for loss (11) and forcing two fumbles. He started again at strong safety in 2012, recording 76 total tackles and four interceptions. In three years at Florida, Elam recored 176 tackles and had six interceptions.
An outstanding pick for the Ravens with the final selection in the first round as the team loves Elam’s speed and the ability to play both safety positions. Elam is a solid tackler, locates the football well in coverage and can play at the line of scrimmage. Ozzie Newsome was quoted in regards to the Elam pick, stating, “his joy of playing football.”
What he lacks in size, Elam makes up with in terms of being a high energy guy with a big time personality on the field in addition to his hits. If the Ravens can get him to reel it in just a bit and wrap up and tackle more with consistency, the Ravens may have gotten yet another high value pick as they waited for their guy with “best player available” in mind.
Here are some tweets tonight regarding Elam:
Ozzie says that if there was one player all four (Harbs, Newsome, DeCosta and Hortiz) wanted, it was Matt Elam.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 26, 2013
#Ravens like Elams speed and tackling ability…Ozzie said he was the guy the organization wanted all along. #RavensTalk
— Brent Harris (@BrentCSN) April 26, 2013
Matt Lund is a contributor for BaltimoreSportsReport.com and co-host of the BSR Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @MattCLund.
Be honest Matt. You know nothing about Elam or even watch college football do you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you write or tweet about college football.
I do watch college football. Is there something I’m missing here? We don’t blog about any college football other than Terrapins football and that’s not what I do. Thanks for reading!
It’s a good pick in an area of need. DB’s coming out of the state of Florida tend to thrive in the NFL.
What does his police record look like?
I remember him from his college days , a little , to be honest he didn’t stand out to me he just played a solid safety spot,,,,,,,,,,if that is what you want in the first round you got him but the first round means something more to me , that’s my opinion……………..
Very similar playing style to Troy Polamalu. Very high energy, good instincts, and it seems like whenever the Gators made a big play the past two years, Elam either made it or did something that helped cause it.